Superheroes, villains, cartoons, action lovers, and Riverdale residents were out in force the weekend of June 1-4, 2017 at Wizard World Philadelphia. Once again the four-day convention was held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center where the con was comfortably spread out in one of the exhibit halls and surrounding meeting rooms.

Artists and writers included Rob Liefeld (Deadpool), Phil Ortiz (The Simpsons), Tom Cook (He-Man), Mike Toth (Disney Feature Animation), Arthur Adams (Fantastic Four), Amy Chu (Poison Ivy), Arthur Suydam (Marvel Zombies), J.G. Jones (Wanted), Steve Geiger (Punisher), Mostafa Moussa (Iron Man), Dean Haspiel (Batman), Danny Fingeroth (The Avengers), Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night), Mike McKone (Teen Titans), Jamal Jones (The Mishaps of Dan), Brendon and Brian Fraim (Knights of the Dinner Table), Samantha K. Riley (Toyle and Trubble), and many others.

(Look for an interview with Amy Chu in our In the Limelight section.)

Media guests were Chuck Norris (Delta Force), Gene Simmons (KISS singer-guitarist), Billie Piper and Pearl Mackie (Doctor Who), John Cusack (Say Anything), Famke Janssen (X-Men), Jesse Eisenberg (Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice), Thomas Ian Nicholas and Jon Heder (Walt Before Mickey), Michael Rooker and Sean Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), Gregg Sulkin (Pretty Little Liars), Holly Marie Combs and Brian Krause (Charmed), Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek), Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, and James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Rider Strong and Will Friedle (Boy Meets World), Ralph Macchio and C. Thomas Howell (The Outsiders), Barry Bostwick (Rocky Horror Picture Show), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Sandy Fox (voice actress The Simpsons), Sean Schemmel (voice actor Dragon Ball Z), and Lex Lang (voice actor LEGO Star Wars), plus Riverdale guests Cole Sprouse, K.J. Apa, Camila Mendes, and Lili Reinhart.

(An interview with Nicholas Brendon is in our In the Limelight section and next week we'll share an interview with Thomas Ian Nicholas.)

Plenty of teens and young adults gathered around the Riverdale tables to meet the cast members. Action movie fans formed a non-stop line to meet action icon Chuck Norris, while music fans enjoyed viewing Gene Simmons’ guitars as they waited to meet the KISS frontman.

Music was a bigger part of the show this year with a featured performance by Gene Simmons at a local bar. A new addition to the Philly show was a main stage where bands like Britishmania, Beatles Tribute Band and White Wedding Band played as well as performances by magician Ari Paul and ventriloquist Scott Capri.

The kids stage area had face painting, puppet shows, and Jedi training. With plenty of fun activities it was a great area for kids to play and enjoy the show away from long lines and the crowd.

Panels and other events included comic teams and characters, demos with artists, writing events, Sci-Fi Speed Dating, cosplay tutorials and convention info, Q&As with guests, trivia, stand-up comedy, hypnotist, tabletop and video gaming, archery tag, and costume contest.

A Horror Fest was also held, which included movie screenings and other special events. Guests for the Horror Fest were Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Chuck Russell (The Mask), Don Dokken (frontman Dokken), Ryan Lambert and Andre Gower (Monster Squad), and Isabela Moner (Transformers: The Last Knight).

The Horror Fest hosted a Monster Squad reunion, feature and short films, Q&A with Kristy Swanson, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors live commentary with Heather Langenamp and live performance by Don Dokken, and a Rocky Horror Picture Show Extravaganza hosted by Barry Bostwick.

Comic vendors throughout the main floor sold everything from Golden Age and rare comics to modern titles, trades, and graphic novels. CBCS and CGC were also at the con talking to collectors about submitting books for grading and preservation.

Many vendors had toys and action figures from Star Wars, The Walking Dead, DC, and Marvel as well as nostalgic memorabilia from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Several vendors had lots of graphic t-shirts, purses, wallets, jewelry, the ever present Funko Pops, and the current trendy toy – fidget spinners. The variety of merchandise provided buying opportunities for all attendees with a range of interests.

However, the 2017 edition of Wizard World Philadelphia hosted an overabundance of filler booths that included banks, insurance companies, cell phone carriers, and pain management groups. Booths like these have a small presence at most major cons, but this show had too many of them. Many of the employees of the companies were aggressive, on the border of harassing attendees. Some shouted at people as they walked through aisles and at least one accosted attendees who were in line to meet guests, asking if they were interested in Lasik.

Despite that frustrating aspect of the show, it was another fun year at Wizard World Philadelphia. Many attendees commented that guests were very friendly and game for conversations with fans. Some vendors stated that the first two days were slow for business but that things picked up significantly by Saturday.

The next Wizard World show will be in Sacramento.

Check out further convention coverage in our In the Limelight section which features more photos of guests, booths, and cosplayers.