Diora Baird, Julia Benson, Michael Biehn, Alaina Huffman, Kevin Sorbo Added To Wizard World Austin Comic Con Celebrity Lineup

Five popular celebrity guests have been added to the stellar Wizard World Austin Comic Con lineup as Diora Baird, Julia Benson, Michael Biehn, Alaina Huffman and Kevin Sorbo have committed to the event, set for the Austin Convention Center, November 11-13. The five join standouts Hayden Panettiere, Adam Baldwin, ACADEMY AWARD WINNER Louis Gossett Jr., James Marsters, Juliet Landau, Charisma Carpenter and others at the next stop on North America’s largest pop-culture tour.

Baird (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE: THE BEGINNING, ACCEPTED), Benson (“SGU Stargate Universe,” ROAD TO VICTORY), Biehn (TERMINATOR, THE ABYSS), Huffman (“Smallville,” “SGU Stargate Universe) and Sorbo (ANDROMEDA, “Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”) further bolster the event’s robust celebrity roster.

Wizard World Austin Comic Con, produced by Wizard World, Inc. (WIZD.PK) will bring together thousands of fans of all ages and dozens of celebrities and industry professionals to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more.

The lineup of superstar artists at Wizard World Austin Comic Con is also impressive, including Jo Chen (“Superman,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Matthew Sturges (“Jack of Fables,” “JSA All-Stars”), Greg Horn (“Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark,” “X-Force”), Mark Texeira (“Wolverine,” “Spider-Man”), Michael Golden (“Batman,” “Spider-Man”), Stéphane Roux (“Zatanna,” “Star Wars”), Marv Wolfman “DCU Online,” “Crisis on Infinite Earths”), Bill Sienkiewicz (“Elektra: Assassin,” “Moon Knight”) and dozens of others.

Four of the five kids from the original WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY will also reunite at Austin Comic Con, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the film’s release. Peter Ostrum (“Charlie Bucket”), Paris Themmen (“Mike Tee Vee”), Julie Dawn Cole (“Veruca Salt”) and Denise Nickerson (“Violet Beauregard”) will appear together for an extremely rare reunion.

Other popular celebrity guests scheduled to be on hand in Austin include Chandler Riggs (“The Walking Dead,”), Barbara Nedeljáková (HOSTEL, SHANGHAI KNIGHTS), Electra and Elise Avellan (MACHETE, GRINDHOUSE), James Charles Leary (“Buffy: The Vampire Slayer) and Gena Lee Nolin (“Baywatch,” “Sheena”).

STAR WARS fans can meet special guests Peter Mayhew (STAR WARS, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, RETURN OF THE JEDI), Daniel Logan (EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES, “The Clone Wars”), Jake Lloyd (EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE), Adrienne Wilkinson (“The Clone Wars,” “The Force Unleashed”), Bonnie Piesse (EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES, EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH) and Orli Shoshan (EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES, EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH).

The event also features an impressive collection of superstar artists, including Jo Chen (“Superman,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), Matthew Sturges (“Jack of Fables,” “JSA All-Stars”), Greg Horn (“Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark,” “X-Force”), Mark Texeira (“Wolverine,” “Spider-Man”), Michael Golden (“Batman,” “Spider-Man”), Stéphane Roux (“Zatanna,” “Star Wars”), Marv Wolfman (“DCU Online,” “Crisis on Infinite Earths”), Bill Sienkiewicz (“Elektra: Assassin,” “Moon Knight”) and dozens of others.

Austin Comic Con is the ninth and final stop on Wizard World’s 2011 North American tour. Hours are Friday, November 11, 4 – 7 p.m.; Saturday, November 12, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; and Sunday, November 13, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tickets are available in advance online at http://www.wizardworldcomiccon.com/austin.html at a savings over tickets purchased at the door. Advance adult single-day tickets are priced at $25 ($35 on site); weekend all-session tickets are $45 ($55 on site), and tickets are free for children age 10 and under when accompanied by a paid adult (limit two children per adult). VIP packages with special entry and exclusive items are also available on a limited basis.

About Wizard World:
Wizard World produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests. Wizard World also produces Wizard World Digital, an online publication covering new and upcoming products and talents in the pop culture world, and is distributed on a weekly basis to online and iPad users worldwide.

The full event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.

***** SAVE THE 2011/12 DATES *****
October 22-23 – Mid-Ohio Comic Con
November 11-13 – Austin Comic Con
January 28-29, 2012 – New Orleans Comic Con
March 24-25, 2012 – Toronto Comic Con
May 19-20, 2012 – Big Apple Comic Con
June 1-3, 2012 – Philadelphia Comic Con
August 9-12, 2012 – Chicago Comic Con