Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Supercon migrates north

By on November 20, 2008

Brian O
will headline the first Supercon held in Atlanta this weekend."
Brian O'Halloran, who plays Dante in "Clerks"" and ""Clerks 2

For the uninitiated, the idea of a comic convention may evoke images of hordes dressed as Batman or Superman salivating in lines for one autograph – but a female celebrity running around topless?

Sure, that may have been a rare instance, but Mike Broder, founder of Supercon, was asking for it.

“I’m looking more for a party atmosphere where the celebrities are just cool guys, they’re happy to be there and want to hang out and meet with the fans,” he said. “I’m not looking to bring someone who just wants to sit at their table, sign autographs and just read a newspaper.”

It seems he got a little more than he bargained for with that one particular guest.

“We had one celebrity,” he said, “a woman who was very popular in the 1970s and 1980s, and I don’t know if she was on or off her meds, but she ended up at the beach wandering in a daze.”

Florida Supercon began three years ago in with a focus on animation.

Broder brought in representatives from Adult Swim for guest panels, including Dana Snyder and Jay Edwards of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” fame. This year, Broder figured he would bring the convention to them and start an Atlanta Supercon.

ATLANTA SUPERCON

When: Friday through Sunday
Where: Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown
Cost: 3 days for $35
Friday only: $20
Saturday only: $25
Sunday only: $20
More Information:
atlantasupercon.com

Brian O’ Halloran (Dante from “Clerks”) is billed as the main guest.

Being a fan himself, Halloran said he feels like he fits right in.

“I’m also a gamer, so I like watching and playing some of these games they set up in the 24-hour rooms,” he said.

Going with the casual air of the convention, there will a game show-esque Q&A session with Halloran.

Broder said that going from convention attendee to convention organizer was quite a transformation since he has to spend most of his time running the show.

“It’s great because I get to make thousands of people happy, bring in these great guests, put on a great show, with a lot of people having fun at my party,” he said.