October Has Come, Rock and Shock Looms!

The Mega Horror Convention by Day, Rock Concert Series by Night Returns to Worcester WORCESTER, MA 

As your local shops fill up with skeletons, vampires and friendly ghouls to hang about your house, our thoughts turn to Halloween, and for folks dedicated to all things horror, that includes planning their annual trip to the biggest horror and music convention on the East Coast during the spookiest of seasons; ROCK AND SHOCK! October 16th through 18th, Rock and Shock will celebrate their 12th year of music and mayhem at Worcester, MA’s DCU Center with a full schedule filled with panels, film screenings, activities and contests running across a show floor jam packed with excellent guests and awesome vendors. You’ll find all the holiday gifts you need for the creepiest kids in your life!

This year’s guest lineup includes George Romero, Godfather of Zombies everywhere (and director of Night of the Living Dead if we need to mention that), Tobin Bell (SAW Films), Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story), William Sanderson (Blade Runner, True Blood), Samantha Mathis (The Strain, American Psycho, Pump Up The Volume), Adam Green, Bill Moseley, William Forsythe, Doug Bradley, PJ Soles and more!

Check out the full lineup HERE!

This years’ bands include Danzig, Hatebreed, Twiztid, Prong, Soulfly, Soil Work, Blaze, Witch Mountain, Sanctuary, Superjoint and many more! Part of the “many more” is a special addition you’ll find only at Rock and Shock. Last year, primo photographer Jeremy Saffer presented to us THE ROCKING DEAD. Last year, primo photographer Jeremy Saffer presented to us The Rocking Dead. A band of music’s finest was assembled from acts that were on the Rock and Shock bill as well as surprise special guests, and with a mere soundcheck as their only practice as a unit they took the stage and belted out a set of classic Misfits songs. When they were done the fans knew they had seen something truly special, and in many a mind there grew hopes that this rare assembly would return. Well, their voices were heard, and Jeremy Saffer will once again present The Rocking Dead to you this year! But this time, the monster has grown! Led by musical director, protector of animals and rock and roll guitarist extraordinaire Ace Von Johnson, a band has been assembled that brings back many of last year’s gang but, like any good sequel, this one is even bigger!

The band and/or signings will include luminaries from rock and metal such as:

DOYLE WOLFGANG VON FRANKENSTEIN–The Misfits/Doyle

ALEX STORY–Doyle/Cancerslug

WEDNESDAY 13–Murderdolls/Wednesday 13

KYLE CASTRONOVO–Wednesday 13

ACE VON JOHNSON–Faster Pussycat

TAIME DOWNE–Faster Pussycat

ASH COSTELLO–New Years Day

NIKKI MISERY–New Years Day

MIKE D’ANTONIO–Killswitch Engage

ACEY SLADE–Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

BRET VON DEHL–The Relapse Symphony

As icing on the cake, many of the players will be signing during the convention! (Note: some will be signing all three days but due to touring schedules some will only be able to sign on Saturday.) As for the performance, what bands and songs will they cover this year? Will there be surprise guests? Well, some secrets are better kept until the show, but with The Rocking Dead added to an already stacked Saturday concert lineup this is an event not to be missed! Check out the full music lineup HERE!

We’ve got three days of films rolling out as well, including Chainsaw Maidens, Old 37, Fury, Diary of a Deadbeat, Pieces of Talent, plenty of shorts and some surprise features!

After cruising the show floor to shop with an incredible array of vendors, you can take in programming where amazing folks from the horror industry share their secrets with you, visit the Rock and Shock Creative Lair and learn drawing, writing, mask casting, creative activities and more, wave hello to super talented cosplayers roaming the floor or join them in our Cosplay Contest (for little AND big kids!) sponsored by Halloween Outlet and swing by the Idle Hands booth to test your horror knowledge or accept a challenge, all for killer prizes!

While every day at Rock and Shock provides a kid friendly atmosphere families will love, Sunday is KID’S DAY with a schedule including face painting, pumpkin decorating, a coloring contest and a cosplay contest just for your little monsters. We also show our appreciation for our servicemen on Sunday by offering FREE ADMISSION to all Police, Fire, EMT and Military personnel. Just show your service ID at the doors and you can receive up to 4 free tickets to the convention!

Hit up RockandShock.com for further info and to find the ticket option that best suits your fiend level!

