More Than 100 Hours Of Programming Set For All Four Days At Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, August 8-11

Q&As With Stars Stan Lee, Michael Shannon, John Barrowman, WWE® Superstar CM Punk®; Firefly, Smallville Cast Reunions; Tons Of Comics And Artist Panels; Costume Contests; Meet-And Greets; Evening Programming Also Featured At Pop Culture Festival At Donald E. Stephens Convention Center

From interactive Q&As with celebrities like Stan Lee, Michael Shannon, Robert Rodriguez, John Barrowman and WWE® Superstar CM Punk® to reunions of the “Firefly” and “Smallville” casts to comics panels, costume contests, evening parties and more, Wizard World Chicago Comic Con today unveiled its most robust and diverse programming schedule ever, with more than 100 hours scheduled over the full four days in a total of nine programming rooms at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, August 8-11.

Some of the featured programming includes:

Q&A sessions with Lee, Shannon, Barrowman, Manu Bennett, Zachary Quinto, James Marsters, Jon Heder, Wil Wheaton, Ralph Macchio, Jason David Frank and many others.

WWE extravaganza, featuring a session with Punk and one with WWE® Diva AJ Lee, WWE® Hall Of Famer Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat™ and WWE® Superstar Dolph Ziggler™.

Cast reunions of “Firefly” (Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau, Alan Tudyk) “Smallville” (Aaron Ashmore, Allison Mack, Michael Rosenbaum, Marsters) and “Warehouse 13” (Ashmore, Eddie McClintock).

“A Conversation With… Robert Rodriguez,” an evening with the noted filmmaker (first admission for all VIPs, general admission free or suggested donation).

Comics-themed panels headed by some of the top names in the industry, including Neal Adams, Michael Golden, Greg Capullo, Scott Snyder, Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, Rob Prior and Esad Ribic. Superman, Batman and X-Men fans will take special delight in a few of them.

Costume contests for adults (Saturday night) and kids (Sunday) bring out the best cosplayers in the Midwest!
Evening programming including the inaugural Wizard World Artist Pro-Am (Friday, 5 Roses Pub, 5509 Park Place, Rosemont) and Official After Party (Saturday, Hyatt Regency O’Hare, 9300 Bryn Mawr Ave., across from the Convention Center).
Five Sci-Fi Speed Dating sessions to make that match.

The Art Of Frank Frazetta, curated by Rodriguez, with original Frazetta masterwork paintings (museum donation required).
Kids Day (Sunday) with an array of panels and events designed especially for children

Unless noted, programming events take place in the designated General Programming Rooms at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Most are included as part of standard Wizard World Chicago Comic Con admission; VIP tickets or additional costs may apply to ensure access to select activities, as noted.

A full list of Wizard World Chicago Comic Con programming is below; further details on each at http://www.wizardworld.com/programming-ch.html (subjects, guests, times and rooms subject to change):

Thursday, August 8
3:00 – 8:00pm The Art Of Frank Frazetta (Room 49)
4:00 – 4:45pm From The Microscope To The Big Screen: Creepy Crawlies In Pop Culture (Room 34)
4:00 – 4:45pm The Wizard World Film Festival: Coming Soon To A Con Near You (Room 42)
5:00 – 5:45pm Breaking Into Comics (Room 34)
5:00 – 5:45pm Meet The Real Life Superheroes (Room 42)
6:00 – 6:45pm Xion Network Presents: Creating Dynamic Black Female Characters In Fiction (Room 41)
6:00 – 6:45pm Creativity That Lasts (Room 42)
7:00 – 7:45pm Ghosthunting From The Female Perspective: True Paranormal Evidence On Display (Room 34)
7:00 – 7:45pm Costuming Armor And Prop Making 101 (Room 42)

