August 8th, 2007 - We are t-minus one to preview day and Comic Related has wandered 6.5 hours north of it's usual base of operations arriving in Chicago just after lunch today. We've set up shop just across the street from the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in the fine French themed Sofitel Hotel Resort. Even though tomorrow is the official preview night for this year's show, we came up a day early to scope out the lay of the land and see what we could see as Wizard World takes shape here in the windy city.

What did we see? Comics... Lots of comics! Retailers are building their displays and unloading their wares by the truckload. Comic companies are setting up their displays, artist alley is beginning to form and everything is in motion. Our roving camera took a quick peek behind the curtain to give you a bit of a preview of the great things to come. It's the show before the show as we unveil our photo parade from the day before the Wizard World Chicago...

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The convention center was loaded today and Wizard World wasn't the only show in town. In addition we have Stitches Midwest 2007 (yep, a knitting convention), the Midwest Security and Police Conference/Expo and the World Anti-Aging Congress and Exposition. The massive convention center easily accommodates each of these shows while Wizard World takes shape.

August 8th, 2007 - After a late dinner I wandered back down to the convention floor to see how much progress had been made. It looked like they had shut down for the evening with only guards watching the Wizard arch. As I was leaving I bumped into an Ipod laden Eric Maruscack checking out the set-up. He and I spoke and I learned that Eric does large comic art reproductions in chalk. Check out some of his work in this video from Wizard World LA...

After sharing photos of some of his work, he let me know that he'll be doing chalk promotions outside the event for two upcoming video game titles. He'll also unveil some additional comic related work at his booth [# 148]. Learn more about Eric and his work at the Pepper Ink website [link]. We'll share photos of his work as the weekend gets underway!

August 8th, 2007 - It's not uncommon for convention fans to walk away with some unusual comics during a show. Our first comic of Wizard World Chicago was actually a freebie we found waiting for us at the registration desk (open only to retailers today). There sat stacks of the official Wizard World Chicago program (rendered in a comic format) await the coming throngs of comic fans. One person working the desk estimated 62,000 attendees were here last year. We're excited to see what the weekend holds for 2007.

Getting back to the program, we're pleased to share the Green Lantern laden cover [pictured right] and the official welcome page [pictured above] from this event kickoff issue.

We're now counting down the hours to preview night. We'll see what's happening on the convention floor in the morning, pick up our credentials for the weekend and get to work sharing all the details, interviews, news and photos again tomorrow. The registration desk opens at 8:00 AM and the three hour preview night officially begins at 4:00 PM. It's almost time to have some real fun!

August 8th, 2007 - Click here for a complete recap of all the latest news, press releases and story pointers for set-up day (Wednesday) at Wizard World Chicago.

August 9th, 2007, 10:00 AM - Wizard World Chicago is certainly starting to take shape. Down on the convention floor this morning, it looks like the dealers are outpacing the companies just a bit in terms of display set-up, but we're still six hours away from the public unveiling. We're certain everything will fall right into place. The convention hall is massive and it's filled to the brim with comics, toys, statues, displays, creators, companies and more. Here's a taste of just some of the sights we took in just moments ago as everyone unpacks and sets up here in Chicago...

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August 9th, 2007, 12:00 PM - The convention hall lights are much brighter now as the pace of work within the various booths builds. We're just four hours away from the doors opening and we'll be right there when it happens bringing you all the details. While you wait, here's a new set of photos from the pre-convention floor at Wizard World Chicago...

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August 9th, 2007, 9:00 PM - It was amazing to watch this convention come together in the final hours before the doors opened. At the 60 minute mark, there were crews still laying the carpet for the show floor as items for display were being feverishly unboxed. Talk about clockwork precision... by the time the final 5 minutes arrived, the isles were cleared, the retailer booths were fired up and the company booths seemed to suddenly exploded with life. It was like a final peg fell into place and the hall came together just before fans flooded the show floor. Before we start our preview night coverage (what a comic star parade that proved to be), lets share our third and final set of pre-show photos...

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August 9th, 2007, 11:45 PM - At 4:00 PM, the doors were opened and the first fans hit the floor for Wizard World Chicago 2007. Here are those first fans...

