Buddy Scalera is a comic book writer and self-publisher.
He is best know for his co-writing work on Deadpool and his solo story in Weapon X. He has contributed to X-Men Millennial Visions, X-Men Unlimited and other comics. He co-wrote and self-published Necrotic: Dead Flesh on a Living Body. He also recently published a multimedia CD-Rom titled Visual Reference for Comic Artists. Currently Buddy has a two-issue arc of Agent X in stores.
Scalera worked at Wizard Online for many years as the original Online Editor.
Hot on the heels of their successful conventions in Chicago, Philadelphia, Texas, and soon, Los Angeles, Wizard Entertainment shocked the comic industry with an incredible announcement.
Next year, Wizard will run a new comic book convention: Wizard World Ancient Egypt!
“Yes, the rumors are true,” said Wizard Big Cheese Gareb Shamus. “I’m amazed that nobody ever thought to go backwards in time and host a comic book convention. It was an obvious opportunity.”
Fans attending the Wizard World Ancient Egypt convention will be catapulted backwards in time from a spot near the pyramids in present-day Egypt. The time machine will be sponsored by Top Cow. A variant time machine by Dynamic Forces will allow fans to go a little further back in time to enter the convention a day early.
Wizard’s conventions have dominated the comic scene in recent years. The well-run shows feature top guests, exhibitors, and events. Fans pour in from all over the world.
“Even though we already have four major conventions,” explained Shamus, “we need another way to honor Alex Ross.”
Going backwards in time was the best option. So Wizard researchers traced the bloodline of famed painter Alex Ross all the way back to the dawn of time. Wizard confirms that they even located the original single-celled amoeba that sprouted legs and evolved into the Alex Ross of today. Due to insurance concerns and a lack of indoor exhibition halls, Wizard decided against the Wizard World: The Earth Cooled and Alex Ross Painted It Convention.
Instead, fans who attend the Wizard World Ancient Egypt con will be treated to an impressive comic event unencumbered by time or space. The actual event takes place at 1278 BC, several years before the actual downfall of Egyptian civilization. Art fans will be happy to know that the Great Sphinx still has a nose, which looks amazingly like Michael Jackson’s current nose.
Most large conventions are held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But since Saturdays tend to be the best day, Wizard is planning the event to be Saturday, Saturday, and then Saturday again.
The guest list includes all-star talent like Ramses II, Kevin Smith, Isis, Michael Turner, Horus, Joe Quesada, Amenhotep III, and the dream team that carved the original Sphinx.
Comic book publishers from all periods are lining up to exhibit. Current favorites Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse all plan to attend. Plus, several past favorites will also set up including: Defiant, Valiant, Comico, EC Comics, Harvey Comics, Awesome, and maybe CrossGen from 2002.
Wizard is offering free space in artists alley to local talent including Moses Studios, Ozymandias Studios, Queen Nefertiti Studios, Pharaoh Studios, and Osiris Studios.
As in all conventions, there is a rich program of special events, including Wizard School classes. The Joe Kubert School will be on hand to teach aspiring artists how to create hieroglyphics. And Clayburn Moore will offer an outdoor sculpting class in front of the pyramids.
All fans will receive a burlap goody bag with free, exclusive stuff including:
Marvel’s Ultimate Living Mummy comic
DC’s The Sundial Men comic (A prequel to The Watchmen)
Top Cow’s Tomb Raider: Year 2000 BC comic
Tickets to the “Re the Sun God Light Show”
A roll of bandages
The Ancient Egyptian Fan Awards will be hosted by Jimmy Palmiotti and Anubis, the jackal-headed god of death. Special presenters will include Jim Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, King Tutankhamen, and, of course, Brendan Fraser, who starred in the Mummy movies.
Fans and pros will have the opportunity to mingle at the swanky Luxor hotel (the original in Egypt, not the one in Las Vegas). Insiders say that people who want a good view of the Nile should reserve their room early.
“I wish we had done this sooner,” explains Shamus. “Think of all the different ways we could have been honoring Alex Ross.”
Shamus paused and added, “Although, since we have the machine, we may just go back in time and honor him at an earlier point in history.”
To commemorate the event, Wizard will produce the convention program on papyrus. It will feature artwork commissioned by a distant relative of Alex Ross, who was a prominent hieroglyphics artist in ancient Egypt. CGC will be on hand to grade scrolls, wall paintings, and pottery and answer questions from collectors.
At the charity event, Heritage will auction off a rare historic experience. One lucky fan will win the opportunity to be mummified and buried in one of the pyramids. On the outside chamber of the burial tomb, Alex Ross of today and the Alex Ross of Ancient Egypt will join forces on a jam painting, celebrating his life as a fan.
It may seem like a lot of effort to honor the world’s greatest painter, but to Shamus, it’s just the beginning. “We’re setting up conventions that master time and space, right?” Shamus asks. “Next is dimension.”
Message boards are abuzz with rumors of the Wizard’s ability to launch conventions in Time, Space, AND Dimension. Other conventions being researched by Wizard include:
Wizard World: The Negative Zone
Wizard World: Ancient Greece
Wizard World: Asgard
Wizard World: Bizarro World
Wizard World: The 5th Dimension
Wizard World: The Civil War
Wizard World: The French Revolution
Wizard World: Elseworlds
Wizard World: Mars
Wizard World: That-Funny-T-Shaped-Building from Teen Titans
Wizard World: 1492
Wizard World: The Watcher Asks: What If?
“There are so many times, places and dimensions where/when we can host a con,” Shamus says. “It all comes down to one thing: If we can find some sort of way to honor Alex Ross, we’ll set up a convention there.”
