Events for This Week

So all kinds of things are going down this weekend, from Thursday to Sunday.

The Outer Rim Praxeum Lightsaber School is having an Open House Thursday April 7th at the amphitheater in Palatine Park in Fairmont. Learn some Lightsaber moves and maybe sign-up for future classes. Adults and children are welcome to come.

A $5 donation to WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital is requested but not required.

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The WV Cybersecurity & Game Developers Expo is doing another combined online expo on Friday April 8th. Registration is free to all. A schedule is not up yet, but previous expos have had talks on coding, computer networks, mobile app development, and lots of game development.

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The first annual WV Paranormal Tourism Conference is Friday 1pm-9pm and Saturday noon-9pm at the Raleigh Playhouse and Theatre in Beckley. They will have paranormal/cryptid/high strangeness professionals, paranormal investigation courses for children and adults, vendors, guest speaker presentations, local horror and paranormal authors (London Blu, Linley Marcum, Paul Lubaczewksi) , ghost walk and paranormal investigation with either Charleston Ghost Tour Company or Haunted Beckley, and Keynote speaker Dr. Kristy Sumner of Soul Sisters Paranormal. Tickets are $10 each day.

Members from The Old Hospital On College Hill, Theresa’s Haunted History of the Tri-State, Deep End Antiques, Mountaineer Paranormal, Haunted Blennerhassett, M45 Paranormal, Spectral Research & Investigations, Susan Sheppard’s Haunted Parkersburg Tours, Weird &Wild WV, and other groups will be on hand.

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Oblivion War Sports is hosting their Spring War Council at the Hillbilly Haven Log Cabin Rentals in Roanoke, WV. Check in for cabins starts Friday April 8th at 5pm and goes to Sunday April 10 at 11am. Drinks, food, and activities will be had for all. The meeting will be on Saturday afternoon.

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There will be a Harry Potter Party at the Loud in Huntington Friday night from 6:30pm to 9:30pm. The Wizard Fest a Harry Potter themed trivia and themed party. Immerse yourself in this wizarding world with Butter Beer and themed drinks, a costume contest, Quidditch games, live DJ, dance party, and a TriWizard Tournament of wizard themed games. Dress in costume or house colors. The event is All Ages. Advance tickets are $18. VIP tickets are $75 and include priority entry and a merch bundle with cup, wand, t-shirt and bracelet.

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The Jackson County Public Library brings back their MiniCon this Saturday April 9th at the Ripley Library in Ripley from noon to 6pm; the theme is From the Depths, from space or ocean. They will have games, art contest, raffle and door prizes, Starfleet Academy Training, mini-tabletop RPGs, Werewolf, vendors, catered refreshments, Starship Trivia, photo-ops, a scavenger hunts, an escape room, comic creator James Patrick, costume contest, and more. The event is free.

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RetroReset is holding their 5th Funko Pop Show in Oak Hill this Saturday at 11am. Come buy, sale, or trade pops. Tables are $10. People bring all kinds of Pops to these events.

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The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston is having a ghost hunt this Saturday from 9pm to 5am. Investigate the forensic, geriatric, and medical center buildings in one night. Bring your own cameras, digital recorders, EMF meters, and other ghost hunt gear. Each group will have time in all three buildings. The cost is $100 + tax per person.

Parkersburg Pop Con 2018

Parkersburg Pop Con on Saturday October 20th from 11am (10am for VIPs) to 5pm at WVU Parkersburg.

Parkersburg Pop Con is a celebration of all things popular culture at the local and national level. It’s all about authors, publishers, designers, and artists. It’s about comics, gaming, sci-fi, art, fantasy, television, radio, cyber culture, music, film and so much more.

Parkersburg Pop is about celebrating what you celebrate and discovering new inspiration.

Featured guests are comic writer James Patrick, comic illustrator Shawn Langley, and cosplayer James Hamilton.

Other creators at the con will be various freelance artists, wand makers, comic creators, nerd crafts, authors, pixel arts, plushies, jewelry, and more creations.

