Welcome to the Revolution…
The main corridor of the Ontario, California Convention Center, with the entrance to the Exhibit Hall, visible as well as a sign leading to Artist Alley in an adjacent corridor.
The Inland Empire’s Comic Con Revolution (CCR) is a sci-fi/fantasy/comic books convention based in the city of Ontario, California. It first sprang into existence in 2017 as a garage sale in a nice venue; with few attractions and scant attendance. But over the past eight years, this ‘little’ convention has dramatically grown in size and stature, while still offering a lower cost, family-friendlier alternative to bigger, pricier conventions, such as WonderCon in Anaheim, or San Diego Comic Con, the motherlode of all pop-culture conventions. Kids under 13 get in free, with daily teen/adult admission ticket prices ranging from $35-40, as well as savings offered with preordered weekend passes and Groupons.
Free “Jetpack Jules” artwork came with our badges, and cosplayer ‘Jules’ was at the convention as well. As marketing campaigns go, ‘Jetpack Jules’ was very effective for me personally, as the character reminded me of two things I love; my wife Jules, and “The Rocketeer” (1991); an underrated classic.
For CCR 2025, I noticed a new attempt at branding the convention; complete with a comics-inspired avatar named “Jetpack Jules”; a Rocketeer-style heroine who acts as mascot for the event–there was Jetpack Jules preferred seating for premium passes and free, full-page artwork given to attendees. I also met a cosplayer at the convention recruited to play a living “Jetpack Jules,” and she nailed it. As a longtime fan of “The Rocketeer” (the 1991 Disney movie and the late Dave Stevens’ graphic novel) with a wife named “Jules” (no kidding), I thought this new mascot identify for CCR was great. Yes, I have a personal bias … sue me.
Also new for this year; I’m nursing a bad right knee (stemming from an old motorcycling injury) and I’m facing surgery soon. So, with cane in hand, I didn’t quite have the range or freedom of movement I usually enjoy at these events, but I did my best. With that understood, let’s dig in…
Star Cars
Outside the Ontario Convention Center, before you enter the security checkpoints for the event itself, there is a small lot of fan-made replica vechicles from such movies and TV shows as “Jurassic Park” (1993), “Knight Rider” (1982-1986), “Ghostbusters” (1984-2024), “Toy Story” (1995) and “Back to the Future” (1985-1990). Here’s a few highlights:
The Exhibit Hall & Artist’s Alley
The convention’s large Exhibit Hall is used primarily for selling merchandise, such as comic books, lightsabers, toys, and other cool collectibles, as well as a few sugary confections, like the delicious coffee-flavored fudge my wife discovered. There are also charity cosplay and fan group meeting spaces, too. However, a significant portion of the Exhibit Hall is also permanently reserved as an autographing area for celebrity attendees and fan queues. The former autograph room across the hall is, as of last year, a permanent Artist’s Alley for selling fan-made wares. The Exhibit Hall and nearby Artist’s Alley feature a colorful menagerie of old and new collectible mech.
Sadly, I couldn’t explore it this year in as much depth as I usually do, since I was walking with a cane (knee issues; surgery pending). Hopefully, this won’t be as bad a problem when I attend San Diego Comic Con later in the summer. Fingers crossed.
The “Deluxe Sabers” booth proprietor oversees two potential clients trying out some of his custom-made lightsabers.
I once bought a 3D printed dragon for my wife, and I was very tempted to grab one of these as well.
These recreations represent some of the real fossils and plaster casts you can see (including a mastodon) at the Western Science Center, which is located at 2345 Pearl Parkway, Hemet, California 92543. (Phone: 951-791-0033).
Recreation of a fossilized tooth from a Megalodon (a massive prehistoric shark) from the Western Science Center. Naturally, I went back on Sunday to grab one (of only two left) for my friend’s son.
An interesting Asian-styled variant of a Star Wars astromech droid, from the Nerd Mafia cosplay/prop-builders booth.
This is where amateurs and established entrepreneurs sell their wares. As I said above, I was walking with a cane and a bad leg, so I didn’t take as deep a look as I would’ve liked. Here’s hoping next year, I’ll be able to walk the full breadth of the convention with relative ease.
Actors, Artists, Writers & Wrestlers
This year’s autograph area within the Exhibit Hall had several major focuses. With the buzz surrounding the trailer for James Gunn’s new “Superman” movie (coming this July), CCR arranged for a Superman reunion at this year’s event, with several cast members from “Smallville” (2001-2011) and the star of 2006’s underrated “Superman Returns.” WWE Wrestling & Entertainment also had a major presence, with several big names appearing as well. In addition, another main draw was actor Ernie Hudson; an original cast member from “Ghostbusters” and several of its sequels (1984-2024), as well as “The Crow” (1994), and the recent “Quantum Leap” reboot/sequel (2022-2024), which was cancelled before its time.
Funny story; a young woman accidentally bumped into me as I was walking with my cane, and she immediately turned, saw my cane and sincerely apologized in a British accent. I told her not to worry, and that I was fine. Suddenly I heard people cheering her on, as she headed towards her autograph booth. This kindly Brit was WWE superstar Saraya. As someone not familiar with wrestling, I didn’t recognize any faces, but the impressively long lines gave me some idea of the ongoing popularity of the WWE.
