If you’ve seen the recent superhero superhit Deadpool, you may have one or two questions you’d like to put to Marvel founder Stan Lee, or perhaps the original comics’ co-founder, Fabian Nicieza.
Now you can — at this year’s Middle East Film and Comic Con (MEFCC).
tabloid! can exclusively reveal that comic-book godfather and all-round pop-culture rockstar Stan Lee will be doing a live video Q&A with attendees of Comic Con, now in its fifth year.
Lee, 93, won’t be in the UAE in person, which is sad but understandable. However, he will be speaking to his UAE fans at the event, which runs from April 7-9. He’s known for creating the likes of Spiderman, the X-Men, Hulk, and Iron Man — to name very few. There will also be signed merchandise from Stan Lee Collectables for sale. The comic book icon made a short appearance in the 2014 edition of the annual pop culture event.
Present in the flesh, however, will be Nicieza. A Marvel veteran of over 20 years, he — along with Rob Leifeld — is credited with the creation of Deadpool, currently the hottest superhero in the universe thanks to Ryan Reynolds’ portrayal of him in the movie. (It’s in UAE cinemas now, in case you need to catch up.) The co-creator of the anti-hero, dubbed “the Merc with the Mouth”, has had an intimate relationship with the character, returning to him several times over the years, eventually becoming the series’ full writer.
Most recently, Nicieza reprised the Deadpool and Cable series, sparking a new wave of interest in the most bizarre comic hero pairing of all time. With Deadpool announcing its sequel, already in production, and if you were the dedicated fan and sat for the end-credits scene at Deadpool, you wouldn’t have missed the hero’s not too subtle announcement of Cable’s on-screen debut in Deadpool 2. Who better to tell us about the upcoming sequel and what Cable’s introduction means for the Marvel Comics Universe than Nicieza himself?
Some of his other notable works include Psi-Force (his first comic for Marvel), New Warriors, New Mutants and X-Force.
Veering away from comics, the most recognisable face announced for this year’s Comic Con (thus far!) is Christopher Lloyd.
Yep. Doc Brown.
If you were one of the millions caught up in last year’s Back To The Future fun (celebrating the fact the 2015 is the year Doc Brown travels to in the second instalment of the time-travel franchise), the excitement is about to be revved back up to 1.2 gigawatts. (What the hell is a gigawatt? Watch here.)
Lloyd played the role of the madcap genius in all three of the Back To The Future films, and also memorably inhabited the role of the deranged but somewhat charming Uncle Fester.
For anime fans, mark your spot in the line to meet Veronica Taylor, the veteran voice actor behind Pokemon character Ash Ketchum (she did the English language dubbing). If you’re over thirty, you’ll probably love the fact she also voiced April O’Neil in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.
Now in its fifth year, the MEFCC gets bigger each event and this year expects 70,000 guests over three days, from April 7-9 — most of them in costume.
The dress-up is as much fun as it is competitive and the celebrity cosplayers are always a major attraction. Get to work on that Deadpool suit now.
Artists of all kinds — creating everything from graphic novels to models of favourite characters — line the alleys of the con, and major industry players selling merchandise will draw the money out of your pocket faster than Han Solo can do the Kessel Run.
Don’t miss it!
Tickets are now on sale for the MEFCC, at mefcc.com/tickets and at Virgin Megastore outlets. Limited early bird Gold tickets, giving access to all three days of the con are available for Dh200. One day bronze tickets are Dh100; three-day Gold are Dh250 and three-day VIP are Dh500. Ticketholders enter a draw for a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles for two and join Stan Lee at the premiere of Captain America: Civil War.