Vendors will be selling comic books, food, anime & manga, toys, figures, shoes, Funko Pops, Electromagnetic Press, Freestyle Komics, games, collectables, memorabilia, video games, graphic novels, and more nerd items.

The Actors Guild of Parkersburg, WV Ghostbusters, Outer Rim Praxeum, and Wilson’s House of Cosplay will also be set up at the event.

The con will have a board game library from The Industry, youth and adult cosplay contests, a raffle, trivia, and video gaming tournaments.  Plus panels on pop culture, cosplay and make-up tips, comics, light saber duels, and more.

Admission is $5.  Kids 10 and under get in free with a paid adult.  Free admission with valid military ID.

A nice small show with lots of local creators to check out.

2018 Classic Plastic Toy & Comic Expo

The fifth annual Classic Plastic Toy & Comic Expo is at the Parkersburg Arts Center in Parkersburg this Saturday March 3rd (10am-6pm) and Sunday March 4th (11am-5pm). The event is run by the Classic Plastic Toy

The guests of honor for this year are Jim Henson puppeteer and toy designer Timothy Clarke and body capture for Mortal Kombat I & II Daniel Pesina. Others guests Jordan Patton from Face Off and Dead Necks and comic creator James Patrick.

The main part of the expo of course is the vendors.  This year’s dealer will be selling vintage and new toys, comics, graphic novels, Funkos, cross stitch, tarot readings, books, board games, video games, consoles, artists, authors, comic creators, anime and manga, plush, geeky crafts, pez, and much more for all.  Several premiers items and prints will be available

Events for this year include a cosplay contest on Saturday, Rope Dart Demo by Daniel Pesina on both days, a Mortal Kombat 2 tournament on Saturday, food by DM’s Pizza Shop, and open gaming for both video and table-top from Rare Drops and The Industry. There will also be a special showing of the Dark Crystal at the nearby Smoot Theatre.  Doors open at 7pm, show starts at 7:30pm, and a Q&A with Timothy Clarke who worked on the film afterwards.  Parkersburg’s Savor Saturday will be going on at the same time to go and check out.

Admission is $5 and free for children ten and under.  All the proceeds go to the art center and Downtown Parkersburg.

A very nice event for collectors, gamers, cosplayers, and those who want to hang out with fellow nerds and geeks.

Parkersburg Pop Con

The 2nd Annual Parkersburg Pop Con is this Saturday September 30th at West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg from 11am to 5pm.  An event about all of pop culture.

Guests for the con are actor Jeremy Ambler, comic creator Tim Shinn, and illustrator Rusty Shackles.

Vendors and artists will be selling figures, comics, toys, memorabilia, collectibles, handmade crafts, clothing, food, anime and manga, shoes, art and prints, pezes, books, movies, jewelry, video games, knitted items, leather items, buttons, and plenty of other geeky items.  Also there will be Bunny Bombshell, Crooked Letter Creative, WV Ghostbusters, Hades Ladies of Hell’s Orchard Roller Derby, games, James Patrick, Jason Lewis, Shawn Langley, Stephen Hines, Wilson’s House of Cosplay, podcasters What’s Going On plus charities and publishing companies.

Events include table top gaming library, cosplay contests for adults and youths, cosplay panels, Super Smash Bros and Injustice 2 video game tournaments, live podcast recording, audience movie riffing, and more.

Crooked Letter Creative and the Astral Theatre Collective will be performing their new work “Carmilla” based on the horror classic by J. Sheridan LeFanu at the WVU Parkersburg theater at 8pm the same day.  The show is $15.

Admission for the con is only $5 and children ten and under get in free with an adult.

Nice little some event with several different genres covered and people to see and meet.

2017’s Classic Plastics Toy & Comic Expo

This year’s Classic Plastics Toy & Comic Expo is this Saturday March 4th from 10am to 5pm and Sunday March 5th from 11am to 4pm at the Parkersburg Art Center.  The show is put on by Classic Plastic Toy Store, Downtown PKB, and Parkersburg Art Center.  Proceeds from the event go to the Parkersburg Art Center and Downtown PKB.