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Wandering the hall, we bumped into or passed by quite a few interesting individuals. Let's run through who we spotted by way of a photo flood...

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Sean McKeever (Countdown, Titans)	Paul Levitz (DC President)	James Abrams Brett Marting (Archaic)	Lou Ferrigno (TV's Incredible Hulk)
Meeting DC Vice President-Direct Sales Bob Wayne	Will Pfeifer (Catwoman, Amazons Attack)	The Mighty Ink Comics Team	Fat Momma (Who Wants to be a Superhero?)
Jim Calafiore (left)... (DC Countdown)	...and Jim Starlin (right) (Dreadstar, legend!)	Brian Defferding (Deftoons Comics)	Ethan Van Sciver (Green Lantern)
Rob Liefeld (Onslaught Reborn)	Manning the Hero Initiative Desk	Eric Hutchins Matt Anderson (White Picket Fences)	Paul Jenkins shooting a little pool
Dan Didio and Paul Levitz (Pure DC power!)	Bob Wayne checking out the latest	Jacen Burrows (Scars, Wormwood)	Mitch Breitweiser (Annihilation)
	Todd Gnacinski (Satellite State)	Mike Dolce (The Sire)

I know many people coming to Wizard World are excited by the big name creators, the top tier artists and the better known comic companies. Each of these areas of interest are certainly well represented here in Chicago. Much to our pleasant surprise most of hose individuals aren't just here, they're utterly easy to access and to get to know. We had no trouble talking with several big name talent this evening.

Meeting creative people is certainly part of the fun for a convention. That said, don't let the big names distract you from another great part of this show (and I'm not just talking about the ample opportunity to spend money). I'd like to personally invite you to make your way to the back of the hall and spend a few hours really getting to know the people that populate Artist's Alley. Sure there are some names you'll recognize (hooking up with Angel Medina made my day), but it's those names you don't know that have some really incredible stories to share. My time spent with people I didn't know at the start of the day may have been the most rewarding part of my preview night at Wizard World. I've already expanded my reading pile with a few new titles (James Abrams and Brett Marting's Archaic [link] by Fenickx Comics and Mike Dolce's The Sire [link] by After Shock Comics just to name two). We'll be spending a lot more time in Artist's Alley over the next three days and reporting back to you on everything we learn!

For the show floor only being open for three hours this evening, there was a lot packed into that time! The game of pool was shot for a good cause at the Hero Initiative booth. Tons of new products were previewed (some of which... Shazam Family Action figures for example ...will be a available before the weekend is done) with Mattel and DC Direct serving up two of the most impressive displays. Mountains of free comics and promo materials (thank you Dark Horse, Ape Entertainment, DC Comics, Zenescope, M-Pact Films and many others) were handed out. Piles of comics were signed by the likes of Ethan Van Shiver (he's doing sketches!), Sean McKeever, Will Pfeifer, Rob Liefeld, Paul Levitz, Jim Calafiore and Jim Starlin. Over in the dealers are there are some real steals as many dealers opened strong with discounts and blow your mind sales. Our big score this evening was a slick original art page from Power of Shazam #41. We have a real soft spot for anything depicting the "big red cheese" and the Marvel family. If you're an action figure buff, the show has more figures than I've seen in a while and a few vendors had literal seas of Heroclix figurines.

Maybe I just missed them, but conspicuously absent from the con is Image Comics and IDW Publishing. Also, there wasn't any real activity in the Marvel area this evening. Their display was pretty quiet with the exception of a video monitor and a Marvel rep collecting address and survey info in exchange for a variant comic. Some Wizard folks utilizing their vacant seats for an interview. Yes, DC really jumped in with both barrels from the start here in Chicago, but we're betting we will see the Marvel lion roar before the weekend is done.

Time tonight is too short to go through everything, but have no fear that we will roll it into our coverage complete before we're done. All in all, we talked to a lot of people today laying the groundwork for a TON of exciting content for this site. We can honestly tell you that the stories some of these creators told and the reviews we have planned will give us weeks of fun content to exhaust once this show is done. This is already an exciting show and it's just getting started. Here at Wizard World, we're finding that almost EVERYTHING is Comic Related and that's a very good thing!