Friday, August 9
12:00 – 7:00pm The Art Of Frank Frazetta (Room 49)
1:00 – 2:45pm Self Publishing: Bringing Your Dream To Market (Room 34)
1:00 – 1:45pm Meet The 501st (Room 41)
1:00 – 1:45pm Dead Fans Walking (Room 42)
1:00 – 1:45pm Putting A Creative Team Together To Launch A New Comic (Room 50)
1:00 – 1:45pm Stan Lee Meet And Greet – Paid Event (Room 60)
2:00 – 2:45pm Trailer Park (Room 24)
2:00 – 2:45pm Super Secrets (Room 34)
2:00 – 2:45pm The Making Of Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (Room 41)
2:00 – 2:45pm One-On-One With Verne Troyer (Room 42)
2:00 – 2:45pm Webcomics 101 (Room 50)
2:00 – 4:00pm Sci-Fi Speed Dating (Room 52)
2:30 – 3:15pm Jason David Frank Meet And Greet – Paid Event (Room 60)
3:00 – 3:45pm Warehouse 13 With Aaron Ashmore And Eddie Mcclintock (Room 24)
3:00 – 3:45pm Wonder Women For The 21st Century (Room 34)
3:00 – 3:45pm Superman At 75 (Room 41)
3:00 – 3:45pm One-On-One With Jon Heder (Room 42)
3:00 – 3:45pm How To Pitch UcreateComics Million Dollar Fund (Room 50)
4:00 – 4:45pm One-On-One With Wil Wheaton (Room 24)
4:00 – 4:45pm From Oz To Angels: How Big Dog Ink Is Breathing New Life Into Old Favorites (Room 34)
4:00 – 4:45pm One-On-One With James Marsters (Room 41)
4:00 – 4:45pm One-On-One With Andrew Mccarthy (Room 42)
4:00 – 4:45pm Designing Fantasy Worlds (Room 50)
5:00 – 5:45pm One-On-One With Stan “The Man” Lee (Room 24)
5:00 – 5:45pm One-On-One With Linda Blair (Room 34)
5:00 – 7:00pm The Ultimate Dr Who 50th Anniversary Celebration (Room 41)
5:00 – 5:45pm Roger Ebert, Chicago, And Comics (Room 42)
5:00 – 5:45pm Kickstarting Your Comics (Room 50)
6:00 – 6:45pm Girls Gone Gore! (Room 34)
6:00 – 6:45pm Batman And Psychology (Room 42)
6:00 – 6:45pm The Cover Page Demystified (Room 50)
7:00 – 8:00pm A Conversation With… Robert Rodriguez (Room 24)
8:00 – 10:00pm The Artist Pro Am (21 And Over only) (5 Roses Pub, 5509 Park Pl)

Saturday, August 10
10:00am – 7:00pm The Art Of Frank Frazetta (Room 49)
10:30 – 11:15am Comic Geeks, A Web Series (Room 41)
11:00 – 11:45am Reinventing Information: Pop Culture As A Visual Language For The 21st Century (Room 34)
11:00 – 11:45am Competitive Cosplay (Room 42)
11:00 – 11:45am Storytelling With Michael Golden: Taking It To The Next Level (Room 50)
11:00 – 11:45am Jason David Frank Meet And Greet – Paid Event (Room 60)
11:30 – 12:15pm One-On-One With John Barrowman (Room 24)
11:30 – 12:15pm WWE® Superstar CM Punk® Q&A (Room 41)
12:00 – 12:45pm Pitfalls Of Writing (Room 34)
12:00 – 12:45pm One-On-One With Manu Bennett (Room 42)
12:00 – 2:00pm Sci-Fi Speed Dating (Room 52)
12:00 – 3:00pm Zenescope Portfolio Review (Booth Tba)
12:30 – 1:00pm One-On-One With Zachary Quinto (Room 24)
12:30 – 1:15pm Vampire Lore And Other Urban Myths And Legends With Dr. Rebecca Housel (Room 41)
1:00 – 1:45pm Supe On The Big Screen (Room 34)
1:00 – 1:45pm One-On-One With Will Yun Lee (Room 42)
1:00 – 1:45pm Eberron And Beyond (Room 50)
1:30 – 2:15pm Trailer Park (Room 24)
1:30 – 2:15pm One-On-One With Brandon Routh (Room 41)
2:00 – 2:45pm Comics Conspiracy: 50 Years Of The JFK Assassination In Comics (Room 34)
2:00 – 2:45pm One-On-One With Ralph Macchio (Room 42)
2:00 – 2:45pm The Art Of Television Animation With Tom Cook (Room 50)
2:30 – 2:45pm One-On-One With Michael Shannon (Room 24)
2:30 – 2:45pm One-On-One With Dennis Rodman (Room 41)
3:00 – 4:30pm CBLDF: Art Auction (Room 34)
3:00 – 3:45pm Wibbly Wobbly Time: A Doctor Who Panel (Room 41)
3:00 – 3:45pm Who Is Batman To You? (Room 42)
3:00 – 3:45pm Voice Over With Tara Strong (Room 50)
3:00 – 5:00pm Sci-Fi Speed Dating (Room 52)
3:30 – 4:00pm One-On-One With Jon Bernthal (Room 24)
4:00 – 4:15pm One-On-One With Norman Reedus (Room 24)
4:00 – 4:45pm One-On-One With Jason David Frank: Power Ranger (Room 41)
4:00 – 4:45pm Creating A World Together With Art And Music (Room 42)
4:00 – 5:15pm Webcomics Bootcamp (Room 50)
4:00 – 4:45pm Stan Lee Meet And Greet – Paid Event (Room 60)
4:45 – 5:30pm How To Break Into Screenwriting And Show Biz (Room 50)
5:00 – 5:45pm Firefly With Morena Baccarin, Summer Glau And Alan Tudyk (Room 24)
5:00 – 5:45pm The Actors Roundtable With Robert Knepper, Nicholas Lea And Milo Ventimiglia (Room 41)
5:00 – 5:45pm Original Fantasy Content Creation In Chicago (Room 42)
5:30 – 6:15pm Turning Your Art Into Your Business: How To Market & Sell Your Art Online. (Room 50)
5:30 – 7:30pm Sci-Fi Speed Dating (Room 52)
5:45 – 6:30pm Super Villains And Psychology (Room 34)
6:00 – 6:45pm The Best Films You’ve Never Seen (Room 41)
6:00 – 6:45pm Grimm Fairy Tales Animated (Room 42)
6:30pm – 8:30pm Wizard World Adult Costume Contest (Room 24)
6:30pm – 7:15pm Setting The Mood (Room 50)
6:45pm – 7:30pm Tokyo Toy Guy (Room 41)
7:00pm – 8:30pm The Main Event, Artist And Writers Breakout Seminar, Featuring Neal Adams And Chris Claremont (Room 34)
7:00pm – 7:45pm Mindplate Tv (Room 42)
8:30 – 1:00am Official Wizard World Chicago Comic Con After Party (Hyatt Regency O’hare, 9300 Bryn Mawr Ave)