The expo will have guests Steve Cardenas the 2nd red ranger in Might Morphin Power Rangers and Tim Clarke who worked in Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and created the toy lines of Boglins and Sectaurs both days.  Others of note are Remix Pro Wrestling will have their Remix Pro Riot Champion Jack Pollock at their table on Sunday, cosplay groups 501st, Mandalorian Mercs, and the WV Ghostbusters with their 30ft Stay Puft, local film production companies casts and crew of Dirty Candy Productions and Dizzyboy Productions, comic creators James Patrick and Jason Pell.

There will be vendors with toys, comics, cosplay items, collectables, movies, anime and manga, video games and systems, Pez, games, nerdy crafts, action figures, geeky accessories, and plenty more to look through.  There will be artists at the expo selling prints and comics plus doing commissions, and caricatures.  There will be two exclusive art prints at the show, one from Glen Brogan and one from Ren Mckinzie.  DM’s Pizza Shop and Bombshell Cupcakes & Cookies will be selling food during the event as well.

There will be cosplay contest on Saturday with categories in Juniors, Original Design, Novice, Journeyman, and Master.  The Industry Game Center will be running table top gaming this year.  They will have an open game library both days, Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG events, Dicemasters Draft and Pokémon Draft tournaments on Saturday and a Hero Realms Tournament on Sunday.  Rare Drops will be set up with retro gaming and tournaments.  The Vienna Public Library will be hosting kid friendly events on Sunday like Superhero Story time, LEGO building, and Comic Book Crafting.  Plus raffles.

On Saturday there will be a special event downtown called Savor Saturday.  Several local restaurants will have samples of their food for only a $1.  If you try every one that is offer you can enter to win tickets to the Taste of Parkersburg in June.  Pokémon Go lures will be dropped at every stop along with way.

Admission is $8 for both days and $5 for one.  Children 10 and under get in free with an adult.

This is shaping up to be the best year yet for the expo.

 

First Parkersburg Pop Con

The first Parkersburg Pop Con will be held at WVU Parkersburg in Parkersburg this Saturday October 8th from 11am to 8pm.  An event to both promote pop culture, STEM, and WVU Parkersburg.

The 501st, Bunny Bombshell, Burning Bulb Publishing, Derek Croston, Dirt Candy Productions, Dueling Ogres Podcast, WV Ghostbusters, Hades Ladies Roller Derby, James Patrick, Jason Lewis, Jason Pell, J.D. Williamson, Mid-Ohio Valley Superman, Nathan Arnold, Shawn Langley, Storyteller Publishing, WV Wonder Woman, and more promoting and selling their creations.  The Gaming Club, STEM Department, and Legal Studies Department will all be set up there.  The Legal Studies will have a crime scene on display for you to puzzle over and figure out what happened.

Vendors will comics, games, collectables, video games, toys, nerdy crafts like soaps and plushies, cosplay items, anime and manga, movies, clothes, jewelry, a photo booth, and more.  Several restaurants will be set-up with food as well.

Panel on video games, cosplay, three panels on women in horror, how to get into comics, and podcasting with Dueling Ogres.  Closing Ceremonies start at 7:30pm.  The Girl Scouts will have a table teaching kids how to debug a video game and how to create their own. There will also be a Pokémon Go hike through the campus and a kid friendly room with activities and face painting.

Video competitions hosted by Game Stop will be $20 and starts at 2pm, sign-ups at the con.  They will have Super Smash Bros, Pokken, Street Fighter V, and Mario Kart 8.  Some of the stores will have table top gaming going on.  A Cosplay Contest with categories for Best Hero Male and Female, Best Villain Male and Female, Best Hero and Villain Youth, and Most Creative.  They have also promised special Snapchat filters for the con.

Cost to get in is only $5.

