#239 - Rogue None

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Shawn

NEWS/TALK: new Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer, The Walking Dead mid-season finale

COMICS: Nova #1, Superman Annual #1, Motor Crush #1, The Longest Day of The Future

#238 - Keep On Keepin' On

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott, Shawn

NEWS/TALK: #DCember, Invasion! TV crossover event, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD,
PIX 2017

COMICS: Chew #60, Vision #12, Batman #11, Detective Comics #944, Civil War II #7

#237 - No Intro!

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott

NEWS/TALK: It's Jared's 4 Year Anniversary! Movie talk (Doctor Strange, X-Men: Apocalypse)

COMICS: Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows, Seven To Eternity, Glitterbomb, Motor Girl, Batman, Detective Comics

“But with a Whimper: Wizard World Pittsburgh 2016”

A look back at Wizard World Pittsburgh 2016

Jared Catherine with additional reporting by Dan Greenwald

Comic Book Pitt.com

The weekend of November 4-6 saw the second, and most likely last, Wizard World Pittsburgh at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. Wizard World, a convention rife with controversy prior to its takeover of the Pittsburgh ComicCon, faced an uphill battle entering the Pittsburgh market and, based on accounts, failed to gain the traction needed to become a main stay. The absence of a Pittsburgh installment on Wizard’s 2017 calendar was noticeable going into the weekend. According to sources, vendors were informed prior to Friday’s show that a 2017 show was not being ruled out but the weekend’s performance would be a determining factor.

Upon entering the show on it’s opening day it was evident the 2016 Wizard World Pittsburgh was going to be distinctly different than the 2015 installment. Unlike the inaugural edition there was no massive crowd clamoring to get into the show room. The number of fans waiting for the show to begin this year was modest at best. Attendance did improve over the course of the weekend, but never reached it’s potential.  

A look at the convention floor at 1PM on Saturday afternoon.

The 2016 edition of Wizard World Pittsburgh opted to make the celebrity guests the focal point of the shows floor layout. An interesting decision though not surprising considering the celebrity guests are the dominant attraction for this type of pop-culture convention. Despite the last minute cancellation by a number of the noted celebrities, the densest concentration of attendees could be seen in this area.

After celebrity guests the most emphasis was placed on video games. New to this year’s edition of the Convention was an area dedicated to competitive video gaming. Adjacent to this new addition were a dozen or so kiosks where attendees could play different video games. Over the course of the weekend this area proved to be very popular.

Comic book vendors were in short supply at Wizard World Pittsburgh. There were only four different comic book vendors set up with long boxes of back issues plus one other vendor selling discounted trade paperbacks. The variety offered from these vendors was even less varied. While it’s not surprising that comic books were not featured more prominently at this convention it was still a disappointment. The number of vendors dedicated to home improvement, roasted nuts, and other non-related matter easily outnumbered the number of comic book vendors.

The 2016 Wizard World Pittsburgh lacked the comic book creator star power of its 2015 iteration but there were still a number of professional comic book creators on hand in the show’s Artist Alley. Industry veterans such as Danny Fingeroth, Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz were on hand along with other notable comic creators including Dave Wachter and Dean Haspiel. Special attention was not given to local creators this year but some Pittsburgh comic creators were exhibiting as well selling prints, sketches, and comics; including DJ Coffman and Dan Wyke.

The panel programming presented this year was the highlight of the show. A constant slate of programming featuring many of the shows guests from both the worlds of entertainment and comics were incredibly enjoyable albeit under attended. The programs offered a lot of insight as well as provided a platform for interaction between the attendees and the show’s guests.

Danny Fingeroth, Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz discussing their time working on Marvel's The Amazing Spider-Man.

The overall impression of the 2016 Wizard World Pittsburgh Convention was underwhelming. Attendance and enthusiasm for the weekend was not as high as last year’s convention. Given the price of entrance along with the Wizard brand name, this year’s convention failed to live up to expectations. Prior to the show opening on Sunday vendors were advised that a 2017 show would not be added to the calendar. A request for comment from Wizard World was not returned.

