San Francisco Comic Con Heads to Oakland with Matt Smith, Jonathan Frakes, Wallace Shawn, and more

The San Francisco Comic Con returns to the Bay Area this June but not to its namesake city. The convention, which has been diligently filling a void left by WonderCon’s departure in 2012, will bring geeky comic goodness to the Oakland Convention Center June 8-10.

San Francisco Comic Con

Like most comic conventions these days, there’s more to San Francisco Comic Con than comics. The convention will include panels on everything from cosplay to gaming. In addition to panels, SFCC will host a number of celebrity guests (for an additional cost): Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Bonnie Wright (Harry Potter), Jonathan Frakes (Star Trek: TNG), Camren Bicondova (Gotham), Wallace Shawn (The Princess Bride), Michael Biehn (Aliens), Rodger Bumpass (Sponge Bob), Kevin Conroy (Batman: TAS), Nolan North (Uncharted), and Veronica Taylor (Pokemon).

The comic creator guest list is substantial and includes a number of rising stars in the industry as well as some big-name veterans. Possibly the biggest name is a weekend appearance of Jim Starlin who will be the focus of two panels discussing his life and work. Other guests include Gerry Conway. Amy Mebberson, Paola Rivera, and Renee Witterstaetter.

A complete list of panels and guests can be found on the San Francisco Comic Con website.

Jesse Russell

Before Oakland, there was Madison, Wisconsin. In Madison, the hours that weren’t filled up by my day job were typically devoured by event planning and running the city’s popular arts and politics news site, Dane101. Some of the events I organized include an annual two-night cabaret/carnival/masquerade party called the Fire Ball Masquerade, Madison's biggest non-city sponsored Halloween party, the geek culture focused MadPubQuiz of Awesomeness, and the first Whedonesque Burlesque in the country. Having successfully reshaped the reality of Madison, Wisconsin I packed up and moved to the Bay Area in February of 2013. In addition to comics, I enjoy imbibing cocktails and beer, exploring foreign cities, consuming food of various temperatures, hearing music performed live, losing at board and card games, and getting caught in the rain.