Giving fans of comic books, video games, movies, television and anime a chance to celebrate their interests, Fan Expo returns to New Orleans Jan. 6-8 with its biggest event since the COVID pandemic.
The comic and pop culture convention, taking place Jan. 6-8 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, hosts celebrity guests including Joseph Quinn, breakout star of the fourth season of “Stranger Things,” and Sam Raimi, critically acclaimed director of “The Evil Dead” and the Spider-Man trilogy.
“Last year, we were disappointed the event was right at the tail end of the COVID experience that we all shared,” Fan Expo Vice President Andrew Moyes said. “This year is our first full-scale, back to normal (event), which feels really, really good.”
In addition to hosting celebrity guests, the annual event is also a celebration of New Orleans’ own pop culture, with dozens of local artists, vendors and cosplayers participating.
“These events are community driven. They’re driven by the passion of the fans,” Moyes said. “It’s really our responsibility to create that playground.”
Meet Carl Weathers
New Orleans native Carl Weathers, known for his roles in “Predator,” “Happy Madison,” “Arrested Development” and most famously, Apollo Creed in the “Rocky” series, will be among the guests. Weathers most recently appeared in the Star Wars streaming series “The Mandalorian.”
While other actors, like fellow guest Henry Winkler, (“Happy Days”), attend conventions like this as a “weekly adventure,” it’s a special occasion for Weathers to return 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, the interactions he has with fans at events like Fan Expo close the gap between a role he plays and those it affects, something he hardly gets once a project is out in the arena of public opinion.
“You don’t get the feedback that’s as informative as when you meet a person and shake their hand or they give you a hug and they tell you first hand, face-to-face, about their experiences with the projects that one has been in,” Weathers said.
“When they enjoyed and loved the projects, then that feels good. And sometimes when they don’t like a particular project, it’s valuable to hear that and hear why as an artist, as a crafts person.”
Local artists
Fan Expo hosts a number of local artists, including New Orleans-native comic book artist Tim Lattie.
A graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, Lattie does art for a number of comic book series, including “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Ghostbusters” and “G.I. Joe.”
“I want to draw my childhood. I want to be involved in the things that influenced me,” Lattie said.
The Archbishop Rummel High School alumnus joins a collection of other local artists and vendors attending Fan Expo as a networking opportunity and a chance to showcase their art.
Lattie has attended the convention since it started as Wizard World New Orleans in 2011. He said it’s an essential part of getting his art in front of new eyes, receiving feedback in a more tactile way than interacting on the internet.
“When you’re a novelist, writing a book or doing art, you’re working in silence a lot of the time and you don’t get to know what kind of response what you’re doing is having,” Lattie said. “It’s just kinda cool to see people come up and ask questions…That’s your moment.”
Tickets for Fan Expo New Orleans are available at fanexpohq.com, as well as at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center on Jan. 6-8.
