Just because you didn’t snag San Diego Comic Con passes doesn’t mean you can’t get your fill of comics, movies, TV & more. You just need to find another con to throw yourself into!
Wizard World holds events in a number of cities. At the moment you can find them in Philly, Chicago, New England, NYC, Canada and more. You’ll find stars like Julie Benz, Bruce Campbell, Adam Baldwin and more! Trust me, San Diego Comic Con isn’t the only place to see the stars you love. In some cases you can even buy special VIP passes to special events with certain celebrities. In most cases these special passes include photo ops and autographs. You can find more information on Wizard World conventions here.
Another large Comic Con is the New York Comic Con. If you’re on the East Cost you’ll want to check this event out for sure. I’m actually planning on attending this year if everything works out. The event is four days and runs from October 13th-16th at the Jacob K. Javits Center. If you order tickets before October you can save yourself a few bucks. A four day pass is $85, Friday & Sunday are only $35 and Saturday is $50. While there isn’t much information on who will be there this year, here’s a sample of who stopped by at the 2010 convention: Stan Lee, Bruce Campbell, James Marsters, Todd McFarlane, Seth Green and more. Some of the panels they had were: Steampunk 101, The Future of Comics — Digital and Print, The Vampire Diaries Special Video Presentation and Select Cast/Producer Q&A and The Changing Faces of Anime.
Sticking with the East Coast, there’s Dragon*Con. This event is held in Atlanta from September 2nd-5th. This is the 10th year for Dragon*Con! The weekend kicks off with a parade on September 3rd at 10am. Again, since it’s early in the year there isn’t much info but they do have a small list of people who are supposed to be there. Keep in mind though, it’s very early in the year and names could always be added or removed. At the moment Eddie McClintock, Leonard Nimoy and Sean Patrick Flanery are listed along with some others. You can find the list here. Unlike with other conventions, it looks like they only sell passes for the entire event, no single day passes. It’s steal though at $80 if you purchase before February 15th. The longer you wait, the more you pay. They go from $80 to $90, then up to $105 and $120.
There are plenty of other options out there. The easiest way to find them would be to just do an internet search. What I listed here are events that are far enough away that it would give people time to plan. There are some conventions that happen as soon as the end of the month! If you can think of any cons or you have any suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments!