Dragon Con is Coming

Dragon Con is coming...

For those who aren't familiar with this convention, it's an ENORMOUS fan convention held in Atlanta every Labor Day weekend. I was lucky enough to attend my first Dragon Con in 2014. I had such a blast, checking out cosplay, browsing art and amazing vendors, attending panels and meeting so many cool people. And there's not a moment that's gone by, I haven't thought about how amazing Dragon Con was. I've been trying to get back ever since I left.

Here we are three years later and I'm FINALLY headed back. I couldn't be more excited to be emersed in this insane amount of fandom all over again.

Even better, I'm going to be sharing my experiences at Dragon Con with the readers of Critical Blast! There will be interviews, live tweeting, live streaming, AMAZING cosplay and so much more. Make sure you're following all of Critical Blast's social media streams to keep up with all the awesome things happening.

For glimpse of all the fantastic things set to descend on Atlanta, check out the press release below. I'll see you all live from Dragon Con Labor Day weekend!

- JK Elison

Guests from Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Game of Thrones, Dr. Who,
and other top television shows and movies will meet their fans at Dragon Con.

ATLANTA – July 25, 2017 – Stan Lee, creator of some of the best-known comic book superheroes, and Lena Headey, the icy Lannister queen from HBO’s Game of Thrones, lead a long list of celebrity guests headed to Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy, science fiction, and gaming convention, for Labor Day weekend.

Other top guests from television and movies including William Shatner, Karl Urban, Matt Smith, Ming-Na Wen, Alex Kingston, John Barrowman, Michael Rooker, Nathan Fillion, and Peter Mayhew will be among the fan favorites on hand to lead discussions, talk with fans, and sign autographs during the four-day convention.
An estimated 82,000 people are expected to attend Dragon Con 2017, filling downtown Atlanta over the four-day Labor Day Weekend – Sept. 1 - Sept. 4 – with events and activities across AmericasMart Buildings #1 and #2 and five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Sheraton Atlanta.

Muppeteer Martin P. Robinson, best known for performing Mr. Snuffleupagus, Telly Monster, and Slimey the Worm on Sesame Street since 1981, and Lisa Henson, chief executive of The Jim Henson Company, lead a strong cast of puppetry guests.

Star Trek fans will be able to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: The Next Generation with several of the show’s main characters including Jonathan Frakes, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, and Marina Sirtis.

Jon Heder, from cult classic Napoleon Dynamite, and Michael Rosenbaum, Lex Luthor from television’s Smallville, will emcee The Chôsen costume competition at the Georgia Aquarium on Saturday, Sept. 2.
Shatner played Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek television series. Urban plays Dr. “Bones” McCoy in
the rebooted Star Trek movies.

Smith was the Eleventh Doctor in the long-running BBC series Doctor Who. Other Doctor Who guests
include companions John Barrowman, Alex Kingston, Karen Gillan, and Billie Piper.
Gillan also joins Michael Rooker and Sean Gunn representing the Guardians of the Galaxy movie
franchise.

Fillion is known for his role as Mal Reynolds from the cancelled-too-soon television series Firefly as well
as the title character from ABC’s Castle.

Wen plays pilot and weapons expert Melinda May in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. She is also a
successful voice actress, best known as the speaking voice of Mulan in the Disney franchise.
Fans of the Star Wars franchise can meet Peter Mayhew, who created the role of Chewbacca for the
1977 film and has played the character in a total of five movies to date.

Celebrating 20 years of the movie Starship Troopers, the satirical science fiction action film, main cast
members Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, and Patrick Muldoon will join fans at Dragon Con.
Representing classic science fiction from 1970s and 1980s, Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, and Felix Silla from
NBC’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century will be on hand. This is the first time all three main cast members
have appeared at Dragon Con together.

“We are delighted to have so many guests from so many of today’s most popular or, in the case of
classic science fiction, best loved shows and movies to join us this year,” convention co-chair Rachel
Reeves said. “Overall, we will have some 400 guests – actors, authors, artists and other creators and
experts – from across science, science fiction, and fantasy worlds, in whatever medium.”

This year’s convention will also feature main cast members from some of the most popular television
shows including Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D on ABC, CW’s “Arrow-verse” (Arrow, Flash, and Legends
of Tomorrow), Fox’s Lucifer; Syfy’s Wynonna Earp, CW’s Reign, Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, and CW’s The 100.
Other classic science fiction and fantasy television is also well represented, including Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, Sailor Moon, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Gene Rodenberry’s Andromeda, and the Battlestar
Galactica franchise.

About Dragon Con
Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day in
Atlanta. Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than 3,000 hours of comics, film, television,
costuming, art, music, and gaming over four days. For more information, please visit
www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.