It looks like the Dallas Fan Days is growing, and this year Stan Lee and others are scheduled to be at the show that kicks off on Friday, October 19 and runs through Sunday, October 21, at the Irving Convention Center in Irving, Texas.
How fast has the show grown? In February 10,000 fans went to the show, and then just a few months later in May, attendance grew to 20,000 attendees. Larger crowds means more guests, and the organizers sent a rundown of some of the big names appearing at the convention.
Friday attendees will be among the first to witness the reunion of Star Wars bad boys Ian McDiarmid and Dave Prowse, who led the evil empire as “The Emperor Palpatine” and “Darth Vader,” respectively, in several of the popular movies. Also on hand Friday to sign autographs and meet fans will be actors Anne Lockhart from the original Battlestar Galactica and Donnie Dunagan, the voice of “Bambi” in the Disney classic. Fans unable to attend on Friday can catch all four actors on Saturday and Sunday.
Returning for his third appearance at our shows is Stan Lee, co-creator and writer of the Amazing Spider-man, Iron Man, Thor, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk and X-Men. In addition to being the former president of Marvel Comics, he’s well known in the industry as a writer, editor, actor, producer and publisher. Mr. Lee will sign autographs all three days and conduct a Q&A session at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the fourth-floor auditorium.
The three-day event will feature 300 vendor booths in the exhibit hall and fourth floor lobby, as well as two dozen artists, including Ralph Bakshi, award-winning animator and director of Fritz the Cat, Heavy Traffic and Wizards; legendary artist Al Plastino, co-creator of Supergirl, Brainiacs and Legion of Super-Heroes; and Eisner Award-winner Frank Cho, creator and artist of Liberty Meadows.
Mr. Campbell, who stars as “Sam Axe” in television’s Burn Notice, appears Saturday only. He also played “Ash” in the Evil Dead series, and starred in Bubba Ho-Tep, Sam Raimi’s Spider-man movies and Sky High. In addition to signing autographs, Mr. Campbell will do a Q&A session starting at noon Saturday.
Media guests appearing Saturday and Sunday include Robert Englund of “Freddy Krueger” fame; Lance Henriksen, best known as “Bishop” in the Alien movies; Felicia Day from The Guild; and Sean Astin, who played “Sam” in The Lord of the Rings movies. Also, voice actress Tara Strong, whose credits include My Little Pony and Rugrats, Steven Yeun from The Walking Dead, and Warehouse 13 actor Eddie McClintock.
Making a rare convention appearance will be Gina Torres from the short-lived but highly popular Firefly series/Serenity movie, along with her on-screen husband, Alan Tudyk. Also appearing both days are Starship Troopers stars Dina Meyer and Casper Van Dien.
Those are some big names for a show of this size, and the price is reasonable as a three-day pass will only set you back $60.00.
