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Fan Expo returns to New Orleans, Jan. 6-8, offering fans of comic books, video games, movies, TV and anime the biggest event since the COVID pandemic.
The comics and pop culture convention will take place Jan. 6-8 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and feature celebrity guests including “Stranger Things” season four star Joseph Quinn and acclaimed director Sam Raimi The Devil and the Spider-Man trilogy.
“Last year, we were disappointed that this event happened to be at the tail end of the COVID experience we all shared,” said Andrew Moyes, vice president of Fan Expo. “
In addition to hosting celebrity guests, the annual event is a celebration of New Orleans’ homegrown pop culture, featuring dozens of local artists, vendors and cosplayers.
“These events are driven by the community. They’re driven by the enthusiasm of the fans,” Moyes said. “It’s really our responsibility to create that playground.”
Meet Carl Weathers
Among the guests will be New Orleans native Carl Weathers, who reprises his role as Apollo Creed on “The Predator,” “Happy Madison,” “Arrested Development” and most notably the “Rocky” series and famous. Withers most recently appeared in the Star Wars streaming series “The Mandalorian.”
While other cast members, like guest Henry Winkler (“Happy Days”), attend such meetings as “a weekly adventure,” for Weathers it’s a special opportunity to get back to his Hometown, where he attended St. Augustine High School on an athletic scholarship before playing football at San Diego State University and later with the Oakland Raiders.
According to Weathers, his interactions with fans at events like Fan Expo narrowed the gap between the characters he played and the ones he influenced, something he struggled to do once a project hit the stage of public opinion. at this point.
“You don’t get this kind of informative feedback like when you meet someone and they shake your hand or hug you, and they’re telling you face-to-face, first-hand, about their experience with the program,” Weathers said.
“When they enjoy and love the projects, that feels good. Sometimes, when they don’t like a particular project, it’s valuable as an artist, as a craftsman, to hear that and understand why.”
local artist
Fan Expo attracts many local artists, including New Orleans native cartoonist Tim Lattie.
A graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, Ratti has created artwork for a number of comic book series, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, and G.I.O.
“I want to paint my childhood. I want to be involved with the things that affect me,” Ratti said.
Archbishop Rummel High School alumni join other local artists and vendors in Fan Expo as a networking opportunity and an opportunity to showcase their art.
Lattie has attended the convention since 2011 at Wizarding World New Orleans. He says it’s a big part of getting his art in front of new people, receiving feedback in a way that’s more tactile than interacting on the internet.
“When you’re a novelist, or writing a book, or making art, a lot of the time you’re working in silence, and you don’t know what the response is going to be with what you’re doing,” Ratti said. “It’s so cool to see people come up and ask questions … that’s your moment.”
Fan Expo New Orleans tickets are available at fanexpohq.comand Jan. 6-8 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
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