Wizard World Chicago Guests Include Matt Smith, William Shatner, and Of Course Stan Lee

Wizard World Chicago, to be held August 21-24 at the Rosemont Convention Center, has begun announcing special guests. They fall into the usual categories: current geek favorites, older celebrities, wrestlers, and Stan Lee. Headliners for this go-round are Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who, but also this summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy), David Boreanaz (Bones, Angel), Katie Cassidy (Arrow), Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), William Shatner (come on…), a number of other Star Trek actors, and the immortal Stan Lee. (Unlike with C2E2, at least I’ve heard of all these folks.)

Wizard World Chicago is the “largest and longest-running of the 16 events in the 2014 series … and will also feature a top-drawer collection of well-known comics artists and writers and a variety of activities, exhibitors and special attractions.” The website has all the latest details, of course, of who will be there. If you’re particularly interested in seeing someone, be sure to check their appearance days. Few media guests show up on Thursday, and several only appear on Saturday. You’ll likely also need signing tickets (at an additional charge over the $50 or $60 single-day admission price; the whole weekend is $95).

These nerd-related appearance events have gotten far away from what I remember as a pretty good regional comic convention, but a large number of people seem to enjoy the spectacle of costumes and celebrities and shopping for geek trinkets. They bill them now as “pop culture experiences”, which seems about right.