Over 14,000 people filled the aisles of Hall E of the Edmonton Expo Centre on October 20th & 21st for the first Edmonton Comic and Entertainment Expo. The teams behind the Calgary Expo and the Edmonton Toy & Collectible Show combined their energies with great success.

Although the 2012 Calgary expo had some growing pains, this weekend ran very smoothly. That isn’t to say there weren’t glitches beyond the organizers control. October edition coverboy Sean Maher had to drop out due to a film, replaced by fellow Firefly alumni Jewel Staite. Headliner Adam "Batman" West injured his back just days before the show and was replaced by the original Catwoman Julie Newmar and 6 Million Dollar Man Lee Majors. A photo op with Newmar and Burt "Robin" Ward brought the two TV rivals together. The love was evident for Newmar, who gushed about being so well received.

"I am Adam West’s replacement. He hurt his back chasing his dog. The people here are incredible. It has been an all day long lovefest and I am getting all the love. This is the sweetest thing that can ever happen to you to have an event like this," she told GayCalgary Magazine. "I love you and meeting you, thank you so much and don’t be shy. We’ll purr together."

Other guests included Charisma Carpenter of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, Star Trek’s Nichelle Nichols, and Star Wars Billy Dee Williams. Some of the longest lines for photos and autographs were reserved for Misha Collins, who plays the character of Castiel on Supernatural. As a last minute add, he was floored by the response.

"It is shocking. I was expecting a small crowd. On a map of the world Edmonton is very small. I had no idea there were this many people here. Calgary is a substantial city but Edmonton? Who would expect that?" he joked dryly.  "For me the fact that people actually show up here to meet me specifically means there are a lot of psychotic people in Edmonton."

Collins charmed the crowds attending his panel with his quirky sense of humor, which is also displayed in a video on GayCalgary.com. While having a "lap interview" Collins talks about the fan fiction movement on the relationship between Castiel and Dean among other topics. It is one of the most bizarre dialogues we’ve ever conducted, but a must see nevertheless.

Nichelle Nicholls has already wowed us with her incredible interview in the October edition. We caught up with Nichelle again for a follow up video interview at the Expo.

"The weekend has been great!" she said excitedly. "All they have to do is say a city in Canada and I am on my way."

She looked amazing and fans repeatedly commented on how sweet she was.

"It’s the hair, I have nothing to do with it," she quipped.

After a successful first year, the Edmonton Expo returns September 28th & 29th, 2013. Those wanting a dose of "full frontal nerdity" before then, can check out the Calgary Expo April 26th to 28th, which has already announced horror film icon John Carpenter, Stargate SG-1’s Michael Shanks and the return of Marvel Comics creator Stan Lee.

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Contributor Jason Clevett |

Locale Edmonton |

Person Misha Collins | Nichelle Nichols |

Topic Celebrity Interview | Celebrity Video Interview | Comic Expo | Edmonton Expo | Most Read Articles in 2015 | Star Trek | Supernatural |