Inaugural Wisconsin Comic Con comes to Milwaukee
Wisconsin Center hosts the convention June 28-30
Inaugural Wisconsin Comic Con comes to Milwaukee. Photo courtesy of VISIT Milwaukee.
Have you heard about the big convention coming to Milwaukee? No, not just the DNC.
Milwaukee is hosting the state’s first comic convention, Wisconsin Comic Con, June 28-30 at the Wisconsin Center. In addition to a plethora of activities, special guests are ready for takeoff at Comic Con. Celebrity guests include:
- Khary Payton, the actor playing King Ezekiel on The Walking Dead television series
- Sean Astin, the actor who played Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings movies
- Nichelle Nichols, the actress who played Lieutenant Uhura in the Star Trek television series
- Ray Park, the actor who played Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
- Austin St. John, the actor who played the original Red Ranger in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers television show
- Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, Barry Gordon, and Rob Paulsen, the original voices of Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael respectively in the animated television series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Comic creators on the Wisconsin Comic Con guest list include:
- Joel Adams, the character designer for animated television series King of the Hill
- Mark Badger, the cover artist responsible for several The Incredible Hulk comic books
- Clayton Crain, the comic book artist behind many pieces of digital painted work on Marvel Comics books
A full list of celebrity guests as well as comic artists and writers are available at WisconsinComicConvention.com.
Why Milwaukee?
In a city filled with wonderfully random experiences, this wonderfully random convention is right at home.
“We’re very excited to welcome Comic Con to Milwaukee,” said VISIT Milwaukee President and CEO Paul Upchurch. “Our hope is that in addition to the great activities planned during the convention, visitors will take a moment to explore all the wonderful things Milwaukee has to offer.”
City residents and visitors go on their own star trek in planetariums at the Milwaukee Public Museum and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Original J.R.R. Tolkien manuscripts and working drafts, such as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, can be perused at Marquette University. Samwise Gamgee would enjoy hiking the trails – and getting beer garden refreshments – in the award-winning Milwaukee County Parks. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can trade in sewers for fresh water on America’s Fresh Coast with Lake Michigan surfing or Milwaukee River kayaking.
Comic book artists would appreciate Milwaukee’s own modern artists’ collections at the Milwaukee Art Museum, Haggerty Museum of Art, Black Cat Alley, Sculpture Milwaukee, and Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design. And no one can leave the city without a nod to the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.
It’s all totally random, totally wonderful, and totally Milwaukee. Now, Wisconsin Comic Con is a part of that wonderfully random city experience.
Comic Con’s Perfect Venue
Wisconsin’s first Comic Con is also right at home in the Wisconsin Center, which hosts a wide array of events and conventions on its campus. From Wisconsin’s largest anime and Japanese cultural event, Anime Milwaukee, to homegrown-favorite The Midwest Gaming Classic, the Wisconsin Center was literally built for conventions like these.
“The Wisconsin Center offers flexibility which convention organizers and attendees appreciate,” said Marty Brooks, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Center District. “We know that our Comic Con guests will have the ultimate experience in our space and our team cannot wait to welcome them.”
The Wisconsin Center is nearly 300,000 square feet of versatile, functional, and stylish space, including 189,000 square feet of exhibit space. The convention center is connected by skywalk to more than 1,300 hotel rooms in downtown Milwaukee. Additionally, the district includes an arena and theatre on its campus.
Walkers, ringbearers, superheroes, trekkies, and the general public are all welcome to the inaugural Wisconsin Comic Con in Milwaukee. Organizers just have one very important request of attendees…live long and prosper.
About the Wisconsin Center District
The Wisconsin Center District (WCD) is a government body created under Wisconsin State Statute in 1994 to fund, build and operate the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee as well as the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Miller High Life Theatre. Information about events at the WCD facilities is available at www.MillerHighLifeTheatre.com, www.UWMPantherArena.com, and www.WisconsinCenter.com.
About VISIT Milwaukee
VISIT Milwaukee is the Greater Milwaukee area’s convention and visitors bureau, marketing the destination as a top choice for business, convention, and leisure travel to national and international visitors in order to increase the economic impact of tourism in the region. Each year, tourism supports over 52,000 full-time jobs and brings more than $5.7 billion to the community. VISIT Milwaukee has over 700 members, including hotels/motels, restaurants, attractions, services, and area businesses. The Wisconsin Center District, Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, and City of Wauwatosa are strategic partners with VISIT Milwaukee, providing funding support for conventions and tourism programs. For more information call 1-800-554-1448 or visit www.visitmilwaukee.org.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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