Comicpalooza, the Texas International Comic Con is the best
and biggest annual multi-format pop culture convention in the US southwest
region. It takes place on May 25-27 at the George R Brown Convention Center in
Houston, but has Austin connections. This year, there is a great variety of talent
participating, as well as the Badass Celebrity Smackdown.
Just to name a few of the artists, writers, voice actors,
gaming and entertainers appearing include Michael Biehn (Terminator, Alien),
Christopher Judge (Stargate SG-1 and the upcoming THE DARK KNIGHT RISES),
Rachel Lutrell (Stargate Atlantis) Kristen Bauer (True Blood) and Claudia
Christian (Babylon 5) and Nadya Sonika, Mexican cosplayer, TV host and model. Local
talent attending includes voice actor Samantha Inoue-Harte, who heads her own
Austin-based studio and teaches at the Art Institute of Austin, and is an Art
Attack, quarterfinalist of America's Got Talent in 2010.
Heroes for Heroes: The Badass Celebrity Smackdown is a
charity event held at Comicpalooza that benefits Impact a Hero, a non-profit
organization that provides emotional and financial support to severely wounded
veterans from post 911 conflicts. In
addition to the heroes event, there will be a villain event as well. “The next
best thing to being a sci-fi or action hero has to be shooting a sci-fi or
action hero with a gun. Or maybe being shot by one,” says John Simons, founder
and Chairman of Comicpalooza, the Texas International Comic Con. At least
that’s the premise that led to the Badass Celebrity Smackdown, in which fans
attending Comicpalooza May 25 - 27 will get their chance to pit themselves
against stars of some of the biggest sci-fi and action franchises in Hollywood
while helping US veterans at the same time.
Celebrities participating in the charity events are: Michael
Biehn (Terminator, Aliens), Claudia Christian (Babylon 5), David Della Rocco
(Boondock Saints), Sean Patrick Flanery (Boondock Saints), Richard Hatch
(Battlestar Galactica), Christopher Judge (Stargate SG-1), Richard LeParmentier
(Star Wars), Rachel Lutrell (Stargate Atlantis) and Kevin Sorbo (Hercules,
Andromeda).
In the heroes event, fans will have the chance to shoot or
be shot by their favorite heroes in a once-in-a-lifetime game of laser tag.
There will be two heroes games of laser tag. To qualify for one of the fan
teams, a fan may either make a $300 donation to Impact a Hero to reserve one of
the fixed spots, or win one of several open spots that will be raffled off at
the Impact a Hero booth from among all the fans making donations over the
convention weekend.
Richard LeParmentier will be featured in the villains event
where he will lead a team of the 501st Stormtroopers against fans. There will
be one villain game on Friday and one on Saturday, while the heroes games will
both take place on Sunday, May 27. Fans will be able to register for the
villain game on site immediately before it takes place. Registration for the
Heroes event will be on the Comicpalooza website. For more information on
Impact a Hero go to impactahero.org.
Actor Christopher Judge has acted in a variety of films
(House Party 2, A Dog’s Breakfast), television shows (Andromeda,), animated
series (X-Men: Evolution, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) and video
games (Def Jam Vendetta, Turok), but he’s undoubtedly best known for his work
as Teal’c on the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1, on which he has appeared more
often than any of the show’s other actors.
Christopher Judge (Stargate SG-1), who will be participating
in the Comicpalooza events said during our telephone interview that he was
really looking forward to attending. “It is my first time to attend. I have
been to other cons, but first here. I have already been a fan of it, but my
schedule had not worked out before to be there.”
Noting the exuberance in his voice, I asked what it means
for him to participate in the events. “For me personally, it is the opportunity
to meet the fans and say thanks for a decade of support. I am appreciative of
them taking the time from their day to watch the show.”
He is also scheduled to participate in the Heroes for
Heroes: The Badass Celebrity Smackdown for the non-profit and we discussed the
upcoming event. “I did not know about it before, but once I knew, it was a
no-brainer for me. These young men and women are giving their lives for us and
anything that I can do, I will.”
Of all the activities scheduled for the three day
convention, we talked about what excites him about going to Comicpalooza. “The
opportunity to say ‘thank you;’ it is an old age adage, but it needs to be
remembered. Without fans, there is no us.”
The official website www.comicpalooza.com/
contains the complete line-up of talent, artists, and the diverse events during
the three day convention.