Autograph lines for John Schneider (“Smallville,” “Dukes of Hazzard”), John Barrowman (“Torchwood,” “Doctor Who”), Janet Varney (“The Legend of Zorra”) and Ernie Hudson (“Ghostbusters,” “Quantum Leap”). From what I could see, Ernie Hudson and Brandon Routh had the longest lines, though all of the queues were pretty healthy throughout the weekend. Given the “Smallville” reunion panel on Saturday as well as the press over the new “Superman” movie this summer, actors Tom Welling (“Clark Kent/Kal-El”), Erica Durance (“Lois Lane”), Michael Rosenbaum (“Lex Luthor”) John Schneider (“Jonathan Kent”) and Brandon Routh (“Superman Returns”) were guaranteed draws.
Got an autograph for my friend’s son Joshua from actor Ernie Hudson (“Ghostbusters,” “Quantum Leap”). 13-year old Joshua is a huge Ghostbusters fan, and he was thrilled to meet an OGB. While I enjoy many of Hudson’s movies and TV appearances, I really loved Hudson’s work on the the new “Quantum Leap” (2022) reboot as Herbert “Magic” Williams; the Quantum Leap Project Team Leader, who was the glue of the series. Hudson was very patient and attentive with each of his fans, and it’s no wonder he was had such a large autograph queue. And I gotta say, the 79-year old actor (who turns 80 later this year) looked amazing. I’ll definitely have what he’s having, please…
At the only panel I attended this year, Ernie Hudson discussed his 50 year career, including a lucky break when he met the daughter of director Gordon Parks (“Shaft”) and soon landed a role in the 1976 movie “Leadbelly”; a biopic of folk singer Huddie Ledbetter. Since then, he’s gone on to the iconic role of ghostbuster ‘Winston Zeddemore’ in four of the “Ghostbusters” movies, including the classic original (1984-2024), as well as roles in “Leviathan” (1989), “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” (1992), “The Crow” (1994) and many others.
More recently, he appeared as Project Team Leader Herbert “Magic” Williams in the 2022-2024 reboot/sequel of “Quantum Leap”; a promising followup to the original series (1989-1993) that, in Hudson’s opinion, didn’t get a fair chance due to a lack of faith from NBC (too true). He’s consoled by the fact that he won a much-deserved Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in the series. I’ve championed the new “Quantum Leap” in this column, and I was saddened when it was struck down only two seasons into its run.
This photo shows the exact moment when Hudson described walking onto a stage over 50 years ago, and realized that acting was his true calling. Currently, the nearly 80-year old actor has been cast in “Boston Blue,” a cop series spinoff of “Blue Bloods.” Hudson comically kept forgetting the name of his new series, and had to repeatedly ask his wife (who was in the audience) for the name of it. After answering audience questions, Hudson reiterated his philosophy of taking whatever work comes his way, including voice roles in animated Star Wars ( “The Bad Batch”), and supporting roles in a broad variety of shows. That philosophy can be more simply described as gratitude. Ernie Hudson is the textbook example of a working actor.
Meeting actor Brandon Routh (“Superman Returns,” “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”). I’ve always said that Routh did an amazing job as Superman; giving a performance that honored the work of the late Christopher Reeve, while bringing something new to the table as well. Routh played Superman again in the CW’s Arrow-verse crossover special “Crisis on Infinite Earths” (“Supergirl,” “Arrow”). Routh was also very generous to his fans, giving high-fives to each member of the line when he had to temporarily leave for prepaid photo op commitments. The person standing behind me in line emigrated from Bali 15 years ago, and was a huge fan of his. She brought her personal journal from childhood in hopes of Routh autographing it. Other details of her personal story so moved me that I gave her my place in the queue. When I met Routh, he looked so handsome and fit that I felt like a Neanderthal standing next to him! Must be those Kryptonian genes…
The cast of TV’s “Smallville” (2001-2011) were also on hand for the weekend, including Tom Welling (“Clark Kent”), Erica Durance (“Lois Lane”) and Michael Rosenbaum (“Lex Luthor”) and John Schneider (“Jonathan Kent”). Unfortunately, this shot was taken during a break for the actors (they also had photo ops to do, as well as meal breaks, etc).
Michael Rosenbaum plays “Smallville” future supervillain “Lex Luthor.” Rosenbaum also has a great interview series on YouTube called “Inside of You,” and he’s in a new crime drama audio series called “True Noir: The Assassination of Anton Cermak”; as a diehard fan of old-fashioned radio plays (Mercury Theatre, CBS Radio Mystery Theater, etc), I really need to check that one out.
On Saturday (top, left), I saw actor and LGBTQ+ icon John Barrowman (‘Captain Jack Harkness’ on “Doctor Who,” “Torchwood”) as I waited in an adjacent autograph line. I saw Barrowman spending real quality time with his fans, so I was determined to visit his booth on Sunday, and he was just great. Barrowman’s panels at conventions are always memorable, and he’s as bawdy as he is hilarious. When you take a selfie with him, he insists on three takes; happy, sassy and ugly. Since I was wearing a mask, I acted through my eyes. The top right photo shows our “happy” faces; the bottom left shows our “sassy” faces, and the bottom right shows our “ugly” faces. And I assured Barrowman that my face could easily project ugly through a mask (haha). As expected, my quality meet-and-greet with Barrowman left me with a great memory. John Barrowman is a true character.
