Last weekend, Dallas played host to some of the largest names to hit the big (and small) screens. Fan Expo Dallas brought in celebrity guests such as William Shatner, Kiefer Sutherland, Pamela Anderson, Zachary Levi and many more. The convention offered fans a chance to meet the stars of some of their favorite movies with Back to the Future, It, The Karate Kid, Boy Meets World, Smallville,and The Goonies cast reunions.

Comics also took center stage at this year’s Fan Expo Dallas. Legendary creators Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, and John Byrne were among a long list of notable names. Fan Expo even offered creative minds a chance to be critiqued by Marvel and DC experts. Professional editors from the two companies looked over portfolios and gave suggestions to those lucky enough to have secured an appointment.

Fan Expo Dallas was able to bring in some awesome partners that helped add another element to the show this year. Ripley’s Believe It or Not! had a traveling museum with some of Hollywood’s most notable movie props and, of course, an array of oddities. Bandai Namco’s store had tons of figures to purchase and a giant Godzilla sculpture on display. As always, the ThinkGeek store proved to be a fan favorite as well.

One of the most memorable moments for my family happened to be a random encounter with artist Guy Gilchrist. My oldest daughter was a bit put out that she wasn’t able to wear a costume because we left straight from her softball game to attend. She noticed Guy’s table as we were looking around. Guy has illustrated some of pop culture’s most famous cartoons throughout his career. He was the original artist for The Muppets and also drew for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. My daughter, being a lover of the cartoons, had to look through all of his artwork. When Guy noticed that she was wearing a Pink Panther softball jersey, he quickly struck up a conversation and revealed that he actually drew the character for the cartoon. He then proceeded to show her how to draw the Pink Panther and even gave her the artwork. My daughter left his table with a huge smile and is, no doubt, now a huge Guy Gilchrist fan. Guy specifically told us not to mention that he was a nice guy in order to protect his reputation, but it had to be done. Sorry Guy…

The organizers and Fan Expo did a great job improving the layout from year’s past. While the convention still had an extremely large crowd, they found a way to make things much less congested. Last year, the autograph lines were completely overwhelming and Closter phobia set in as soon as you stepped down into the area. This year was a completely different story. The floor seemed much more opened and the lines were well organized. The entire layout of the convention made things much more enjoyable and relaxed. The only small negative, in my opinion, was the designated family area. Normally it is filled with crafts, kid-oriented cosplayers, photo opportunities, and movies. The convention still had the area this year, but it was rather empty and ravaged by Saturday afternoon. However, the fact that this was the largest issue that I encountered truly vouches for how well Fan Expo Dallas 2019 was run.

Of course, the celebrity guests had to share the spotlight with some amazing cosplayers. Professionals and amateurs displayed their unique talents by creating their own versions of famous characters’ costumes. Fan Expo Dallas hosted one of cosplays biggest contests, so we thought we would share a few of our favorites as well!