Get weird at the 11th annual Rose City Comic Con
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Costume contest winners at Rose City Comic Con. Photo: Courtesy of Rose City Comic Con
If you see knights, cyborgs, and Jedi roaming the streets this weekend, don't be alarmed.
Driving the news: Over 50,000 entertainment enthusiasts will descend on the Oregon Convention Center starting Friday for the 11th annual Rose City Comic Con festival.
- The event celebrates everything from video games and television shows to live-action role playing and, of course, comic books.
What's happening: Over three days, attendees will have access to celebrity-packed panel discussions, costume contests, film screenings and creative training workshops, including script writing and portfolio reviews by editors from DC Comics.
- Zoe Saldaña and Karen Gillan from "Guardians of the Galaxy" will make an appearance, as will actor Ralph Macchio, alá "The Karate Kid," and "Supernatural" star Felicia Day.
- Dozens of celebrated authors and actors fill the convention's highlighted lineup.
Flashback: The first Rose City Comic Con was held at the DoubleTree hotel near Lloyd Center in 2012 and hosted more than 4,000 fans, but exploded in popularity when local comic book artists Randy Emberlin of "Spider-man" fame and Marvel illustrator Gary Martin started spreading the word.
- In 2022, more than 40,000 fans took over Oregon Convention Center's 44,000-square-foot venue.
The big picture: Comic book fans are not the only ones who attend comic conventions — and it isn't a requirement to dress up in cosplay either.
- Comic conventions such as Portland's have become premier events for lovers of entertainment, but also for the production companies behind them as a way to promote work to wider (and enthusiastic) audiences.
- This year, however, many major studios are sitting out conventions across the country due to writers' and actors' strikes.
Details: Here are a few things during the event that catch our attention.
🌟 An immersive Star Wars Fan Experience will feature a Mandalorian throne (sadly no Pedro Pascal), an X-Wing cockpit and over 3,000 square feet of decked-out Galactic Empire-esque interiors. You may actually believe you're in a galaxy far, far away!
📚 The Rose City Comic Con Book Fair teams up with Powell's Books to host panel discussions with authors like Terry Brooks of the "The Sword of Shannara" series, Seanan McGuire, Annalee Newitz and more.
🎞️ Introduce yourself to new superheroes and villains at GeekFest Film Fests' Saturday evening where filmmakers will preview trailers for up-and-coming horror, action and fantasy movies as well as a selection of short films.