Other attendees included actresses Tara Reid and Rachel Leigh Cook (2001’s “Josie and the Pussycats” live-action movie) as well as comic artists/writers/legends such as Jae Lee (Fantastic Four, Batman, SpiderMan), Stan Berkowitz (Batman Beyond, Justice League animated series), Mark Bagley (Ultimate SpiderMan, Justice League), Marv Wolfman (New Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths) and sooo many others. With a strong, early 2000s-nostalgia vibe at this year’s CCR, the caliber of guests continues to surprise me every year, as CCR evolves into a genuine contender.
CCR Cosplayers Assemble!
I say this every year, yes, but it’s still true; cosplayers are the heart and soul of any sci-fi/fantasy/comic book convention, and CCR’s ever-rising standard of cosplay continues to impress. The level of passion, dedication and pure love of the cosplay game from local and even out-of-state attendees is amazing to behold. I hope you enjoy this small cross-section of cosplaying talent from this year!
Black Widow, a young Jedi Knight, Wolverine meet Red Guardian at an impromptu Marvel (and Star Wars) cosplay gathering.
Left: Classic Batman unfurls his wings for a fan, while Superman (Right) emerges from mild-mannered Clark Kent!
Left: Docking bay worker ‘Peli Motto’ from Star Wars’ “The Mandalorian.” Right: A chance encounter between ‘Merida’ from Disney/Pixar’s “Brave,” and ‘Fiona’ from Dreamworks’ “Shrek.”
Left: A clever, shrunken-headed cosplay from “Beetlejuice.” Middle: Bella ‘Belle’ from Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Right: Classic yellow-garbed Wolverine, from the original Marvel Comics.
Left: Three “Jurassic Park” park rangers with baby velociraptors on their arms. The raptors were partly animatronic puppets, with heads that shrieked and moved independently! Right: A ‘John Hammond’ cosplayer from “Jurassic Park”; complete with guayabera shirt and amber-encrusted mosquito on the end of his cane; something he and I had in common this weekend–we both had canes!
Their booth featured lots of Whovian paraphernalia, including two full-sized Daleks whose operators would occasionally roam the halls, threatening to “EX-TER-MIN-ATE” occasional guests…
Several Star Trek Starfleet officers from the USS Falcon Crest Fan Group (NCC-22115) gather proudly around their beautiful homemade warp engine core! Their warp core, clearly made with love, gave the TV/movie versions a run for their money.
From the Star Wars galaxy, an exceptionally well-done “Emperor Palpatine” cosplayer (wearing hand-crafted silicon facial appliances) stands with his evil apprentice–crimson lightsabers at ready.
A cosplay group of Hawaiian-themed “Moana” Mandalorians! It’s these kinds of unexpected cosplaycombinations that leave me amazed at the creativity of fandoms. Cosplayers in particular possess an extraordinary knack for out-of-the-box thinking.
Summing It Up
While last year’s Comic Con Revolution took a slight dip in attendance, this year’s event was a bit more robust, with the reunion of the “Smallville” cast (Tom Welling, Erica Durance, Michael Rosenbaum, John Schneider), as well as original “Ghostbusters” star Ernie Hudson and “Superman Returns” star Brandon Routh; who was the second ‘Superman’ at the event, but certainly no less appreciated, judging by his long (and patient) autograph lines. There was also the usual wealth of collectibles, cosplayers, comic books and panels. Sadly, my limited mobility this year prevented me from exploring as deeply as I would’ve liked. But, to paraphrase The Beatles; I got by with a little help from my friends…and my wife.
Speaking of which, CCR’s new mascot character “Jetpack Jules” put a smile beneath my mask (loved seeing my wife’s name everywhere), and I got a kick out of the character herself; a loving tribute to the late Dave Stevens’ “The Rocketeer” (who was inspired by the jetpack-wearing hero from the 1950s matinee serial, “Commando Cody”). Watching it grow from little more than a garage sale in 2017, CCR is beginning to resemble Anaheim’s WonderCon only eight years later. I’m continually impressed by the talent pooled for CCR, which is run through Atomic Events. CCR has now taken its place as the premiere pop culture convention in SoCal’s Inland Empire. Given the competition from its formidable rivals in San Diego and Anaheim, that’s an impressive feat.
Here’s hoping my own ‘Jetpack Jules’ and I will return next year!
All 106 of my full-sized Comic Con Revolution 2025 photos can be viewed HERE in this link. Barring any unforeseen future medical maladies, I should (?) be back at full strength after my surgery for San Diego Comic Con this July.
‘Jetpack Jules’ is obviously a spinoff from ‘Robbie Rocketpants.’
Always enjoy reading about the conventions ‘across the pond’ and getting a smidgen jealous at all the great stars they attract. Thanks for the share 🙂
My pleasure. 🙂