I was lucky enough to spend some time this past weekend with Acadia at the Heroes and Villains Fanfest at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in beautiful Secaucus, NJ. The Fanfest is a touring show that gives fans of the Arrowverse (Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow) among other comic book shows (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Gotham this weekend) an amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with the stars of those shows. The show is organized by Walker Stalker LLC, the same company that…SURPRISE!!…run Walker Stalker, a similar tour focused on the stars of the Walking Dead.
I gotta say, the celebrities at the Fanfest really seem to care about their fans. We heard from someone who works for Fanfest that Stephen Amell, the Green Arrow himself, and headliner of the tour, could only make one day this weekend, so he stayed in his booth for over 4 hours, meeting and greeting, taking selfies, and signing autographs. When it was time for his panel, he tweeted that he would be late because there was still a line and nobody on his line was going to walk away without meeting him. He seems like a real stand-up guy. The stars are organized in well-managed ‘booths’ with well-defined queues. They are also available for poses with a professional photographer.
There were panels featuring the stars of Arrow, The Flash, and Legends of Tomorrow. As mentioned earlier, Stephen Amell has his own. In all of them, the stars were charming and even the moderators were engaging and funny.
There were also featured artists and tattoo artists on hand in case you wanted a poster made or some ink done…and people took advantage.
Finally, there was a Cosplay content with categories for kids, heroes, and…you guessed it…villains. Everyone was really into it, many going to the microphone to shout out their hero’s catch phrase. As expected, the kids were adorable. The winner, though, was a seriously authentic looking predator. As for the heroes and villains, I guess I should have written this sooner, as I can’t remember who won. Hopefully, Acadia will fill that in when he’s editing this.
What I liked most: The stars…specifically John Barrowman who really gets into the selfie thing with the fans, insisting that he takes the pictures himself, taking at least 3 pics with each…one with a smile, one with a straight face, and one with some goofy face…and Katrina Law, who was super sexy, even in an Eagles jersey (a ballsy move in Giants Country).
What I liked least: The fact that Candice Patton was only in a panel and not available for pics. ☹
Overall: A great experience, especially if you’re a fan of the CW DC Superhero shows. Check out the pics below!
