PopHorror Let's Get Scared
-Altered Reality Entertainment is at it again! This year for Rhode Island Comic Con, they brought together the original Brat Pack from the ’80s, plus offered up a bunch of other just as well known actors and singers from the time. Plus, they had a ton of contemporary voice actors, wrestlers, and stars from shows like Smallville, The Walking Dead, Matrix, Sons of Anarchy, and more. The panel schedule was packed in tight but had some great guests and discussions. Photo ops were available all weekend as well. And the cosplay!
Celebrity Guests
This is just a smattering of who was around for Rhode Island Comic Con 2023:
Brat Packers Ally Sheedy, Andrew McCarthy, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, and Judd Nelson
Star Trek: TNG’s Brent Spiner, John De Lancie, Levar Burton, and Gates McFadden, Linda Hamilton (The Terminator), Christina Ricci (The Addams Family), Famke Janssen (X-Men), Carl Weathers (Rocky), Carrie-Anne Moss (Matrix), Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride), Barbara Eden (I Dream Of Jeanie), and fan favorite Seth Green (Family Guy).
They were joined by Charmed’s Holly Marie Combs, Shannon Doherty, and Rose McGowan, John Ratzenberger (Cheers), Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions), Smallville’s Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum, Vicki Lawrence (Mama’s Family), Dean Cain (Lois & Clark), FX Artist Greg Nicotero, Randy Quaid (National Lampoon’s Vacation),, Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans), and Denise Crosby (Pet Semetery).
We were also graced with the presence of Superman & Lois’ Alex Garfin and Jordan Elsass, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ Amy Jo Johnson and Walter Jones, Anson Mount (Dr. Strange), Doom Patrol’s April Bowlby, Stephanie Czajkowski, and Diane Guerrero, puppetmaster Bill Diamond (Little Shop Of Horrors), professional wrestlers Darby Allin, Britt Baker, Kevin Nash, Orange Cassidy, and Dustin Rhodes, Carey Jones (The Book of Boba Fett), Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever), Chris Bartlett (The Mandalorian), Star Wars Episode II’s Daniel Logan and Nalini Krishan, and Marley Shelton (Planet Terror).
Cool Running’s Doug E. Doug, Malik Yoba, Rawle D. Lewis, and Leon, Heather Thomas (The Fall Guy), John Glover (Fear the Walking Dead), John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard), Kyle Gass (Tenacious D), James Murray (Impractical Jokers), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), singer Paula Abdul, Paulo Costanzo (Splinter), Peter Facinelli (Can’t Hardly Wait), Mark Metcalf (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Mindy Cohn (The Facts of Life), Stephen Dorff (Blade), Seinfeld’s Wayne Knight and Steve Hytner, T.C. Carson (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Tim Daly (Wings), and the one and only John Rhys-Davies.
Super nerd Felica Day (Supernatural), iZombie’s Rose McIver and Malcolm Goodwin, Battlestar Galactica’s Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell, The Walking Dead’s Chad L. Coleman, Sons of Anarchy’s Ron Perlman and Charlie Hunnam, Evangeline Lilly (Lost), Gerard Christopher (Superman), artist and actor Jeremy Palko, Gina Gershon (Showgirls), and C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels, were all smiles for their fans at Rhode Island Comic Con 2023.
Celebrity Voice Actors
The celebrity voice actor list was extensive, including X-Men Animated Series’ Adrian Hough, Alison Sealy-Smith, Cal Dodd, Chris Britton, Catherine Disher, Chris Potter, Alison Court, Larry Houston, Lenore Zann, Ron Rubin, and George Buza, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Cam Clarke, Ernie Reyes, Jr., Townsend Coleman, Judith Hoag, Paige Turco, Rob Paulson, Renae Jacobs, and Barry Gordon, Futurama’s Billy West, Katey Sagal, Lauren Tom, John DiMaggio, Maurice Lamarche, and Phil Lamarr, Phineas & Ferb’s David Errigo, Jr. and Vincent Martella, Spongebob Squarepants’ Roger Bumpass, Adventure Time’s Jeremy Shada, Jessica DiCicco, Olivia Olsen, and Hynden Walch, Pocahontas’ (1995) Irene Bedard, and Winnie the Pooh’s (2011) Jim Cummings.
