New Orleans’ annual Fan Expo is what comic book conventions have morphed into in 2026.<\/p>\n
In the \u201970s, comic conventions in church basements and VFW halls focused on comic book writers and artists with collectors selling comics out of long, white boxes on cafeteria tables. In a back room, they nodded to science fiction, showing reels of \u201cStar Trek\u201d bloopers and old \u201cFlash Gordon\u201d serials.<\/p>\n
Now, the balance has shifted. Comics are still part of the story, but fantasy and science fiction-based pop culture drives Fan Expo, which starts Friday and runs through the weekend at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.<\/p>\n
That shift has made Fan Expo big enough to expand off-campus.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 25th anniversary of director Peter Jackson\u2019s “Lord of the Rings” franchise is one of Fan Expo\u2019s spotlights this year with actors Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd \u2014 Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin \u2014\u00a0on hand for panel discussions, photos and autographs. Other related events are popping up, and Wood will join with Los Angeles\u2019 Zach Cowie to DJ a night of vinyl on Saturday at Republic NOLA<\/a>.\u00a0Miel Brewery will host<\/a> an evening inspired by Middle Earth on Thursday night, as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n Sean Astin, left, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan and Elijah Wood reunite at Fan Expo in 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Tipitina\u2019s will host an anime after party on Saturday with a cosplay contest and performances by Sweet Supernova, Purikura Panic and The Suzaku 7.<\/p>\n Astin, whose presence is evidence of the changing status of conventions like this, will talk about two beloved properties \u2014 “The Lord of the Rings” films and \u201cThe Goonies.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Conventions were famously mocked in a \u201cSaturday Night Live\u201d sketch when William Shatner told a roomful of minutiae-obsessed Trekkies to get a life, but now they\u2019re such a part of an actor\u2019s life that Astin, president of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, will be in New Orleans and a number of other cities this winter to celebrate the “Lord of the Rings” anniversary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Astin told a convention in Salt Lake City that “The Goonies” resonated because \u201cit\u2019s got heart.” \u201cThe whole idea is we want to save our homes. At its core, it\u2019s about a group of friends who are like family and care about each other and their home. ‘Lord of the Rings’ is about preserving The Shire. It\u2019s the same story.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019ll be joined on \u201cThe Goonies\u201d panel by actors Corey Feldman, Joe Pantoliano, Kerri Green and Robert Davi.<\/p>\n Another of this year\u2019s big names is John Cena, the longtime wrestler who also stars in \u201cThe Peacemaker\u201d on HBO Max. \u201cThe Peacemaker\u201d is one of the early tentpole titles in the rebooted DC Universe, and he recently wrestled his retirement match for the WWE. When he appeared this summer at a Fan Expo in Chicago, he reflected on the common element between those two projects \u2014 the fans, who haven\u2019t always been kind to him in arenas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cY\u2019all want to be here,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the end of the day, we all share moments, and y\u2019all want to share those moments with me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sisters from New Orleans Hareu, Hime and Lee Dollis pose during the first day of FAN EXPO New Orleans at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n
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