WDW Daily News

Wizard World Comic Con Chicago is almost upon us, and fans of the Midwest’s largest pop culture festival is ready for another banner year. Four-day general admission passes have SOLD OUT, but individual single-day and most VIP admissions are still available.

With a powerhouse lineup of celebrity guests that includes Jeremy Renner (Avengers), Norman Reedus (“The Walking Dead”), Nathan Fillion (“Castle”), Stephen Amell (“Arrow”), Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead), Burt Reynolds (Smokey and the Bandit), Ben McKenzie (“Gotham”), WWE® Superstar Undertaker® and many more, interest in Wizard World’s flagship show is higher than ever.

Single-day tickets for Saturday, August 22, are almost gone too, as are some VIP packages.

All paid attendees also receive the highly collectible exclusive limited edition variant cover of The Walking Dead #1, drawn by Whilce Portacio (VIP’s get a second black & white sketch cover too!).

Click here for a review of all available tickets, but don’t wait, because Wizard World Comic Con Chicago, Thursday through Sunday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center is proving to be the hottest ticket in town.

Q&A sessions with Jeremy Renner ( Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation), Burt Reynolds ( Smokey and the Bandit), Stephen Amell (“Arrow”), Emilie de Ravin ( “Once Upon a Time”), Ian Somerhalder (“The Vampire Diaries”), Tobin Bell ( Saw, Saw II), WWE® Superstar Daniel Bryan™ and Diva Paige™, Milo Ventimiglia (“Gilmore Girls,” “Heroes”), Caroll Spinney (Voice Actor/Puppeteer – “Sesame Street”), Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead), Michael Rooker (“The Walking Dead,” Guardians of the Galaxy), costume contests, comics-themed sessions and more are among the programming panels scheduled at Wizard World Comic Con Chicago, August 20-23 at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. Most programming is included as part of the standard event admission.

Some highlights of the more than 120 hours of programming scheduled include:

• Interactive Q&As with Renner (Sunday, 2:15 p.m.), Reynolds (Saturday, 2:15 p.m.), Amell (Saturday, noon), Ventimiglia (Friday, 5 p.m.), de Ravin (Sunday, 11:15 a.m.), Somerhalder (Saturday, 11 a.m.), Bell (Friday, 6 p.m), Spinney (Friday, 3 p.m.), Rooker (Sunday 12:30 p.m.), Kristy Swanson (Sunday, 2:30 p.m.), Brett Dalton (Saturday, 4 p.m.), Scott Wilson (Friday, 4 p.m.), Jodie Sweetin (Saturday, 6 p.m.) and others

• Dual Q&A sessions with “Serenity”/Firefly trio Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau , and Adam Baldwin (Saturday, 3 p.m.), “Doctor Who” duo Billie Piper and Arthur Darvill (Sunday, 11:30 a.m.), survive the streets of Gotham with Ben McKenzie and Sean Pertwee (Sunday, 1:15 p.m.), and The Boondock Saints tandem Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocco (Sunday, noon)

• Evil Dead I & II reunion hosted by Campbell, featuring Danny Hicks, Betsy Baker, Sarah Berry, Kassie De Paiva, Ted Raimi and others (Saturday, 5 p.m.)

• Screenings of “Supergirl” presented by CBS 2 (Saturday, 1 p.m.) and “Scream Queens” presented by FOX 32 (Saturday, 2:30 p.m.)

• Join the master of horror, Eli Roth and the star of The Green Inferno, Lorenza Izzo , for an exclusive preview of the film (Sunday, 2 p.m.)

• Go to Hell and Back with comedian Nick Swardson (Saturday, 5:30 p.m.)

• Meet & Greet with Ian Somerhalder, Damon Salvatore himself (Saturday, 10 a.m.) (Paid event)

• World Of Warcraft Composer Jason Hayes and his video game tribute band ‘Critical Hit’ perform original arrangements and electrifying live concerts of music from the most celebrated videogames of all time (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.)

• Comics-themed sessions with Tom Cook (Saturday, 4:30; Sunday, noon), storytelling with Michael Golden (Saturday, 4 p.m.), learn how to write comics with “Green Arrow’s” Mike Grell, “Billy Dogma’s” Dean Haspiel and “Archie’s” Barbara Slate, “Batman Adventures’” Ty Templeton and “Spider-Man’s” Danny Fingeroth (Saturday, 5:30 p.m.), “Beloved Villains” with Genese Davis, Adam G. Simon, Eric Kieron Davis (Friday, 6:30 p.m.), and others

• CONtv Presents a Q&A session with Green Power Ranger Jason David Frank (“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”) (Saturday, 3 p.m.). Then join him for the ‘Green Power Ranger Half-Hour of Power’ karate class for all ages (Sunday, 1:30 p.m.)

• Step into the ring with WWE® Superstar Daniel Bryan™ (Thursday, 8 p.m.), WWE® Diva Paige™ (Friday, 7 p.m.)

• Costume contests for adults (Saturday, 7 p.m.) and kids (Sunday, 3:30 p.m.), plus cosplay-themed sessions with Wizard World personality Damian Beurer (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and others

• Meet-and-greets with Jason David Frank (Saturday, 5:30 p.m./Sunday 11 a.m.) (Paid events)

Unless noted, programming events take place in the designated General Programming Rooms at the Greater Chicago Convention Center. VIP tickets or additional costs may apply to ensure access to select activities, as noted.

A full list of Wizard World Chicago Comic Con programming is available at http://www.wizardworld.com/programming-chicago.html (subjects, guests, times and rooms subject to change).

Wizard World Chicago Comic Con is the 15th of 24 events currently scheduled in the 2015 series produced by Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD). For more on the event, visit www.wizardworld.com/home-chicago.html