From girls donning goo-goo eyes over TV’s fictional characters to children gawking at men dressed as Darth Vader, star-crazed Utahns ogled over the famous personalities walking the multi-colored carpet of Salt Lake Comic Con’s FanXperience last weekend.
With over 100,000 attendees, the Salt Palace Convention Center housed the United States’ third largest Comic Con. By hosting legendary actors and award-winning writers, fanatics from a variety of genres crowded into panel rooms to hear the thoughts of their idols.
To many, the point of a comic book convention is to dress up as a favorite character. From aliens to superheroes to princesses, Halloween 2.0 made a place at the Salt Palace last weekend. And while makeup, wigs and spandex were all the rage, people’s dedication to their favorite celebrities took precedence.
“I really hope to see Captain Jean-Luc — Patrick Stewart played him,” said Christine Karr, who dressed as “Alice in Wonderland’s” White Rabbit.
Sir Patrick Stewart was a fan favorite. Saturday’s spotlight on Captain Jean-Luc Picard from “Star Trek: The Next Generation” hit capacity, but that didn’t stop “Star Trek” followers from attempting to get in. In fact, one extremist eager to participate in the panel’s question and answer portion escaped from security guards to make his way to the Q&A line.
“Star Trek” junkies weren’t the only participants at Utah’s biggest convention to date — panels pertaining to other movie and book mediums were also showcased. For instance, TV show creator Joss Whedon’s work was a star player. From “Firefly’s” Captain Malcolm Reynolds to “Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” Billy Idol look-alike Spike, the screenwriter’s stories proved iconic.
In fact, James Marsters, the face behind punk vampire Spike, was a hot commodity. On Thursday, the happening’s opening day, the actor’s signature booth had a line two hours long before he showed up.
To Marsters, FanXperience was an outlet to highlight his time with Whedon when he lit up the screen of TV shows such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel.” Nonetheless, he also brought attention to other projects. In addition to an impromptu performance of a song from his band Ghost of the Robot, Marsters also hosted a preview for the film “Dragon Warrior.”
The movie is in its fledging phase. James Marsters said “Dragon Warrior” is a part of Kickstarter.com. After showing a film clip, he said Kickstarter projects are a way to commend independent creators and to stick it to the man. In “Dragon Warrior’s” case, the man stands for Hollywood hotshot producers.
Placed next to Marsters’ signature booth was Julie Benz. Like Marsters, Benz has also worked with Whedon. When speaking to Comic Con attendees, Benz talked about the transition she made from the well-known character of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” Darla to “Dexter’s” tormented heroine Rita. Benz said both women share similar attributes — they want to be loved.
Aside from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Nathan Fillion, who played “Firefly’s” Captain Malcolm Reynolds, brought attention to Whedon’s style of work.
“Joss Whedon has it all figured out — the lights, the hair, the clothes, the music, the camera angle,” Fillion said during his spotlight panel. “Also, he has a pleasant way of saying, ‘Your idea sucks.’ I come up with a lot of ideas. Ninety-eight percent of them are terrible.”
While stars such as “Doctor Who’s” Karen Gillan and “Battlestar Galactica’s” Edward James Olmos attracted thousands of science fiction enthusiasts, other subject matter walked the stage of Salt Lake Comic Con’s panels.
“We are post-apocalyptic Ash and Misty from ‘Pokémon.’ We’ve experienced the ‘pokepocalypse,’ ” said Lexi Lyon and Griffin Taylor.
The two “Pokémon” characters were interested in attending the writing and drawing seminars. Lyon hopes to someday write her own comic book series, while Taylor was eager to learn about drawing.
“I’ve been a figure drawing model for a while, so hopefully I’ll be able to pick up a lot of tips,” Taylor said.
The two attended the Superheroes and Villains in Dynamic Poses panel.
Other panels included Religion in Science Fiction and Fantasy, Cosplay for Beginners and X-Men Trivia.
“It was hilarious. It was like a bunch of friends getting together and talking about nerdy stuff,” said Charles Knaphus, who attended the X-Men Trivia discussion.
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