Wizard World Philadelphia

I like comic books as much as the next girl. Maybe even more. In fact, I'd like to think that I'm moderately versed in comic lore. Still, I get intimidated when I think of Wizard World Philadelphia. Advertised as a "three-day pop culture extravaganza that explores the worlds of comic books, toys, anime, movies, manga and video games," it's a place where everyone knows a whole lot more than I do.

This is Wizard World Philadelphia's third annual event, and this year will feature special guest stars like Eliza Dushku, who played Faith on Buffy; Adam Kubert, the illustrator of X-Men for Marvel; Andy Kubert, penciller of Captain America (also Marvel); Alfred Molin, who stars as Dr. Octopus in the upcoming Spider-Man 2 with Toby McGuire and Kirsten Dunst; and this year's guest of honor, Michael Turner, artist for the Superman and Batman comics who also designed the cover (shown) for DC Comics' June book, Identity Crisis. Wizard World Philadelphia will give the fans a chance to interact with the people whose work they admire.

Wizard World Philadelphia is widely popular, and in fact has been ranked as the second largest Wizard convention, typically bringing in close to 22,000 attendees from 31 states, four countries and Puerto Rico.

Wizard World Philadelphia, Fri.-Sat., May 21-22, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun., May 23, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., $20 (one-day pass) or $40 (three-day ticket), Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch sts., 310-274-7800, www.wizarduniverse.com.

—Tricia Ferdinand

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