Another fun and cheap little con with several interesting things to see and do.

Over the Border: River City Comic Con 2016

River City Comic Con will be hold their sixth show this Sunday July 24th at the Marie Antoinette Ballroom at the Quality Inn in Marietta, Ohio from 10am to 5pm.

Guests for this are area filmmakers and You Tube personalities Blind Wave, Broken Icon Comics, cosplayer Bunny Bombshell, local horror film crew Dirty Candy Productions, the Hero Initiative, comic book colorist Jason Lewis, filmmakers and podcasters Mindfooled Entertainment, James Patrick and 21 Pulp.

Other creators who will be there include Nathan Arnold and Evan Bevins, Larry Blake, Logan Carroll, Michael Easton, Terry Ervin II, Gary Gibeaut, Stephen Hines, Travis Horseman, Shawn Langley, Paul Thompson, and other comic creators, artists, and crafters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There will be plenty of vendors selling comics, graphic novels, action figures, cards, anime and manga, games, video games and systems, self-defense items, collectables, clothing, accessories, and more.

River city will have an activity room for all ages.  There will be free make-and-take crafts, props for photo ops, and caricatures with J. D. Williamson.  Their costume contest will be at 2pm with four categories: Best Child, Best Adult, Best Craftsmanship, and Most Original.  There will be a screening of Mindfooled Entertainment’s documentary Marking Out and a live episode of their podcast The Figure Fourcast, a presentation of She Was So Pretty from Dirt Candy Productions, panel with Blind Wave Productions, and a roundtable on producing a podcast from Ka-Pow: The Pop Cultured Podcast, Dueling Ogres, Imperius Rex: Confessions of a Serial Surface Invader and Source Material, from the Radulich in Broadcasting Network.  

Admission is only $5, free for kids twelve and under.  A portion of every ticket will be donated to Washington County Special Olympics.  They will be set up to take donations and teach people about their work.

A nice little con to see local creators and some fun activities.

WV Pop Con 2015

WV Pop Con returns to Mylan Park in Morgantown this Saturday August 22nd from 10am to 7pm and Sunday August 23rd from 11m to 5pm.

Creator guests include comic creators, artists, authors, crafters, design studios, costumers, and more.  Featured guests are Mike McKone (Avengers Academy, Justice League United), Thomas Zahler (Love and Capes, My Little Pony), DJ Coffman (Hero by Night, God Child), Chad Cicconi (sketch cards, NFL Rush Zone), Bill McKay (Zombies vs Cheerleaders, Danger Zone), and Dennis Budd (sketch card artist) .  Some of WV’s finest who will be there include featured guest James Patrick (Green Arrow, Pulp 21) and Robert Tinnell (Feast of the Seven Fishes, Wicked West); Jason Pell (Zombie Highway, Season’s End), Rich Bottles Jr. (Hellhole West Virginia, Lumberjacked),  Larry Morgan (Electro-Magnetic Press), Grinning Fox Customs, Dustin Smith (Knight Hunter), David Newbold (Runaways, Weapon X), Dusty Catlett, Implexity Designs, Angi D*signs, Garrick Gilmore, Josh Floquet, Andrew Carter (Let’s Play All The Games, Habitat Against Humanity) and others.

Entertainment guests are the 501st Legion Garrison Carida Squad Corellia, The Portrait Dude, Rebel Legion, Amtgard, Mandalorian Mercs The Black Mountain Guard, Morgantown Roller Vixens, Wudang Swordsmen Academy, Sigler Photography’s Morbid Memories, World Paranormal Investigations, Vintage Theatre Company, WV Ghostbusters and their van, Jeremy Ambler (Walking Dead, the Crazies), game company Milton Roe Creative and cosplayers Knightmage, Bio Cosplay, and Bunny Bombshell. They will have vendors selling comics, games, action figures, TPBs, cards, collectibles, video games, figures, costumes, props, t-shirts, leather goods, weapons, and who knows what all else.  Plus publishers Outpouring Comics, Burning Bulb Publishing, Electro-Magnetic Press, and Action Lab Comics.

