Comicpalooza, Texas’ largest comic and pop culture event, took place last weekend in humid Houston, TX. Housed in the expansive George R. Brown Convention Center, thousands of fans gathered to check out star-studded Q&A sessions, jaw-dropping cosplayers, talented vendors and so much more. With Sunday being the last day of the con, I was delighted to see that attendees were still going all out on their costumes and that the hype for the remaining panels and sessions was unfading. Below are some of the highlights of the closing day of Comicpalooza 2016.
Q&A with Dominic Cooper
LIVE on #Periscope: Tune in to Dominic Cooper's Q&A panel at Comicpalooza! https://t.co/tWckulOOIW
— Shuffle Online (@shuffleonline) June 19, 2016
Dominic Cooper is quite a versatile actor, and it showed in the topics brought up in his Q&A. The session started with what’s on the roadmap for Cooper’s career. He mentioned re-visiting Theater, where he got his start, saying, “I wouldn’t say I prefer [theater], but I feel like it’ll feel like going home.” The mood then transitioned to a sort of awkward joy when a young fan question requested Cooper to sing an ABBA song (he was in the film adaptation of “Mamma Mia!”). He reluctantly, yet charmingly, sang along to “Dancing Queen,” then complimented the young fan on her voice. Tides shifted again as he discussed the staying power of his character from “Agent Carter” and “Captain America: The First Avenger,” Howard Stark. When asked if he is Team Captain America or Team Iron Man, he closed by saying “I think I have to be Iron Man. He’s my son!”
“Boondock Saints” Q&A
#BoondockSaints panel just started @Comicpalooza! #cphou @seanflanery @ccollinsjr #panel #geekingout #htx #houston pic.twitter.com/HlOm4uKxMm
— Shuffle Online (@shuffleonline) June 19, 2016
“The Boondock Saints” Q&A started with a disclaimer from cast member Sean Patrick Flanery that their Q&A would not be appropriate for kids and that there would be a lot of swearing. This group of cast members and old friends definitely delivered on that PSA. The panel included Flanery, David Della Rocco, Clifton Collins Jr. and Brian Mahoney and they spent the majority of the session laughing at old (and new) pranks they have played on each other. The panel agreed that Flanery is the biggest prankster and his impersonations of Rocco throughout the hour resulted in a room full of laughter every time.
The biggest reaction from the crowd, however, was probably when fellow cast member Norman Reedus came on stage with a cake for Collins for his birthday. Reedus led the crowd in a rendition of “Happy Birthday to You” and then stuck the microphone he was holding right into the cake and left. In an even weirder moment, a fan asked if she could have a piece and they brought her on stage where she grabbed a handful and exited. This panel was a crazy one. As it came to an end, the cast got more serious as they thoughtfully thanked the audience for loving “The Boondock Saints” and being fans over a decade later. Flanery left the crowd with the message, “I made more friends on ‘Boondocks’ than any five other films combined. The films you like are probably because of the people.” He’s right about that.
Exhibit Hall
I was blown away by the sheer number of artists, authors and other vendors at Comicpalooza. We were able to chat with some of the talented members behind the booths about their offerings and we are excited to showcase some of the fantastic work we saw below.
We had a really great time at Comicpalooza and hope to be back next year! Follow @shuffleonline on Twitter for more comic con and festival coverage.