8th August 2011
The Real Players Are Coming To Town: It's Armageddon!
Dust off your Xbox, clean out your Spock ears and get practicing your “Kamehameha!!” scream because Armageddon Expo 2011
is coming to town for four huge days of pulp culture mayhem in October.
The ASB Showgrounds will be overrun with gamers and fans of all ages from Friday October 28th – Monday October 31st,
with a special discounted preview day on the Friday, as Auckland sees the biggest and best Armageddon ever!
Festival director Bill Geradts says “This year’s Armageddon Expo is the biggest yet, with huge names from cult TV series
and voice artists from blockbuster movies such as Transformers and Tron, it’s going to be a very exciting 4 days.” This
year’s show features more entertainment, mind altering exhibits and famous people that you can poke an All Spark at,
with comics, Anime, paintball, amusement rides, live wrestling, International TV and Movie celebrities and movie stars,
comic and voice artists, massive interactive gaming stands, the breathtaking Burning Man and much, much more.
This year’s list of celebrity guests includes a dream team selection from some of the most iconic TV series and movies
headed by Nicholas Brendon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, joined by his twin brother Kelly Donovan. Making an
appearance at Armageddon Expo 2011 is feisty Alaina Huffman from SGU/Smallville, Stargate SG1’s brilliant young
astrophysicist Amanda Tapping and Falling Skies star Colin Cunningham, American actor and writer with that winning smile
Bruce Boxleitner also from TRON and Babylon 5, Mark Sheppard, versatile villain from Doctor Who, Supernatural and more,
Mark Ryan from the Transformers films & Robin of Sherwood will be there, along with Louise Jameson from the Doctor Who (Classic Series) just to name a few.
From the heard but not necessarily seen category, internationally renowned voice artists such as Kevin Conroy from the
awesomely dark Batman Animated, Justice League, JLU and Dragon Ball Z and Bleach’s Kyle Hebert will be in attendance to
meet and greet at Armageddon Expo 2011. A huge draw card for Wellington Armageddon and dropping in at Auckland’s Expo is
none other than the man behind the voice of Grandpa Max on Ben 10 and Preceptor in the original Transformers cartoon:
Paul Eiding. Other voicing celebs include Scott McCord from Bakugan Battle Brawlers, Steve Blum from Wolverine and the
X-Men, Cowboy Bebop, Transformers Prime and more.
For the more comically minded, Armageddon Expo 2011 brings you some of the big hitters from the world of graphic print
like the writer of Fables, Jack of Fables and JSA, Mr. Bill Willingham. Frank Cho, artist of Mighty Avengers, Shanna the
She Devil, Liberty Meadows (writer/artist). Whether it’s Manga, Anime or cartoons you’re into, you’ll find someone who
knows how to draw them at Armageddon. Don’t miss the digital release of NZ biggest comics publisher Beyond reality
media, with creators, artists and live in person THE WARDEN superhero himself!
On top of all those superstar TV, movie, comic and voice artist superstars, Armageddon Expo 2011 is bringing a humongous
amount of bust-a-gut fun. With activities galore over the four days, you’re going to need a few days off afterwards to
recover! Try this on for size: test your aim at the Paintball Gun Shooting Range, push the limits of your stomach with
the Fear Factor Challenge and if you survive that, why not have a shot at the Tip Top Ice Cream eating challenge to
really finish yourself off. Get Dr. Evil on it with some epic Laser Tag, and smash someone you love in the giant Pillow
Fight, but probably wait a while to do these after the Fear Factor Challenge. There’s also the National Skateboarding
Championships as well plentiful Anime and movie screenings.
Armageddon Expo 2011 also brings the pain with IPW Live Wrestling for all those with a penchant for a smack down, the
thundering vibrations of a thousand horse’s under one bonnet in the V8 Supercar Simulator and you can even walk on water
in an Aqua Bubble. You’ll be pushed to fit it all in four days.
The Armageddon Expo 2011 is a great chance to display your own creative flair in the world of all that is geek and
Anime. Dress up as your favourite movie or TV character, but don’t worry about feeling awkward, you’ll be in good
company! Fans can enter the crazy and colorful Cosplay Parade or unleash their inner angry beast in the crowd favorite
ultimate Dragonball Z event, performing the best Kamahameha scream to win cool prizes. Think of how you feel when
someone cuts you off in traffic, bottle that anger up then let it out in your car with a “Kamahameha!!” as practice.
It’ll make you feel instantly better too.
Amongst all the madness is the back bone of Armageddon Expo 2011 - the vast array of exhibitors displaying their wares,
everything from swords, to toys, to guns to action figurines and much more. This year will feature a massive increase in
gaming distributors with some very exciting brands showing their stuff. Industry giants Play Station and Microsoft will
be setting up their you-have-to-see-it-to-believe-it displays as well as the release of Arkham Asylum through Fiveight
Ltd. featuring the voice of Kevin Conroy as Batman, a treat not to be missed.
Friday the 28th October is a preview day for Armageddon Expo 2011, and at $10 entry, it’s a great chance to check out
the lay of the land. No guests will be at the show on Friday but they will be at the Cocktail Party, a soiree on Friday
evening where you can rub shoulders with the sci-fi and fantasy elite.
Armageddon has grown from strength to strength since it’s inception in 1995, becoming the largest fantasy event in
Australasia, boasting a whopping 44,000 attendees at last year’s festival. With shows in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington,
Christchurch and Melbourne it’s clear to see Armageddon Expo embodies the pulp culture phenomenon.
Festival creator and director Bill Geradts has seen industry trends come and go, with being a comic writer himself and
believes there is a bit of nerd in all of us. “Due to the breakthrough of mainstream movies such as Transformers, the
X-Men franchise to name a couple, being a geek is more acceptable. Now they can embrace it openly, in fact it’s even
cool!”.
Show information available at: www.armageddonexpo.com/
ENDS