Sunday, August 11
10:00am – 5:00pm The Art Of Frank Frazetta (Room 49)
11:00 – 11:45am Project Urban Legend (Room 41)
11:00 – 11:45am Up, Up And Oy Yeh (Room 42)
11:00 – 11:45am Kids Draw! (Room 50)
11:00 – 11:45pm Jason David Frank Meet And Greet – Paid Event (Room 60)
11:30 – 12:15pm X-Men At 50 (Room 34)
12:00 – 12:45pm Smallville With Aaron Ashmore, Allison Mack, Michael Rosenbaum And James Marsters (Room 41)
12:00 – 12:45pm The Art Of Collaboration With Greg Capullo & Scott Snyder (Room 42)
12:00 – 12:45pm From The Microscope To The Big Screen: Creepy Crawlies In Pop Culture (Room 50)
12:00 – 3:00pm Zenescope Portfolio Review (Booth Tba)
12:00 – 2:00pm Sci-Fi Speed Dating (Lgbt Only) (Room 52)
12:30 – 1:15pm Fear Of The Unknown (Room 34)
1:00 – 1:45pm One-On-One With James & Oliver Phelps (Room 41)
1:00 – 1:45pm One-On-One With Jason Priestly (Room 42)
1:00 – 1:45pm How To Pitch UcreateComics Million Dollar Fund (Room 50)
1:30 – 2:15pm Hack/Slash Retrospective (Room 34)
2:00 – 2:45pm The Green Power Ranger Power Hour (Room 23)
2:00 – 2:45pm Battle For Multicultural Heroes (Room 41)
2:00 – 2:45pm Author Panel: Traditional Or Self-Publishing? (Room 42)
2:00 – 2:45pm U Cre-8 Comics Presents: Character Crafters (Room 50)
2:30 – 3:15pm WWE® With WWE® Diva AJ Lee, WWE® Hall Of Famer Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat™ And WWE® Superstar Dolph Ziggler™ (Room 34)
3:00 – 3:45pm Welcome To Super Rentals: A Special Sneak Peek At The Impersonators (Room 41)
3:00 – 3:45pm Wizard World Kids Costume Contest (Room 42)
3:00 – 3:45pm Exorcising The Spectre Of The Fake Geek Girl (Room 50)
3:30 – 4:15pm Unwritten Rules Of Wrestling With Wrestlingaudio.com (Room 34)

Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages 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. Wizard World Chicago Comic Con show hours are Thursday, Aug. 8, 3-8 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 9, noon – 7 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 10, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 11, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Chicago Comic Con is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor, often stopping by the Cosplay Stage, the ideal place to see and be seen.

For more on the 2013 Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, visit http://www.wizardworld.com/home-ch.html.