Top 5 Things to See at Austin Comic Con

Austin Comic Con: October 2-4, 2014

Update: Congratulations to our ticket winner, Ryan Sanders! Thank you to everyone who participated. We do giveaways every other week through our newsletter, so check it out!

###

Austin seems to have a big event every weekend, and it can be hard to choose between everything going on. For those looking for an alternative to ACL this weekend, there’s Wizard World, also called Austin Comic Con.

This year, Austin Comic Con is running October 2-4, 2014 at the Austin Convention Center. This event is one of the many fun things I look forward to every Autumn. What’s even more exciting for you, we’re giving away a Family Four Pack of tickets to attend! Keep reading to learn how to enter.

If you’ve never been to Austin Comic Con before and you’re not sure what to expect, here are 5 things you must see:

1. Celebrities

William Shatner with Mayor Lee Leffingwell at last year’s Austin Comic Con

The most notable aspect to anticipate is the presence of many TV and film celebrities. You can find many of these stars signing autographs and taking pictures with fans. Sometimes there can be a wait in line, but it’s totally worth it to meet some of your favorite celebrities and get a picture with them.

There are a lot of celebrities to mention for this year’s Austin Comic Con. These are some of my personal picks for you to look forward to:

• Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead
• His character’s brother, Michael Rooker (fresh off the recent Guardians of the Galaxy)
• Bruce Campbell from The Evil Dead
• Lord of the Rings‘ Sean Astin

Another couple of my favorites are Christopher Judge from Stargate SG-1 and Jason David Frank, who played my favorite Power Ranger when I was a kid.

This is far from a full list of all of the celebrities who will be appearing at this year’s Austin Comic Con. There are tons of others from TV and film, as well as wrestlers from WWE.

Jason David Frank giving a martial arts demonstration at Austin Comic Con 2013

2. Comic Book Creators

Although I started off talking about TV and movie actors, this is a comic convention. There are a number of comic writers and artists who will be at the Convention Center this weekend. Many of the artists and creators in the “Artist Alley” are generally less busy and have shorter lines than the celebrity guests. If you’ve read their work or seen their drawings, it’s awesome to be able to approach them and chat.

Again, there are so many that I can’t list everyone, but my top three pics are Neal Adams (whose work on Batman helped define the more current look of Batman following the pop sensation in the campy 60s era), local illustrator and printmaker Tim Doyle and artist Luke Ross.

3. Local Vendors

There are always a lot of vendors at conventions. This year, Austin Comic Con has over 100 registered to display their goods. Some of them travel to every show to sell merchandise, but support Austin by taking time to check out the local vendors. Most of them are independent artists from around town. Some of them are craft makers putting out their own product. And some of them are from our local comic book stores. If you stop by and say hi, you’re bound to find something cool and unique you didn’t know existed.

Silver age Spider-Man issues

4. Collectables

On top of the local artists, you’ll find a lot of vendors selling back issues and collectibles. Even if you’re not there to spend money, looking at old toys from your childhood can be such a nostalgic trip. You can also find a lot of deals on comic book back issues, as well as rare variants. There are also different collectables like props, Doctor Who t-shirts and other notable collectables from your favorite genres and franchises.

5. Cosplayers

Cosplayers at Austin Comic Con

The last thing you’ve got to see at Austin Comic Con is neither official nor programmed, but all conventions this size have a ton of cosplay. It’s really impressive to see the type of craft that goes into creating these costumes. After all, there are characters in comic books and anime that make you curious about what their costumes could possibly look like in real life. The cosplay veterans have figured that out.

Family Four Pack Ticket Giveaway

Wizard World Austin Comic Con has kindly provided a Family Four Pack of tickets for Austinot.com to give away. If you want to enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this article. We’ll pick the winner at 2 PM today, October 2, 2014, using Random.org. The winner will be announced on this page shortly after 2 PM.

We’ll email a certificate to the winner right away, and the winner will be able to print it out and enjoy Austin Comic Con all weekend!

I highly recommend you attend Austin Comic Con this weekend because it’s a lot of fun. Also, parents, admission is free for kids 10 and under. For more information on special guests and ticket prices, check out WizardWorld.com.

@OhNoRobertLuke asks:

What are you looking forward to the most during Austin Comic Con 2014?