Nerds will unite in fandom at the upcoming Ark-La-Tex Comic Con with special guests including actors from Star Wars and Star Trek.
Held at the Texarkana Convention Center on Saturday, Sept. 2, and Sunday, Sept. 3, this year's rendition sees the comic con celebrate its seventh year with Jerome St. John Blake, who played, among other characters, Mas Amedda in Star Wars movies, including "The Phantom Menace."
There's also Tracee Cocco, who played Ensign Jae in "Star Trek: The Next Generation," a regular character from several seasons. She's acted in Star Trek movies and appeared as other characters from the Star Trek universe, making her a Star Trek veteran. Other credits include "Baywatch" and "Barb Wire."
The comic con runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
Other guests include Aron Eisenberg, who was Nog on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine;" speed metal musician Casey Orr from Rigor Mortis and, for a time, GWAR; artist and writer Joe Singleton; award-winning animator David Schedler; local artist, writer and publisher Brian Steward; young cosplay artist ShadowFox; local child actor Kai Boyce of "Jack the Giant Slayer;" local mural artist Art Pletcher; Project Artemis; Port City Games; and the 501st Legion.
Dozens of vendors, panels, costume and art contests for both adults and children will be available each day, a Vampire Masquerade Ball (at 7 p.m. Saturday with a live Celtic band called Brothers in Blood), and several tournaments will be held at the comic con: Injustice 2, Magic the Gathering (modern format), Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dungeons and Dragons, Star Wars role playing game and Tortured Earth game demonstrations.
Organizer Ray Couch promises a "massive" event with many things to thrill comic con-goers, including a virtual reality set that can be played. It will be raffled off, too. Two different Star Trek fan clubs are coming to the event because Cocco will participate.
"She was on 85 episodes of 'Next Generation,'" Couch said. "She was in all four of the major motion pictures as Ensign Jae. In two of those movies, she was on the helm of the (U.S.S.) Enterprise during a space battle, so my geek meter already exploded."
But Couch says he wouldn't exclude the Star Wars fans. "Our biggest guest is flying in from London, England," he said. That guest is Blake, who played several roles in the Star Wars milieu. He was even a Jedi master. "He is a one-man Star Wars fan days," the organizer said.
The comic con has 41 vendors lined up to participate. They're sold out and have a waiting list.
"We are now internationally recognized by International Cosplay," Couch said. That means pictures of their costumes get distributed worldwide, he said. Paige Hitt, aka ShadowFox, is coordinating the cosplay.
"We have our panel of celebrity judges from Texarkana," Hitt said. On Sunday, the winners are people's choice, however. The judges panel will include Blake, Mas Amedda himself. Expect to see some Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Guardians of the Galaxy characters, Deadpool characters and more.
About the vendors, Couch said, "We've got them coming from Houston, Little Rock, Dallas. They're going to have cosplay items, they're going to have comic books, they're going to have anime, they're going to have toys, they're going to have T-shirts, they're going to have jewelry and weapons. They're going to have swords and daggers and armor."
Couch expresses unbridled enthusiasm about all the fun coming at this year's comic con.
"This is our seventh show. It gets bigger and better every year. Literally this is for all of us fans to get together and enjoy our hobbies, enjoy our fantasies together and our like-mindedness," Couch said. It's a weekend to ditch the worries and just have fun.
Last year, 2,600 people attended the comic con. Couch's goal this year is for 4,000. He said they've broken their own Facebook records this year, too.
And for the people who attend, it's like one big family, said Hitt said.
"You feel like you're at home when you're at comic con," she said.
(Tickets: $15 per day or $25 for a two-day pass. Children 12 and under are free, limit two per adults; additional children are $5. E-tickets on sale at ArkLaTexComicCon.org.)