August 9th, 2007 - Click here for a complete recap of all the latest news, press releases and story pointers for Thursday at Wizard World Chicago.

August 10th, 2007, 4:00 PM - I took a break from the convention floor fun to post a few costume photos from Friday at Wizard World Chicago. There's a wide mix of heroes (and villains) represented at this years's show. Here's a brief look...

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We'll return with all the details from Friday at Wizard World later today!

August 10th, 2007, 8:00 PM - I'll kick off our Friday wrap-up with a gallery loaded with a mix of sights from the first full day of Wizard World Chicago...

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David Finch (Moon Knight)	Michael Golden (Comic Legend)	Jamal Igle (Nightwing)	Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets, Loveless)
Joe Quesada hosts... (Marvel's Main Man)	...the X-Men Panel...	...wuestions, anyone?	DC direct upcoming treats unveiled
John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men)	Christina Strain and Adrian Alphona	Greg Horn (Marvel cover master)	Starro invades the world of HeroClix
Angel Medina (Mighty Avengers)	Arthur Suydam (Marvel Zombies)	Jeremy Haun (New Excalibur)	Franchesco! (She Dragon)
Jeffrey Kaufman (Big City Comics)	Rob Richardson and Jason Embury (Big City Comics)	The Top Shelf booth	Noel Neill (TV's original Lois Lane)
A little chalk art outside the show	Action figures a plenty	Dean Mitchell (Star Wars III)	Star Wars is in the house
A very serious game of connect four	Best comic sales pitch of 2007	Karaoke with assistance from Yoda	Looking back on the show floor
Doug Wangler (Star Wars Quinlan Vos)	M. Sean McManus (Mark Grimm)	Kevin Freeman (Subculture)	Billy Tucci (Shi)

August 10th, 2007, 10:30 PM - Today I was only able to take in one panel; the Marvel X-Men panel. It's not that I couldn't get into the other sessions. Had I wanted to attend, there was certainly room if you arrived just a little early. No, I just had other targets on my agenda which I'll discuss momentarily.

The crowd today was pretty heavy but, much to my surprise, when lines existed they were pretty easy to negotiate. If you just watched to the crowd flow, it was easy to get access to many of the creators and artists. Case in point, I was able to walk right up to Nightwing artist Jim Igle and get a sketch with only two people in front of me. It took maybe five minutes total and I walked away with a prize drawing of Justice League of America villain Despero (I asked him to draw anything he wanted and that was his choice) for which he has my sincere thanks.

What did I do today? Today I found myself happily tied up with some really interesting people. I spent much of my day meeting with creators I promised to visit prior to arriving in Chicago (though I haven't found everyone yet) and spent some time getting to know several new small press folks and the companies they're developing. I'll take those meetings and create larger stories for you to enjoy following the event.

One not so small press company taking shape right now is Big City Comics [link]. I had a long talk toward the end of the day with Jeffrey Kaufman (pictured right) learning all about his new publishing effort. Big City Comics is coming out of the gate strong with a new group of interconnected titles that look really sharp. Their creative team has come together after climbing out of the Image Comics stable and striking out on their own. To hear Jeff explain it, they couldn't be happier to be in control of their own destiny.

You remember Mario Gully's Image title Ant? That title has made the move to Florida based Big City Comics and it's promising to be a no holds barred, probably getting poly bagged as we speak, unedited classic in the making! It's Ant the way Mario always wanted to tell the tale which should prove unforgettable to say the least.

Big City will have a nice spread in Diamond and we think you're going to be hearing a lot about their company in the months ahead. Jeff, quite candidly, shared a lot in terms of his experience with the industry and his vision for the future of Big City. We liked what we heard and we here at Comic Related plan to keep an eye on this new company. Add to this the fact that they didn't give me any grief after my I accidentally knocked over Jason Embury's ink taking a seat they offered scores him some VERY high marks in my book. That easily took the cake as my most embarrassing moment of the convention so far. Nevertheless, very soon, we'll do an in depth story taking a deeper look at their titles, their company and their creative talent.

