​Diana Gabaldon  (Outlander novels), Dan Brereton  (“Nocturnals,” “Batman: Thrillkiller”), Gene Ha (“Mae,” “Justice League”), Tom Cook (“Masters of the Universe,” “Smurfs”), Bob Camp ("Ren & Stimpy"), Andrew Pepoy (“The Simpsons,” “Archie”), Kurt Lehner (“Gargoyles,” “Marvel Action Hour”),  Jose Delbo (“Raggedy Ann,” “The Beatles”), Dan Dougherty (“Beardo,” “Touching Evil”), Jonathan Glapion ("Batgirl," "Wonder Woman") and Arthur Suydam  ("Deadpool," "Marvel Zombies") are among the dozens of professional writers and artists scheduled to attend Wizard World Comic Con Chicago, August 23-26 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.

This marks the 20th anniversary of the first Wizard World Comic Con Chicago, with a weekend that will feature many demonstrations and discussions at the Creative Stage.

Artist Alley in Chicago will also feature top creators such as Greg Horn (“Phoenix,” “Venom”),  Arvell Jones (“Black Panther,” “Luke Cage”), Ryan North ("Adventure Time," "Squirrel Girl"), Tony "KO!" Kordos ("Cyborg"), Mostafa Moussa ("Superman," "Fantastic Four"), Phil Ortiz ("The Simpsons"), Shawn Coss ("Cyanide & Happiness"), Rebecca Rothschild ("Warshiner," "Mortal Combat X") and more.

Wizard World Comic Con Chicago will also feature non-stop live entertainment, gaming, and autographs, photo ops and exclusive Q&A sessions with top celebrities such as Tom Welling (“Smallville,” “Lucifer”),  Ian Somerhalder (“The Vampire Diaries”), “The X-Files” headliners Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, six stars of the cast of “Outlander” (Sam Heughan, Catriona Balfe, Graham McTavish, Lotte Verbeek, Richard Rankin, Sophie Skelton), Guardians of the Galaxy standout Pom Klementieff  and many others, a dedicated kids zone and more, along with Wizard World’s Master of Ceremonies, Kato Kaelin.

Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture: movies, television, gaming, live entertainment, comics, sci-fi, graphic novels, toys, original art, collectibles, contests and more. The 10th event scheduled on the 2018 Wizard World calendar, Chicago show hours are Thursday, August 23, 4-9 p.m.; Friday, August 24, noon-7 p.m.; Saturday, August 25, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, August 26, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Kids 10 and under are admitted free with paid adult.

Wizard World Comic Con Chicago is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor and participate in the famed Wizard World Costume Contest on Saturday evening.

For more on the 2018 Wizard World Chicago, visit https://wizardworld.com/comiccon/chicago. 

Check out the latest episode of Geek Culture Buzz.

By We Got This Covered

United we stand. Divided we fall.

As Marvel fans know all too well, that’s the evocative tagline that was attached to Captain America: Civil War back in 2016, when Joe and Anthony Russo placed Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on a collision course with one another. When the dust settled from Marvel’s superhero event movie, and the Winter Soldier was granted asylum in Wakanda, it looked certain that Steve Rogers was ready to walk away from his iconic shield and essentially drop the Captain America title for good. But there’s more to this arc than meets the eye.
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That’s because it’s been heavily rumored that Avengers: Infinity War will see Chris Evans’ icon make the transition to Nomad, a character that gained popularity through Dimension Z from Rick Remender’s recent run. In the comics, Rogers turns his back on a corrupted U.S. government, and decides that his days as the Sentinel of Liberty are long behind him.

​In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, it’s a little different; in the fallout of Civil War, it seems Rogers has essentially been branded as a war criminal, and there’s even a throwaway line in Spider-Man: Homecoming that refers to Evans’ character as such. And though it’s unlikely that Rogers will don Nomad’s blue and yellow uniform in Avengers: Infinity War, Evans (and Sebastian Stan!) have now all but confirmed the transition, as they both signed a fan’s shield this weekend at Ace Comic Con and made a point to include Nomad in their message – which you can see in the picture below.

​Given that Rogers’ faith in the government has taken a knock recently, due to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s corruption in Winter Soldier and Civil War‘s Sokovia Accords, it really does seem that the MCU is heading for its own version of the Nomad storyline. Which has led fans to theorize about it coming into play in Infinity War. But are Evans and Stan just poking fun at this rumour with their signatures here, or are they referencing an actual plot point from the film?
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Time will tell, but we should know soon enough, as Avengers: Infinity War is poised to shake the MCU down to its very foundations on May 4th, before Avengers 4 ushers in a whole new era in 2019. Rumor has it that the latter tentpole will wander down the route of hard sci-fi (read: time travel, alternate realities…that kinda’ thing), though a newly-unveiled photo suggests otherwise.