Fan Expo Vancouver ups its game

On April 20 and 21, the Vancouver Convention Centre will play host to local comic, film, and TV convention Fan Expo Vancouver.

The convention, which bills itself as “the city’s very first major comicon”, had its first show in April of last year, and featured celebrity guests such as Adam West and Burt Ward (Batman), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules), Marina Sirtis and Michael Dorn (Star Trek: The Next Generation), and Nicholas Brendon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Celebrity guests at this year’s convention include Stan Lee (Marvel Comics), Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead), Sean Patrick Flanery (The Boondock Saints), David Prowse (Star Wars), Tia Carrere (Relic Hunter), Elvira (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Juliet Landau (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings), Michael Hogan (Battlestar Galactica), J.P. Manoux (Community), Victor Lucas (Reviews on the Run), and Scott Jones (Reviews on the Run).

Other highlights include autograph sessions, celebrity-photo sessions, celebrity Q&A sessions, cosplay, a Star Wars kids’ hour, a comic-creator panel, workshops and seminars, a video-game panel, an artists alley, a small press/indie pavilion, a retailer area, an exhibitor area, sketching duels, a name-that-anime-tune game show, an anime-drawing contest, a 501^st Legion Star Wars photo session, sci-fi/fantasy author signings, and portfolio reviews.

Tickets for Fan Expo Vancouver run from $10 (for a child’s one-day pass) to $79 (for a premium two-day pass). They can be found, along with additional information, on the convention’s website.