Fan Expo Philadelphia returned to the Pennsylvania Convention Center on June 2-4, 2023. This was the second con since Fan Expo purchased the show from Wizard World in 2021, and the new ownership brought in a huge crowd. In fact, this was the largest turnout that Scoop has seen for the Philadelphia-based convention in several years.

Creators in attendance included Joe Quesada (former Marvel editor in chief), Dan Slott (Spider-Man), C.B. Cebulski (Marvel editor in chief), Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows), Jim Shooter (former Marvel editor in chief), Mike Hawthrone (Deadpool), J.G. Jones (Wanted), Tim Jacobus (Goosebumps), Jeremy Adams (The Flash), Enid Balám (New Mutants: Lethal Legion), Jim Calafiore (Exiles), Chris Campana (TMNT), Joe Corroney (Star Wars), Asiah Fulmore (Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld), Scott Hanna (Amazing Spider-Man), Tony Harris (Starman), Emma Kubert (Stoneheart), Greg Land (Avengers Beyond), Sean Lewis (King Spawn), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Mark Morales (Avengers), Joe Rubinstein (Infinity Gauntlet), Marguerite Sauvage (Action Comics), Joshua “Sway” Swaby (Catwoman), and Joe Wos (WosToons), among several others.

Celebrity guests were Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Tom Wilson (Back to the Future), Joseph Quinn and Grace Van Dien (Stranger Things), Hayden Christensen, Katee Sackhoff, and Giancarlo Esposito (Star Wars franchise), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead), Charlie Cox and Vincent D’Onofrio (Daredevil), Bonnie Wright (Harry Potter), Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, and Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Henry Winkler (Happy Days), Stephen Amell, Emily Bett Rickards, and David Ramsey (Arrow), Danielle Panabaker (The Flash), Peter Cullen (Transformers), Peter Weller (Robocop), Dante Basco (Hook), Steve Burns (Blues Clues), Rose McIver (Ghosts), Chazz Palminteri (A Bronx Tale), Randy Quaid (National Lampoons Vacation), and Kathleen Herles (Dora the Explorer).

Events were held all weekend, including a special morning event with Peter Cullen and an afternoon event with the cast from Back to the Future. There were panels, demos, and workshops with the celebrity and creator guests, before and after parties, and cosplay contests and a red carpet event. Fan Expo had a family zone for crafts, gaming, and interactive experiences, and multiple stages where fans could see things like Padawn training with the Saber Guild of the Zeffo Temple and Cartoon Academy with Joe Wos. Attendees got an under the sea photo experience, video game play, and a Minecraft builder space.

Comic book dealers are still making up a smaller percentage of vendors than we’d like to see, however, the ones who were there offered everything Golden Age to the most recent titles, $1 back issues to key first appearances. CBCS and CGC were there to accept comic submissions for grading, and publisher Zenescope sold collected editions from their catalog.

Go Collect, NECA, and Paramount Pictures were among the corporate booths. The Jurassic Park jeep and the DeLorean from Back to the Future were displayed and fans could take photos in the vehicles. One vendor displayed costume and prop replicas and another had Lego dioramas of Central Perk from Friends, an Empire cafeteria set up from Star Wars, and replica scenes from Star Trek. Vendors had the usual toys, apparel, video games, Funko Pops, statues, Legos, and prints. They also had shadow boxes, leather works, tiaras and bracelets, and wood signs and topographical maps.

When asked about the weekend, several vendors and artists stated that they were having successful weekends. One vendor stated that he was selling twice as much as he would at another nearby convention, a comic vendor said that he had to refill their long boxes by late morning on Saturday, and an artist talked about selling out of his books. Celebrity guests like Kristin Kreuk and Kathleen Herles said that they were having fun meeting fans and taking in the convention experience.

It was another successful show for Fan Expo with a solid balance of celebrity guests, comic creators, vendors, and activities to entertain thousands of attendees. Fan Expo Philadelphia will return on May 3-5, 2024.

Check out our In the Limelight section for more photos from Fan Expo Philadelphia.