CON UPDATE: Historic ‘Star Trek’ event in Philly, Batman in NJ, ‘Hunger Games’ in Chicago

There’s a ton of good convention news to report, so here goes …

• The Philadelphia Comic Con, operated by Wizard World, will host the first-ever joint appearance by all five Star Trek captains. Patrick Stewart has recently been added to the list, joining Kate Mulgrew, William Shatner, Scott Bakula and Avery Brooks. The only one left out appears to be Chris Pine. The mega-show (and we mean mega) takes over the City of Brotherly Love May 31 through June 3 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Other top celebrities: Chris Hemsworth, Norman Reedus, Stan Lee, Paul Wesley, Bruce Campbell and Sam Trammell. Click here for more information.

• The Super Megashow and Comic Fest comes to Whippany, N.J., on June 9 and 10. Scheduled to appear are Batman, Robin and Catwoman, aka Adam West, Burt Ward and Lee Meriwether. Other celebrities who will stop by the Hanover Marriott include Kelly Hu and Daniel Cudmore, both of the X-Men franchise, plus Linda Thorson (The Avengers), Robert Vaughn (Man from U.N.C.L.E.), Carrie Henn (Aliens), Deep Roy (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and Marc Dodson (Gremlins). Tickets are fairly cheap and can be purchased here.

• The stars of The Hunger Games are coming to the Westin O’Hare Hotel right outside Chicago in Rosemont, Ill. Some of the actors who will be on hand for Creation Entertainment’s Fiction2Film event are Willow Shields, Amandla Stenberg, Dayo Okeniyi, Jacqueline Emerson, Nelson Ascencio, Kimiko Gelman, Brooke Bundy and Eric Hennig. Also appearing June 23-24 is author Pamela Sargent. Click here for more information.

• Producer Ted Bohus will stop by an extra special 35mm screening of his cult classic, The Deadly Spawn, playing at 8:30 p.m. at the Forum Theatre in Metuchen, N.J. on Saturday, June 9. The event, hosted by Crystal Plumage Films, will feature a Q&A on the iconic movie. Click here for more information. Tickets are $15.

• The great Nichelle Nichols (Uhura from Star Trek: The Original Series) will appear at several events in the coming months, including the Official Star Trek Convention in Nashville, Tenn. (June 9-10). For those of you who can’t make it to one of her in-person appearances, she’s running a special on her web site for autographed 8x10s: buy two, get one free. At only $35 a pop, that’s an extra special bargain. Click here for her online store.

• In the coming days, expect to read our preview of Jawsfest: The Tribute, an August event coming to Martha’s Vineyard.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com