1. Two separate local lightsaber combat groups had booths a couple of rows apart: The Nar Shaddaa Temple is the Vegas chapter of the international Saber Guild, and although the organization has only been active since July of last year, members hold regular practices at Desert Breeze Park and have performed at 51s games. While Nar Shaddaa was featured on three official Wizard World panels, the UNLV-based Society of Lightsaber Duelists had to settle for fight demonstrations next to its booth.
2.The winner of Saturday’s costume contest was an extremely elaborate Space Marine from the role-playing game Warhammer 40K, which was impressive mostly for its craftsmanship. I preferred some of the more offbeat costumes, including the Cesar Romero version of the Joker from the 1960s Batman TV series, a stylish take on Will Eisner’s The Spirit, Barf from Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs and a lovely gender-swapped Beetlejuice, complete with spooky flowing dress.
3.At his panel on Saturday afternoon, actor and Kevin Smith muse Jason Mewes touted the crowdfunded Jay and Silent Bob video game Chronic Blunt Punch, wore a Deadpool tank top and was happy to repeat his silly catch phrases to any fan who asked. On Friday afternoon I spotted him making purchases at pop-culture glassware crafters Puppy Bao Creations. Celebrity geeks: They’re just like us.
4.Joseph Scrimshaw has carved out quite a niche for himself as the premier geek-centric comedian; in addition to his half-hour stand-up set featuring jokes about Doctor Who, Star Wars and Batman, he hosted an improv-style game show and a live podcast recording. It was all mildly funny at best, but Scrimshaw clearly knows how to speak his audience’s language.
5.While walking to my car on Friday, I overheard a snippet of a detailed argument about the Star Wars extended universe and whether or not Han Solo and Princess Leia would actually name their son Ben. I looked back expecting to see a pair of Jedi cosplayers, but instead the participants in this discussion were a convention center parking attendant and a security guard. At Wizard World, everyone’s a geek.
