El Paso Comic Con 2024

El Paso Comic Con is a community-based pop culture experience for all that reflects today’s fandom. At El Paso Comic Con you’ll get to indulge in all your favorite fantasy, sci-fi, and other pop culture genres, such as comics, games, film, television, and more! You’ll also get to attend panels and workshops hosted by creative pros as well as get autographs and photo ops with your favorite creators and celebrities.

The 2024 El Paso Comic Con dates are April 12-14. It will occur at the El Paso Convention Center in downtown El Paso, Texas. The hours of operation are Friday 5-9pm, Saturday 10am-7pm, and Sunday 10am-5pm. You can get more information about the event at: https://elpasocomiccon.com/

Among the guests at this year’s El Paso Comic Con are Zachary Levi, Lori Fetrick, Scott Innes, Mela Lee, and Patrick Warburton.

Zachary Levi has proven himself a triple threat- he is an accomplished actor, singer, and dancer that was displayed with his Tony- nominated performance for “Best Leading Actor in a Musical” in the critically praised Broadway production, She Loves Me. Levi reprised his role as Shazam! in the Warner Bros. DC franchise, Shazam! Fury of the Gods Directed by David F. Sandberg. This was the sequel to the successful, Shazam! which held the #1 spot at the box office for weeks following its release.

Lori Fetrick is best known as Ice from the American Gladiators. She has also appeared in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993), The Outer Limits (1995) and Ellen (1994).

Scott Innes is a multi award winning radio personality. He’s written songs for some of Nashville’s biggest stars. Kenny Rogers, Shenandoha, Sammy Kershaw, John Schneider, and more. In 1998 he became the voice of Scooby Doo, Shaggy Rogers, and Scrappy Doo! Voicing some of the biggest Scooby Doo movies of all time, not to mention hundreds of video games, Talking toys , and TV commercials! He has also gone on to voice over 30 of the most popular cartoon characters in the world: Fred Flintstone, Barney Rubble, Yogi and Boo Boo Bear, Papa Smurf, Popeye , Foghorn Leghorn to name a few!

Mela Lee is a voice actress and vocalist based in Los Angeles whose work can be heard in over two hundred animated series, films, television shows and video games. She is best known as the voice of Lifeline in Apex Legends, and the voice of Jade in Mortal Kombat 11, Rin Tohsaka in the Fate Stay Night Franchise and Tikki in Miraculous Ladybug, and Kikimora in The Owl House for Disney.

Patrick Warburton has played David Puddy on Seinfeld, the title character on The Tick, Jeb Denton on Less Than Perfect, Jeff Bingham on Rules of Engagement, and Lemony Snicket on A Series of Unfortunate Events. His voice acting roles include Joe Swanson on Family Guy, Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove, Buzz Lightyear in Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, and Brock Samson in The Venture Bros.

When I’m not checking out events, you’ll find me at booth A15 in the Vendor Hall, as noted in the map above. I’ll be sharing the booth with Tamsin Silver, amazing author of the Untold Legends Series. We’ll be delighted to talk to you about our writing and publishing adventures. I hope all of you in the El Paso and Las Cruces area are able to make it to El Paso Comic Con!

A Place Among the Dead

One of my Christmas presents this year was a signed copy of the Blu-Ray of the film A Place Among the Dead starring and directed by Juliet Landau, who is probably best know for her roles as Drusilla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Loretta King in the movie Ed Wood. The film imagines fictionalized versions of Ms. Landau and her husband Deverill Weekes making a documentary examining a serial killer who has been operating around Santa Barbara, California. The movie starts off with Landau interviewing such actors and writers as Gary Oldman, Ron Perlman, Anne Rice, Charlaine Harris, and Kim Newman about the nature of evil. Soon, Jules and Dev, as they’re known in the film, go to Santa Barbara and find the killer is not only active, but he may be a vampire. The film’s documentary styling allows us to see events unfold almost exclusively from Jules’ point of view.

It soon becomes clear the film uses vampires as a metaphor for those with narcissistic personality disorder. Like a vampire, a narcissist can weave their way into your thoughts to make you do what they want you to do and the path they’re going to set you on is almost guaranteed to be a destructive one so the narcissist can benefit. The film itself is only an hour and sixteen minutes long, and it pulls you along through its narrative. I enjoyed seeing an assortment of authors and performers I’ve enjoyed given the spotlight and discussing vampires, the nature of evil, and how to combat it, throughout the film. The film was accompanied by a disc loaded with special features where the actors and filmmakers discuss the film’s themes in depth.

Fortunately, I haven’t had to deal with too many people with full-on narcissistic personality disorder and their impacts on my life have, thankfully, been minimal. Still, the film and the special features allowed me to reflect on the reasons I write about vampires. As I’ve mentioned before, American culture almost idealizes the idea of the vampire. A vampire is eternally young and usually strong. They often get what they want. They’re often rich. They have power and charisma. Vampires aren’t often concerned about the feelings of others. While my vampires see themselves in a heroic light and may not be the worst evil in my novels, they still drain others. Rudolfo can’t understand why Jane isn’t grateful he made her into a vampire. Roquelaure has been an assassin and Alexandra has been a thief and they aren’t especially repentant. I find it fascinating how these traits are idolized, especially by the rich and powerful around the world at the detriment of those less fortunate. I also like exploring the notion of whether a vampire can find redemption and I found it interesting that the solution I tend to come to in my novels is much the solution the authors and performers suggest in A Place Among the Dead.

A Place Among the Dead is available on many streaming and download platforms including Amazon Prime and iTunes. You can find Blu-Ray copies at: https://julietlandau.dreamhosters.com/product/a-place-among-the-dead-ultimate-edition-blu-ray/

My latest vampire novel, Ordeal of the Scarlet Order, is available for pre-order at: https://hadrosaur.com/OrdealScarletOrder.php