Rock and Shock is a three day horror and music convention featuring celebrity signings, movie screenings, concerts, panels and more. Now in its 12th year, Rock & Shock has played host some of the biggest names in horror and rock. This year’s event will be taking place October 16-18, 2015 in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts at the DCU Center (http://www.dcucenter.com) and the Worcester Palladium (http://thepalladium.net).

Pictures from Rhode Island Comic Con 2014

 

By Jason Harris

 

Actor Walter Koenig (Star Trek: The Original Series).

Actor Walter Koenig (Star Trek: The Original Series).

2014-11-01 12.45.57

Captain America and Casey Jones.

Captain America and Casey Jones.

Actor John Wesley Shipp. (Flash, Dawson's Creek, The Flash).

Actor John Wesley Shipp (Dawson’s Creek, The Flash (1990 and 2014).

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An Andorian Starfleet officer holding a tridimensional chessboard.

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Actor James Hampton (Teen Wolf).

Actor James Hampton (Teen Wolf).

Mary Poppins.

Mary Poppins.

WWE star and author Mick Foley.

WWE star and author Mick Foley.

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Actress Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek: The Original Series).

Actress Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek: The Original Series).

Cobra Commander.

Cobra Commander.

Groot and Rocket.

Groot and Rocket.

Actor Seth Gilliam (The Walking Dead).

Actor Seth Gilliam (The Walking Dead).

Quint being eaten by Jaws.

Quint being eaten by Jaws.

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Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi and Dr. Strange.

Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi and Dr. Strange.

Captain America.

Captain America.

Actor Mark Sheppard (Supernatural, Leverage).

Actor Mark Sheppard (Supernatural, Leverage).

Frozen's Elsa.

Frozen’s Elsa.

Actor J. August Richards (Marvel's Agents of Shield, Angel).

Actor J. August Richards (Marvel’s Agents of Shield, Angel).

Actor Vic Mignogna (Star Trek Continues).

Actor Vic Mignogna (Star Trek Continues).

Mirror Universe Spock.

Mirror Universe Spock.

Actress Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Starman).

Actress Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Starman). Photo by Stacey Longo.

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Actor William Forsythe (The Devil's Rejects, Dick Tracy).

Actor William Forsythe (The Devil’s Rejects, Dick Tracy).

Dick Tracy.

Dick Tracy.

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Actor Saul Rubinek (Warehouse 13, True Romance).

Actor Saul Rubinek (Warehouse 13, True Romance).

Kevin Smith.

Kevin Smith.

The Blues Brothers.

The Blues Brothers.

Actor Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science, televison's The Dead Zone).

Actor Anthony Michael Hall (Weird Science, televison’s The Dead Zone). Photo by Stacey Longo.

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2014-11-01 18.36.34

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Steven Williams (Supernatural, The X-Files, Jason Goes to Hell).

Steven Williams (Supernatural, The X-Files, Jason Goes to Hell).

Actor Bobby Clark (Star Trek: The Original Series).

Actor Bobby Clark (Star Trek: The Original Series).

Batman.

Batman.

Actor John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and author Stacey Longo.

Actor John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark) and author Stacey Longo.

Spider-woman and Captain America.

Spider-woman and Captain America.

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The Dome of the Sci-fi Saturday Night podcast.

The Dome of the Sci-fi Saturday Night podcast.

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Princess Leia (Cosplayer Sarah Ann McGinnis)

Princess Leia (Cosplayer Sarah Ann McGinnis)

The alien marching band.

The alien marching band.

J. August Richards dancing with the alien band.

J. August Richards dancing with the alien band.

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Actor George Takei  (Star Trek: The Original Series).

Actor George Takei (Star Trek: The Original Series).

My Second Trip to Granite State ComiCon (Pictures)

By Dale T. Phillips

Pictures by Dale T. Phillips and Stacey Longo

 

Once more, I got to travel to another world or a lot of them, by attending Granite State ComiCon, organized by Double Midnight Comics. I was one of two authors at the Books & Boos table. The other author at the table being Stacey Longo. We were signing books for fans, new and old.

Author Stacey Longo at the Books & Boos table.

Author Stacey Longo at the Books & Boos table.

It was an amazing time at a well-run con, with thousands of fun people enjoying themselves and sharing their special likes of comics, TV shows, books, films, graphic novels, games, and cultural icons of all sorts.

