by Brittney G
The 5th annual Walker Stalker Atlanta was this Halloween weekend and yours truly got to check out the sights. This was the largest year to date with an estimated attendance of 65,000-70,000. It was a rollicking good time and full of celebs not only from The Walking Dead (TWD) but also Fear The Walking Dead, Ash vs Evil Dead, Z Nation, Sons of Anarchy and more.
Walker Stalker Con (WSC) is a fun, for-fans-by-fans convention that travels all over the globe in 16 different cities. I always have a great time at Walker Stalker Atlanta. It’s not perfect (the lines for autographs are a bit of a mess and especially nightmarish for Norman Reedus and Jeffrey Dean Morgan), but it definitely is entertaining. The Atlanta incarnation brings the most guests as Atlanta is home to TWD and seems to have the most going on. It’s also one of 4 cons that Andrew Lincoln aka Rick Grimes usually attends. Your only chances to see Lincoln are WSC Atlanta, San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con and WSC London. And while it’ll set you back about $80 for a photo op, they are so incredibly limited you may end up spending about $700 for the Gold Pass or $1400-$1600 for the Platinum Pass just to get some face time with Lincoln. Platinum Passes include many perks such as 4 photo ops and 4 autographs from other celebs on top of lunch in the Green Room, premium seating at panels and more. Andrew Lincoln’s signings take place away from the prying eyes of the public. You are enclosed in a black curtained off area and can often hear cheers from within as fans get a very close & intimate experience with the man himself. Should you be able to afford such an experience, you can feel good about the purchase as 100% of his proceeds go to charity. Not being able to meet the Rickster did not deter me from having a blast though.
The boys from Sons of Anarchy were there and had a great time playing off of each other and reminiscing. The cast in attendance included Tommy Flanagan (Chibs), Kim Coates, Theo Rossi, Mark Boone Jr, Ryan Hurst and Ron Perlman, who announced his intention to run for President in 2020-was it in jest? We’ll see. I had a wonderful conversation with Dana DeLorenzo & Ray Santiago, Kelly and Pablo respectively, from Ash vs Evil Dead about the show and their opinions on life in general. They were there in attendance along with more of the cast including Lee Majors, Ted Raimi, Jill Marie Jones and Bruce Campbell. Look for a transcript of our conversations soon! From a horror perspective, Andrew Divoff, the Djinn from Wishmaster was in attendance along with Tom Savini, Greg Nicotero and Jigsaw himself, Tobin Bell, who was the guest of honor at the Saturday night afterparty called Trapped: Gideon’s Revenge which boasted a $500 costume contest. And of course, the cast of The Walking Dead were there in full force. Negan, Michonne, The Governor, King Ezekiel, Jerry, Herschel, T-Dog, Merle and many
more. There were plenty of panels to catch up with cast members new and old but the Jeffrey
Dean Morgan panel, We Are All Negan, was by far the most packed.
Aside from interacting with celebs, the vendors are a major part of the con. A few of my fav vendors and cosplayers were in attendance including friends of Days of the Dead, Pretty Spooky Handmade and Drop-Dead Bizarre. From the cosplay aspect, Cecil Grimes Cosplay with special guest from the UK, Darren Tilson aka The Notorious Negan were in attendance and were a hit with the crowds all weekend. If you haven’t attended a Walker Stalker Con and you’re a fan of the series or the post apocalyptic genre, definitely give it a shot when it comes to a town near you.
