Geek out at Comicpalooza

May is National Geek Month – at least it should be here in southeast Texas.

By the time you read this, three significant events will have passed with one giant one approaching. On May 1 the long awaited movie “Avengers: Age of Ultron” was released. May 2 was Free Comic Book Day. May 4 was Star Wars Day (May the Fourth be with you).

If you happened to miss all of those, fear not for one of the biggest geek events in Texas is approaching at the end of the month in Houston. Comicpalooza is held every Memorial Day weekend (May 22-25) at the George R. Brown Convention Center and this year is a four-day festival that features some of the biggest names in the sci-fi/fantasy entertainment industry.

Comicpalooza (aka the Texas International Comic Con) was started by my friend, John Simons, in 2008 as a simple celebration of comic books held in the lobby of the Alamo Drafthouse Theater in Katy to coincide with the release of “The Dark Knight.”

The next year – my first – it was re-imagined as a two-day comic book festival at West Oaks Mall. It featured comic book artists and creators and included panel discussions and a charity art auction.

It was in 2010 that Comicpalooza came into its own. It moved to the massive George R. Brown Convention Center and became a multi-format convention celebrating comics, sci-fi and fantasy, horror, steam punk, movies, film, cosplay, gaming and more. This is when movie and television stars began headlining along with comic book creators and artists.

The event has grown exponentially since then both in terms of offerings and attendance. Roller derby and professional wrestling have now entered the ring along with artists, writers, animators, celebrities, voice actors, film makers, scientists, astronauts, musicians, athletes, performers, costume designers, prop makers and more. Last year more than 30,000 people attended. That number will undoubtedly expand this year with the lineup already announced.

Among the celebrities attending are comic creator and Marvel mogul Stan Lee; from the Avengers and other Marvel movies, Jeremy Renner “Hawkeye,” Hayley Atwell “Agent Carter,” and Cobie Smulders “Maria Hill”; Peter Meyhew “Chewbacca” from Star Wars; Henry Winkler “Fonzie” from Happy Days; George Takei “Sulu” and Marina Sirtis “Troi” from Star Trek; Linda Blair from The Exorcist; Barry Bostwick and Nell Campbell from Rocky Horror Picture Show; the cast of Gotham; wrestlers Sting and Ted “Million Dollar Man” DiBiase; musician Marky Ramone and many more guests than we can name here.

The festival will use 1.1 million square feet of exhibit and event space, have more than 2,000 hours of programming, and run each day from 10 a.m. until 2 a.m. It is the largest pop-culture event in Texas after Austin’s SXSW.

If you still don’t get it, this is one of those events like San Diego’s Comic-Con where fans come in costumes (or not) and mingle with celebrities, get first looks and insider information on upcoming projects, buy merchandise, compete in contests, play games and just generally have a mind-blowing experience.

I began attending these kinds of conventions back in the early 1990s when they were still primarily Star Trek conventions. I had the honor of proposing to my wife while we stood in line at the first Star Wars Celebration, held in Denver in 1999. Over the years I’ve met and seen more celebrities at these things than I can recall.

I miss the early days when the cons weren’t so big and most celebrities didn’t charge for an autograph and posed freely for photos. Now that is how they are largely compensated for their time.

Still, if you are a fan of the genera, Comicpalooza and other like conventions are a great way to share with likeminded individuals and to meet the stars and creators of your favorite comics, movies and television shows.

Like I said, May should be National Geek Month. And if you happen to miss Comicpalooza, set your phasers for fun on July 24-25 at NRG Center when Space City Comic Con beams in William Shatner as one of its guests.