Hall3

Hall2

Waiting

You get to see people like The New England Brethren of Pirates.Pirates1

The Ghostbusters of New Hampshire Ghostbusters

GhostB1

GhostB_501_roller

The New England garrison of the 501st Legion.
All three groups make appearances to help raise money for charities. These people put a lot of time and effort into their outfits and shows, and they deserve a big hand for what they do.501_base

Star_wars

Starwarrior

Wookie_face

Leia

Sam Jones

Sam Jones

You get to see celebrities, like Sam Jones (of Flash Gordon and Ted fame) and tough-guy actor William Forsythe, both of whom were

Author Stacey Longo with William

Author Stacey Longo with William Forsythe.

extremely gracious and kind to the fans. You also see the people behind the voices of your favorite animated characters such as Richard Horvitz, who voices Zim in Invader Zim, .

Richard Horvitz.

Richard Horvitz.

You get to meet writers such as Gordon Bean, Rob Watts, Katherine Silva, and Scott Goudsward, who are all members of the New England Horror Writers.

From left to right: Bean, Watts, Silva, and Goudsward.

From left to right: Gordon Bean, Rob Watts, Katherine Silva, and Scott Goudsward.

Author Matthew Bartlett, another NEHW member, was also signing books at the organization’s table.

Author Matthew Bart

Author Matthew Bartlett.

Besides the NEHW and Longo, Chris Philbrook, another author, had his own table at the convention.

During my time at the convention, I also met author John Murphy, who was recently heard on the Sci-fi Saturday Night podcast. I can’t wait to hear their interviews with the cast members of Game of Thrones.

Me (left) and John Murphy (right).

Me (left) and John Murphy (right).

The Game of Thrones celebrities.

The Game of Thrones celebrities.

Speaking of which, lots of folks were Game of Thrones cosplaying to honor the cast members who were there.

Arya

Arya of Game of Thrones.

Arya2

Arya of Game of Thrones.

Snow_dani

 

Miltos Yeramelou (Syrio on GoT) hosted a Water Dancing class to teach beginning fencers. I watched some of it, and thought it superb– and I’ve been a fencer for over 35 years.

Miltos Yeramelou.

Miltos Yeramelou.

Syrio2

Syrio3

Groot

Groot.

You get to see about every superhero and supervillain you can think of.

Catwoman

Catwoman.

Batgirl_Robin

Robin and Batgirl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harley_Joker_Riddler

Harley Quinn, the Joker and the Riddler.

Mr_T_JasonAnd many other costumes. A guy who plays Mr T. emceed the huge costume contest. I sure wouldn’t want to judge that one, because there are so manyCostume_crowd2 cool costumes, it would be too hard to choose a winner!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two days of fun, and we just saw a small part of it. It’s a total experience, with panels, parties, and participation.

Alien

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Freddy Krueger and Jason Vorhees.

Borg

A Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Horns

Loki

Harley_Joker

Harley Quinn and the Joker.

Big_Guy

HauntedAcres Haunted Acres is New England’s most exciting haunted attraction, with Maniac’s Midway, live bands, a beer garden, and lots of food and ride vendors.

Cosplayers

Costume_crowd3

Danerys_Tardis

Frozen’s Elsa taking a trip in the Tardis.

Deadpool_WW

Deadpool and Wonder Woman.

Mech_warrior

Dredd

Judge Dredd.

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Groot.

Gosselin

Artist Karen Gosselin.

Mr_T_Stacey

Mr. T with author Stacey Longo, holding her book Secret Things.

Princesses

Puppet

Ralphie

Ralphie from A Christmas Story.

Saints_3D

Silverlady

Steampunk

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A Medieval Deadpool.

Me with author Rob Watts.

Me with author Rob Watts.

Tardi

Things1_3

Vulcan

Star Trek’s Starfleet officer

WreckRalph

Wreck-It Ralph.

The Dome and Kriana of Sci-fi Saturday Night.

The Dome and Kriana of Sci-fi Saturday Night.

Disney Princesses.

Disney Princesses.

Droogie1

A Droogie.

WW_Batman

Wonder Woman and Batman.

Guardians

Guardians of the Galaxy.

A Droogie.

A Droogie.

Brave's Princess Merida and Silk.

Brave’s Princess Merida and Silk.

Performers from Fright Kingdom.

Performers from Fright Kingdom.

Convention attendees.

Convention attendees.

2014-09-13 10.07.31

 

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Rikki Simons, the voice of Gir.

Rikki Simons, the voice of Gir on Invader Zim.

Thor_Block

Thor and Voltron

Puppet