Gaming will include Magic tournaments hosted by Nerducopia, West Virginia Pathfinder Society, a table top and retro gaming libraries and demos.  The costume contest is Sunday at 3pm.  Sign-up at the Illusive Skull booth at the con.

Admission is $10 for each day or $18 for two days.  Children under 10 get in free with an adult.   You can purchase before hand online or at Comic Paradise Plus in Fairmont or Westover.

Over The Border: River City Comic Con 2015

River City Comic Con will be holding their fifth annual con at the Quality Inn in Marietta, Ohio on Saturday August 15th from 10am to 5pm.

Guest for the con are film makers Apple on the Cake, Blind Wave Productions, and Jeffrey Scott Richards; comic creators Daniel Boyd and William Bitner, Broken Icon Comics, James Patrick and 21 Pulp, Nathan S. Arnold and Evan Bevins, Jabaar L. Brown, Michael K. Easton, Electro-Magnetic Press, Heaven Frobid Publishing, Rock Bottom Studio, Travis Horseman, and Paul Thompson; artists dead-koi, Jesse Marks, J.D. Williamson, and Aaron “Doc” Springer; autAdmission: $5 for Adults
Ages 12 and under FREE with an author Terry W. Ervin II; cosplayers Harley Heartthrob and Mandalorian Mercs; Remix Pro Wrestling with TNA Heavyweight Champion Ethan Carter III, EC3, appearing from 10am to 3pm.

There will be vendors with action figures, comics, anime, manga, toys, posters, pins, stickers, clothing, and more.

They will have film screenings from Blind Wave, Jeffrey Richards Last Conversation, and a live recording of Figure Fourcast.  A panel on sci-fi and fantasy concepts will be held at 3pm with several creators giving their thoughts. Their costume contest will be at 2pm with four categories; Best Child, Best Adult, Best Craftsmanship, and Most Original.  There will also be free activities for the kids to do.

Admission is only $5 and free for those 12 and under.  River City has partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County.  For each paid attendee, the con will donate fifty cents to the club.  Parking at the hotel is free.

Small local con with lots of good people to meet and get to know.  Worth the trip if you can make it.

Two Comic Projects on Kickstarter

Two different comic projects are up on Kickstarter now that you should check out and support.

The first one is Zombie Highway, a tale of the zombie apocalypse in West Virginia that Jason Pell, Roberto Viacava (Adventures in Superman) and Eduardo Bazan created over a decade ago (before Walking Dead and other zombie stories).

They are holding a Kickstart to produce a full hard cover 200 page collection of the series, most of which is out of print and hard to find, plus new material.  There will be new coloring of formerly black and white pages and touched up art.

The story is about four men who steal a mysterious package for a client.  Then zombies start to appear.  Now they must work to stay alive from both zombies and people as they try to the package to their client so they can get paid.

Contributing can get you Zombie Highway postcards, pdfs, physical books, t-shirts, copies of Jason’s other books Season’s End and Suicide 5, original cover art, and a chance at being a zombie in the book.  The first 250 backers (only at 96 backers of this writing) who pledge $25 or more will also get a limited print for their help.

The project has another four days and a little of $2,000 to meet their $10,000.

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Next is Imposter a 100 page graphic novel broken into four self-contained parts each in a different genre; written by James Patrick (Green Arrow, Batman), drawn by Martin Szymanksi, coves by Victor Santos (Mice Templar, Furious), and published by 21 Pulp.

Imposter is the story of how the four greatest superheroes are all really just one man. Four different heroes for any kind of threat.  Now he is trying to train a replacement to take over his deception, who happens to have his own plans.

Pledge levels include ones for the book, pdfs, trading cards, t-shirt, posters, prints, sketches, get drawn into the book, plaques, mugs, pens, and more.  Backers will receive each part of the series they complete it.

They have twenty-three days to raise $5,000.  They are already on their way to $2,000.