There were tons of panels this year, like the A Morning Chat with Vicki Lawrence and Dorothy Lyman, An Afternoon Chat with Charmed’s Holly Marie Coombs and Shannon Doherty, An Evening Chat with Linda Hamilton, Retro Hollywood Stars Live on Stage with Keith Coogan, Mindy Cohn, Mark Metcalf, Mike Starr, and Heather Thomas, an X-Men: The Animated Series Reunion with Chris Britton, George Buza, Alyson Court, Cal Dodd, Adrian Hough, Larry Houston, Chris Potter, Ron Rubin, Alison Sealy-Smith, and Lenore Zann, a Futureama Reunion with John DiMaggio, Maurice Lamarche, Phil Lamarr, Lauren Tom, and Billy West, Adventure Time with Jessica DiCicco, Olivia Olsen, Jeremy Shada, and Hynden Walch, TMNT Creators Live with Kevin Eastman, Jeremy Shada, and Hynden Walch, a Q&A with FX artist Greg Nicotero, and an amazing readthrough of the original Smallville pilot by Tom Welling and Michael Rosenbaum.
Friday night’s kickoff for Rhode Island Comic Con 2023 was the panel with Chris Sarandon, where he chatted about his new podcast, Cooking By Heart, something that grew from his love of food and growing up in his father’s restaurant’s kitchen. When we asked him what he would be doing if he wasn’t an actor, he said after finding his hip replacement absolutely fascinating, he would want to be an orthopedic surgeon… although he admitted he was never really good at math or chemistry.
During An Afternoon Chat with Seth Green, Rhode Island’s own Peter Griffin interviewed the star in the standing room only ballroom, making for a hilarious and timely conversation. There were even some Family Guy dolls, crocheted by Peter Griffin’s mother-in-law, that took the stage for a quick minute. We asked Seth two questions; What would you be doing if you weren’t in filmmaking? And What’s the last song you listened to? For the former, Green said he would be working with toys, and that it’s no coincidence that he created Robot Chicken the way he did. As far the latter… “Hot In the City” by Billy Idol.
He also told this hilarious story about the time Bill Murray stuffed him in a trash can on the set of SNL when he was 9, and would love to play Howard the Duck if it were ever to be remade. There was a chicken (well, someone dressed as a chicken) in the audience holding up signs to silently heckle the table (“Peter Griffin is a violent fat ass!”), and each one was more uncomfortable than the last.
Another standout panel was the Stars of Sci-fi chat with my girl Felicia Day, Mary McDonnell, and iZombie’s Rose McGowan and Malcolm Goodwin. We asked Mary McDonnell about horror and sci-fi being one of the few places older actresses could still get lead roles, and then a question to the group about what they would be doing if they weren’t acting. Felicia piped right up with saying she would be a gamer and blogger, and since Covid, this has pretty much been her life anyway. Mary McDonnell said she would always be a storyteller, and Malcolm Goodwin said after being inspired by so many teachers in his life, he would be a teacher as well. Rose McIver said she would write the Malcolm Goodwin biography and keep track of all of the stories and talents he has besides acting. He even offered to fix a faulty camera for one of the Rhode Island Comic Con crew.
I couldn’t help but cosplay as my sista from another mista, Linda Belcher, again this year. Although I didn’t get a picture of myself in full costume, Splinter’s Paulo Costanzo took one of me, and I made sure to go back and get a copy of his copy. Picture-ception!
PopHorror writer Cameron Clauson, who attended the 2023 Rhode Island Comic Con along with Tracy Allen, had this to say about the event:
A lot of the guests I met this year were awesome. I have been doing conventions for years, and it’s very rare to have a bad experience. However, Rhode Island Comic Con added my first “awkward encounter” to my list. Marisa Tomei, the Oscar winning actress known for My Cousin Vinny and as Aunt May in the new Spiderman movies, was attending this con. As some horror fans will tell you, Marisa Tomei was in the cult classic Troma film The Toxic Avenger. Being a huge fan of this movie, I brought a photo of it for her to sign. Only, there was one problem…
She wasn’t in The Toxic Avenger…She, in no way, was rude, but it was just a very uncomfortable situation. Did she lie about not being in it or was she actually not? I don’t know. But it’s impossible for me to see her on screen and not think back to the cringiest moment of my life.
Rhode Island Comic Con 2023 was packed to the gills with people. I don’t know if this was a record attendance year for them, but if not, it has to be pretty dang close. Although I will say that my only real complaint was the photo op process, which had everyone funneled into one set of double doors, and when your op was called, you had to dig your way through the crowd to get to the actual line. This is the first year they’ve done them this way (usually everyone is in a big, open room with plenty of room to get where you needed to go, and I can only hope that this was the last. I did manage to get a few pics, though.
We saw some fantastic cosplay this year, too. Check it out!
All in all, Rhode Island Comic Con 2023 was a fantastic event, and I can only hope that Altered Reality Entertainment continue to offer nerd and geeks alike a great time in years to come.