If this is indeed the final Wizard World Pittsburgh it will be remembered as a failed experiment as well as the unofficial demise of the Pittsburgh ComiCon. However, the Pittsburgh area is still well served as far as pop culture/comic book conventions are concerned. Between the up-and-coming 3 Rivers ComiCon, the Steel City Con, and PIX the fans of Pittsburgh still have plenty of options to celebrate their fandom.

#236 - Synchronized! (aka The Media Episode)

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott

NEWS/TALK: The LOGAN trailer, the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, VOL. 2 teaser, the Season 7 premier of THE WALKING DEAD, ARROW Season 5, FLASH Season 3, and SUPERGIRL Season 2.

#235 - The Poetic Episode

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott

NEWS/TALK: Two weddings! Jared suffers the first casulties of DC Rebirth!

COMICS: Doctor Strange #10, The Clone Conspiracy #1, Reborn #1, Champions #1, Great Lakes Avengers #1

#234 - Fancy Clothes and Blah Blah Blah

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott

COMICS: Doom Patrol #1, Hadrian's Wall #1, Eclipse #1, Skybourne #1, Alters #1,
NVRLND #1

NEWS/TALK: New Fall TV

#233 - IMHO

HOSTS: Dan, Scott, Shawn

COMICS: Walking Dead #158, Han Solo #3, The Sixth Gun: Days of the Dead #1, The Flintstones #1-3, Justice League #1

UPCOMING EVENTS: Nittany-Con, FAM CON 2016

#232 - It's Never Safe...

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott

NEWS/TALK: Convention talk

COMICS: Afterlife With Archie #10, Snotgirl #1, Baker Street Peculiars #4, Blue Beetle: Rebirth #1, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #59-61

#231 - Where My Nerds At?

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott

NEWS/TALK: "Holy Grail" comics, comics we've gotten others to read

COMICS: Ninjak #14-17, Jupiter's Legacy 2 #1-2, BPRD #144, Lake of Fire #1, Batman #5

#230 - The Duke Went Down To Georgia

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Shawn

NEWS/TALK: Suicide Squad thoughts, the upcoming Batman '66 animated movie, and the lost art of the single issue story

COMICS: Suicide Squad: Rebirth #1, Batgirl #1, Sons of Anarchy Redwood Original #1, Art Ops #10 and from the archives we talk about Detective Comics #579, Xenozoic Tales, and Jim Steranko's Nick Fury Agent of SHIELD collection.

#229 - Terrigen Missed

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott

NEWS/TALK: Some casual conversation about DC Rebirth, Marvel Comic's missteps, and comic book  TV shows

COMICS:Kill or Be Killed #1, Black Hammer #1, Hillbilly #1, and  Predator vs. Judge Dredd vs. Aliens #1.

#228 - Rebirth!

HOSTS: Dan, Jared

NEWS/TALK: This week it's ALL DC Rebirth! We talk about DC Universe Rebirth #1, Batman Rebirth #1, Superman Rebirth #1, Action Comics #957, and Flash Rebirth #1.

#227 - Media Roundup, Part II (SPOILERS!)

HOSTS: Jared, Shawn

NEWS/TALK: Continuing our wrap-up of comic book movies for the first half of 2016, we've got spoilerific discussion of Deadpool, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Captain America: Civil War!

#226 - Media Roundup, Part I (SPOILERS!)

HOSTS: Dan, Jared, Scott

NEWS/TALK: We had so much to talk about that we had to break it into two episodes! Part I is a discussion of the comic book TV shows of the past year: Flash, Arrow, Supergirl, DC's Legends of Tomorrow, Daredevil, Jessica Jones, The Walking Dead, Fear The Walking Dead, Preacher, and more! 

THERE ARE SPOILERS IN THIS EPISODE!

#225 - 3 Rivers Comicon!

HOSTS: Dan, Scott

NEWS/TALK: A recap of the inaugural 3 Rivers Comicon. We'll just go ahead and spoil it for you, we had a BLAST!

#224 - Free Comic Book Day 2016!

HOSTS: Dan, Scott, Shawn

NEWS/TALK: COMIC BOOK PITT IS BACK!

COMICS: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!