Changing gears just a little, in last night's update, I commented on Marvel's thin presence for Thursday's preview night. It appears Joe Quesada (pictured left from today's panel) is a bit ill. Even given his condition, he was there like a trooper taking the lead during the X-Men panel holding in a bit of a cough. Add to that the fact that the main heart of the Marvel crew was waylaid in New York with flight issues due to weather and all was explained. Yep, all we needed was Joe to set the record straight.

During the X-Men panel, the company presented a solid powerpoint art display from upcoming books and pointed to Messiah Complex as a major turning point in X-Men history, but much as was the case at Comic-Con, they had to remained tight lipped on specifics.

Some of the best moments from this panel actually happened before it started as New X-Men artist and Chicago resident Skottie Young (pictured right from today's panel) discussed his passion for Harry Potter, how he listens to the audio books while working (and constantly wants to sneak Snape into the New X-Men storyline), where to find the best food in Chicago, the nature of bad pizza, hot dogs, what his girlfriend's ring tone sounds like, how she reads the Potter books aloud in an English accent (freaking him out) and much more. He stepped up to bat and hit a home run with the crowd from the very start of the panel.

Following the presentation, the panel took questions from the audience. Joe got a bit sidetracked by a fan's question and spoke quite openly about Spider-Man's marriage and how he felt the title would be better if it didn't exist. He considered it one of three things he most wanted to correct when he first came on board with Marvel as Editor in Chief. Joe went into a lot of detail about why you can't just kill Mary Jane or divorce Spider-Man. It's a tough situation to fix, but fixing it is something he and several previous Marvel Editors knew needed to be done as the marriage clearly limits the stories that can be told. Joe made a passionate and solid argument against the marriage, fended off counterpoints from the audience and swayed this readers opinion.

What were the other two things Quesada felt needed fixing at Marvel? First, there were way too many mutants (we've been saying that for years) and Decimation reduced the mutant population to their original numbers taking them back to their conceptual roots. Once again, the X-Men can serve as a persecuted minority trying to do good in a world that hates and fears them. Secondly, Joe felt from day one that they had to shake up the familiarity of the Marvel Universe. Gone are they days when the heroes know each other intimately , have each others phone numbers on speed dial and everyone knows what to expect from Marvel heroes. Joe was clearly pleased with the way Civil War changed everything and freshened up the stories which could be told. He pointed out that only a few years ago, this panel would have played to a half full room. Now he's speaking to a packed house. He may take a lot of heat for these moves, but he's certainly put passion back into the heart of fans and that keeps the industry energized.

During the X-Men panel, one of the Newsarama reports hinted to those of us around him that there may be a unannounced Dark Knight panel this weekend. We'd already heard that a full teaser trailer (not the one shown at Comic-Con) may be rolled out sometime during the remaining two days, but a possible panel with the stars would be a nice twist. The fact that filming for this next Batman film is taking place in Chicago makes this a teaser hint to keep an eye out for this weekend.

In other news... We have a lot more stories to tell, but tonight isn't that night. There's a lot of coverage on the web this evening giving full blow-by-blows of all the major panels. We'd like to take a moment, say thanks to those writers and promise that we won't duplicate that effort here. We've linked to all the main stories over on our news page [link] to give you a nice mix of one stop shopping. Our only question to the other news outlets... Where've you been? It was getting pretty lonely serving as the only coverage in town up to this morning. We're glad you could join us and pleased to see this convention is getting the coverage it deserves.

After three days of coverage (yes, we actually started way back on Wednesday) it's a nice spot to pause and take stock of how far we've come. We've been rolling out multiple updates each day and, so far, we've shared 135 photos from the event in our mini-galleries. Since we haven't even hit the halfway point for this show we can safely say, you haven't seen anything yet!

August 10th, 2007 - Click here for a complete recap of all the latest news, press releases and story pointers for Friday at Wizard World Chicago.

August 11th, 2007, 6:00 PM - Let's roll right into our Saturday coverage with a few costume photos from Wizard World Chicago. Here's a look at some of today's memorable costumes...

Click on any thumbnail to see the full size photo!

August 11th, 2007, 9:00 PM - I'll kick off our Saturday wrap-up with a gallery loaded with a mix of sights from day two at Wizard World Chicago...

Click on any thumbnail to see the full size photo!

