Trend - Evil Inc

Wizard World ’07
Comic fans of all ages visit Philadelphia for Wizard World ’07
By Hayden Mitman
Trend Editor
It was a weekend filled with superheroes
and celebrities, where sorcerers, magic and
mayhem could be found, and imaginations
ran wild.
Welcome to Wizard World ’07.
This event is held only once a year in the
City of Brotherly Love. And, it invaded the
Philadelphia Convention Center during the
weekend of June 15 to 17. The event, named
for Wizard magazine, which focuses its coverage on all things “geek,” is a weekend full of
comics, art, collectibles and celebrities.
Wizard World is a special kind of convention, one not aimed toward a specific crowd.
Traditional comic book conventions attract
mostly collectors and dealers who are looking
for rare items, and “Star Trek” or “Star Wars”
conventions bring fans of one space drama or
the other, but Wizard World offers more than
similar conventions ever could.
At the event, comic creators and artists
joined movie and TV stars in the “Artist Alley”
and signing areas, while throughout the convention center, fans could scrounge through
the thousands of comic bins and dealer tables,
play card and board games, watch martial arts
demonstrations from the International
Fighting League or even see light-saber battles between members of the New York Jedi.
“I’ve been attending this event for about
five years now,” said award-winning cartoonist Brad Guigar. “Wizard World started as a
general comic convention, and it has grown
to this. It’s all good because the more people
they bring into to tent, the more books I can
sell.”
Guigar, a Philadelphia native and graphic
designer for the Philadelphia Daily News, was
on hand to promote his comic strip “Evil
Inc.,” a comic about a corporation run by
supervillains. His strip appears daily in the
“People Paper.”
Guigar also writes a weekly “Phables” feature for the Daily News where he features stories of the lives of Philadelphians. For
“Phables,” Guigar recently won a “Best Local
Column” award from the Philadelphia Society
of Professional Journalists, and this year the
column has been nominated for a Will Eisner
award for “Best Digital Comic.”
“I started doing a comic called ‘Greystone
Inn,’ and it evolved into ‘Evil Inc.’ I was doing
it on the side. The Daily News didn’t even
know I was doing it,” he said. “Now, along
with the day job [at the Philadelphia Daily
News], I work on it six days a week, but who
needs sleep?”
For more information on Guigar’s work,
visit his Web site at www.evil-comic.com.
Photos by Hayden Mitman/ Trend
Above, at left, Lou Ferrigno, also known as The Hulk half of Bill Bixby’s David Banner character on the television series “The Incredible Hulk,” poses for a photo.
Ferrigno was on hand to sign autographs for fans during Wizard World ’07, held June 15 to 17 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Above,
at right, comic book and movie fans dress as their favorite characters during a comic-character costume contest held at Wizard World on June 16.
Photos by Tyson Mitman/ Trend
Above, at left, award-winning artist and creator of “Evil Inc.” Brad Guigar tells Trend editor Hayden Mitman about a recent banquet where Guigar received
an award for a weekly feature that he does for the Philadelphia Daily News, entitled “Phables.” His column was awarded “Best Local Column” by the
Philadelphia Society of Professional Journalists. Above, at right, comic fans dressed as DC Comics’ Robin and the Green Lantern pose for photos during
Wizard World’s comic character costume contest. Below, artist Eric Maruscak, of Pepper Art in New York, works on a chalk drawing of Marvel Comics’ Silver
Surfer and the Fantastic Four that he drew on the convention center floor.
Along with local artists like Guigar, celebrities like Hayden Panettiere of NBC’s TV show
“Heroes” and Lou Ferrigno, who played The
Hulk in a TV show named for the musclebound superhero, were also available
throughout the weekend to meet fans.
But, in what might be the most noteworthy
achievement of the event, fans dressed as
their favorite superheroes or villains were
applauded for their costumes, and prizes were
awarded for the best getups. No one was left
out or ostracized. People weren’t poked fun at
for their devotion to the things they enjoy.
Instead, in this reporter’s experience, everyone at the show was very welcoming. I believe
that, to many, having the ability to revel
harmlessly in their own favorite fantasies,
even if only for a few hours, is what makes
something like Wizard World so unique.