Saratoga Comic Con returns
Event starts today at City Center
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » The Saratoga Comic Con returns for its fall weekend at the City Center.
The event runs Saturday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. An after-party is scheduled for Saturday night at Gaffney’s.
Saratoga County resident Samuel Chase founded Saratoga Comic Con, presented by Chase Con, in 2014.
Every time it gets bigger and bigger, he said. Over 5,200 people showed up for the event in the spring.
“We had projected 4,000 and then we had a 40 percent growth increase which we didn’t even expect,” said Chase. “This show we’re looking anywhere from five to six thousand.”
It’s gotten so big, Chase said, the City Center told him Comic Con is the largest convention, in terms of attendance, at the City Center.
“It’s a very surreal feeling like you can imagine it in your head, and then to see it grow and to see it with your own eyes, I mean [last time] the lines didn’t stop until 3 o clock. We’re talking lines out the door. That really blew my mind,” said Chase. “It was a very surreal feeling. It makes me proud that we are that for the con-
vention center, and that we do bring in a lot of business into the city itself and into the whole community. It’s just ... a very surreal feeling for me.”
Chase does everything on his own. He sets up vendors and books flights for special guests. Throughout the weekend, he’ll have volunteers and someone to run the show floor, but it’s mostly just him.
Some of the scheduled guests include actors David Sobolov, Costas Mandylor, Daniel Pesina, and Carey Means.
Sobolov voices Gorilla Grodd on The CW Network drama “The Flash,” while Mandylor played Detective Mark Hoffman in the “Saw” films III-VII
Pesina played Johnny Cage and ninjas Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Reptile, Smoke and Noob Saibot in the video games “Mortal Kombat” and “Mortal Kombat II,” while Means voiced Frylock in the Adult Swim program “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.”
Some attractions include Montreal X-Men, Stranger Things wall and the Resident Evil car and crew.
Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.saratogacomiccon.com/tickets. html or at the door. The City Center can sell out. Tickets at the door are $20 on a Saturday, $15 on Sunday and $30 for a weekend pass.
Chase said he plans for the event to just get bigger and bigger.
“It’s really amazing to bring the entire community together,” said Chase. “It’s incredible to see how many people love all of the comics and love all of the super heroes and the anime, and all that different stuff.”
After this weekend, Saratoga Comic Con is set to return April 7-8, 2018.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Chase. “We’re going to keep it right in Saratoga.”