Classic comic art	Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage)	Andy Brase (Fantasy/Horror/ Sci-fi/SuperHero artist)	Tom Nguyen (artist and illustrator)
Superfan Homepage well represented	Peter Steigerwald (Aspen Comics)	Micah Gunnell (Aspen Comics)	David Finch (Moon Knight)
Anthony and Myke Feinman (Ink & Feathers Comics)	Eric Maruscack chalk work in the AM	Eric Maruscack chalk work in the PM	The crew behind Strongarm from Image
DC/Marvel/Crossgen Inker Drew Geraci	Tony Moore hard at work	Aspen Comics Michael Turner	Andre Parks pleasing fans
Living with Zombies creator Matt Billman	Fangoria Comics hosts Michael Madsen	J. Scott Campbell (Spider-Man Artist)	The ever stately Lois Lane, Ms. Noel Neill
Costume contest underway	Yes folks, that is...	...Apocalypse on an escalator	Lines proved to be a bit longer today

August 11th, 2007, 11:00 PM - It was clear from the moment I made it to the convention floor that the crowds were heavier and today the show should see its largest attendance of the weekend. The day also played host to the Wizard World costume contest featuring over $1000 in prizes. The show floor was full of colorful fans (and we're not just talking about their clothing). Capes and spandex clad attendees were everywhere and the range of characters depicted was really quite broad celebrating film, television, golden, silver and modern age comics. Fans really seemed to relish in the the diversity of costumes. I don't know how those dressed up enjoyed the show with all the individuals (myself included) stopping then to snap photos. Flash bulbs rained like fireworks throughout the day. This year, the ratio of men vs. women dressed up seemed almost equal with great costumes on both sides of the gender fence (and some which kind of straddled that same fence). We were really hoping for a win for our favorite escalator riding Apocalypse (pictured below) who took top honors in our book.

Okay, we'll start tonight's update breaking a little new following the Jim Starlin panel. Well, to be honest it wasn't really a panel. It was basically me and a couple other fans chatting him up, but he did share a few interesting tidbits we're pleased to roll into our coverage. First, DC has A THIRD weekly series in the works which will follow Countdown and Jim will be doing some work on one storyline within that series. He didn't offer up any details of nature of the next weekly.

Next, for all you Vanth Dreadstar fans, Jim is planning to return to that character at some point in the not too distant (but not immediate) future. Reprints of the original series continue and he sounded pleased with them. His plan for a return to the character will center on telling the last Dreadstar story effectively bringing the hero's complete story to a close. One fan asked if that meant others wouldn't pick up the storyline at some point Jim's return. He explained that when he put a period on a story it tended to stay there referring in passing to the longevity of the Death of Captain Marvel graphic novel. He was quick to point out that this plan could be a year or two away, but it's a shed of real hope for fans of this long dormant series

Jim went on to explain that he really liked working with his creator owned Kid Cosmic series and planned a third arc for that title. He also hopes to squeeze in some work with Angel Medina though that nothing was definite on that front.

This would be the perfect time to bridge over and discuss our talk with current Marvel contract artist Angel Medina. Angel regretted missing dinner with Jim Starlin last night as the two had plans to share a meal (during which we're betting they planned to discuss that possible project Jim referenced).

If you haven't met Angel, he's a heck of a down to earth artist who quickly proves very easy to like. Completely fan friendly, he spent a fair amount of time talking to myself and others while knocked out a great Dreadstar sketch for me.

As we mentioned above, he's under a one year contract with Marvel at this time. He explained that Marvel really likes to get everything they can out of an artist while the have them under contract. In addition to the series work they have him on, he's been cranking out covers at their request keeping him very busy. That said, he has been talking with DC Comic regarding some future work they might explore together once his Marvel deal is up. He wasn't sure what that work might be as nothing is definite, but he was quick to share that his life long dream would be to one day work with Batman. To quote Angel, "If I ever got to do Batman I would just die. That would be it, I could just die after that."

Did you know Angel's a real fan of twisted clown drawings? He showed us a few of his creations and credited working with the Clown Violator as one thing that really drew him to working with Spawn. Angle also likes to just let his mind go and sketch whatever comes into his head first as a way to get his artistic juices flowing on days when he's having trouble getting to his assignment work. this leads to his having a small mountain of sketch work to show off covering a mix of topics.

As the conversation continued, Angel told a story of how he ended up trying to give away one of his promo banners at a recent show. While doing a signing, a man of japanese descent approached him about purchasing a large Batman sketch banner Angel uses for booth displays. The gentleman had to speak to Angel through a translator. After some continued insistence, Angel kindly turned down the offer to purchase the prop explaining he needed it for shows. The man purchased some of Angel's sketches and turned to leave. Just as he was about to walk away the translator apologized for not introducing the gentleman and explained he was Yoshitaka Amano who did the character designs, image illustrations and title logo designs for the Final Fantasy series. It was a jaw drop moment for Angel who was a huge fan of Amano's work but didn't know what he looked like. Angel quickly offered to give the banner to Amano and in the end settled (at the insistence of Amano) to sell the piece to him. Angel was clearly impacted by the respect shown by this Amano. You could really see it as he told this story and credited it as one of those moments in life that you can always look back on when people get you down.

Shifting gears, let's talk Batman. Actually let's talk about the Dark Knight film! The day started with the good folks at Wizard handing out wrist bands and Dark Knight t-shirts to lucky fans. The t-shirts once placed in the dark actually glow with a hidden joker face... Nice.

As we reported yesterday, Warner Brothers came forward today with a previously unannounced Dark Knight panel. They did it in style presenting Christopher Nolan, David Goyer, Jonathan Nolan, Christian Bale (Batman), Gary Oldman (Lt. James Gordon) AND Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent). The team has been filming through the streets of Chicago each night. Reports overheard outside the panel has them really tearing things up in the night with both the batmobile and the batcycle. During the panel, footage from the film (not even seen by the actors) was unveiled and Bale and others joined fans in the audience to take in the unveiling. The footage featured Batman taking on the Joker and hinted at Two-Face emerging within the film. The batmobile and the batcycle were shown and, to say the least, the crowd went WILD at every turn during the presentation.

I was lucky enough to catch part of the Dr. Strange animated film unveiled this evening. It played to an overflow crowd as it was shown in the Marshal Rogers room. This film has a very different feel from the previously released Ultimate Avengers films. Though I didn't stay for the entire film, I really liked what I saw. It has a more adult feel and depth I didn't get from earlier animated releases from Marvel. This is one I will check out in full once it sees it's public release next week.

Other big announcements coming out today include Dustin Nguyen coming on board with Detective Comics next year, Francis Manapul joining Legion of Super-Heroes as the new artist, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch reuniting to take on Fantastic Four and, show stopper that it was, Alex Ross on a project picturing Captain America with the word "Return" floating over the image. In other news, there will be a shift in the direction of DC's kids focused titles as the company unveiled new titles Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam, Tiny Titans, and Super Friends. Back on the Marvel side of the things, the Cup 'O Joe panel ended with a slide depicting Spider-Woman hanging upside-down kissing Iron Man. It was titled quizzically “What comes next?”

News really burst out of the various panels today. Being this close to Comic-Con (a fact which won't be the case in 2008 as the convention is moving to June 27th - 28th) I'm surprised how many things were held back for this show. In closing, as we did yesterday, we're going to let the 900 lb. gorilla news sites share all the fine details from the panels. Over on our news page, we've served up links to all the major stories [link] offering you an easy surf.

We have many more stories to tell, but for tonight this is lights out for us. We'll return with more updates tomorrow as Wizard World Chicago and our full coverage rolls toward it's close. We'll leave you tonight with the Millar/Hitch trailer for their upcoming Fantastic Four run...

August 11th, 2007 - Click here for a complete recap of all the latest news, press releases and story pointers for Saturday at Wizard World Chicago.

August 12th, 2007, 8:00 PM - This evening we're pleased to share our final costume call from Wizard World Chicago 2007...

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August 12th, 2007 - 9:00 PM - As Wizard World closes for 2007 we return with our final photo cavalcade from this year's show. Here are 36 new photos to enjoy...

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The great crew that bring us Hero Envy	Mike Norton (All New Atom)	Christopher Jones (Justice League Adventures)	Modok commands you to buy