Outlander Stars, Author To Ring In New Year At Wizard World New Orleans, January 5-6

NEW ORLEANS - Sept. 18, 2018 - PRLog -- Fans won't have to travel back to the 18th century to see the stars of the popular drama series "Outlander"—just to the Big Easy—as Wizard World kicks off its 2019 schedule with a gathering of Richard Rankin ("Roger Wakefield"), Sophie Skelton ("Brianna Randall Fraser") and Graham McTavish ("Dougal MacKenzie"), as well as the best-selling author Diana Gabaldon at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. They are the first celebrities announced as Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB:WIZD) opens its 2019 calendar with its ninth trip to New Orleans for the comic convention and pop culture extravaganza, January 4-6.

The four will appear on Saturday and Sunday, January 5-6, when they will greet fans, sign autographs, pose for group and solo photo ops and conduct Q&A panels discussing the hit show and their respective careers. VIP Packages and general admission tickets are available now at http://www.wizardworld.com/comiccon/new-orleans. They were huge hits in their first appearance together at Wizard World Chicago in August.

McTavish began his acting career performing Shakespeare on stage in several amateur and professional productions. He made his screen debut as an extra in Tobe Hooper's sci-fi horror film Lifeforce (1986) and celebrated his screen credit in an episode of the British television show "Return to Treasure Island." McTavish played the character Warden Ackerman in five episodes of Season 8 of "Red Dwarf" and has also had many supporting roles in British dramas and films such as Casualty, Jekyll, The Bill, Taggart and Sisterhood.

After beginning his career by starring alongside Robert Florence in "VideoGaiden," Rankin made appearances on episodic Scottish television programs "Legit" and "The Old Guys" for the BBC and "Taggart" for STV. He later joined the casts of the BBC One crime drama series "Silent Witness" and the anthology drama "The Syndicate," plus the film Burnt opposite Bradley Cooperbefore landing the Outlander role.

The Cheshire, England-born Skelton gained her first professional role in 2012 in the British crime drama "DCI Banks." She then guest starred in children's dramas "The Dumping Ground" and "Waterloo Road" before being cast in the feature film The War I Knew. After several notable TV roles and the lead in the fantasy-horror film Blackbird, Skelton joined the "Outlander" cast as "Brianna Randall Fraser."

Gabaldon is the author of the award-winning, #1 NYT-bestselling Outlander novels, described by Salon magazine as "the smartest historical sci-fi adventure-romance story ever written by a science Ph.D. with a background in scripting "Scrooge McDuck" comics." A scientist with a Ph.D. in Quantitative Behavioral Ecology and a specialty in scientific computation, Gabaldon jumped the academic rails in 1991, when the adventure began with the classic Outlander, and has continued through seven more New York Times-bestselling novels, with twenty-eight million copies in print worldwide, in 43 countries and 39 languages.

Additional celebrities to attend Wizard World New Orleans will be announced closer to the event. Wizard World New Orleans will also feature non-stop live entertainment, gaming, exclusive Q&A sessions with top celebrities, movie screenings hosted by stars and directors and more. Details to follow soon.

Wizard World events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture: movies, television, gaming, live entertainment, comics, sci-fi, graphic novels, toys, original art, collectibles, contests and more. The first event scheduled on the 2019 Wizard World calendar, New Orleans show hours are Friday, January 4, 4-9 p.m.; Saturday, January 5, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, January 6, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Kids 10 and under are admitted free with paid adult.

Wizard World New Orleans is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor and participate in the famed Wizard World Costume Contest on Saturday evening.

For more on the 2019 Wizard World New Orleans, visit http://www.wizardworld.com/comiccon/new-orleans.

About Wizard World (OTCBB:WIZD)

Wizard World, Inc. (www.wizardworld.com) produces comic, gaming and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate the best in pop culture: movies, television, gaming, live entertainment, tech, comics, sci-fi, graphic novels, toys, original art, collectibles, contests and more. A first-class lineup of topical programming and entertainment takes place at each event, with celebrity Q&A's, comics-themed sessions, costume contests, movie screenings, evening parties and more. Wizard World has also teamed with Sony Pictures Entertainment to find the next generation of movies as well as to engage in a number of strategic initiatives. Additional initiatives may include an augmented touring schedule of Wizard World shows, fixed-site installations, curated e-commerce, and the production and distribution of content both in the U.S. and internationally. Fans can interact with Wizard World at www.wizardworld.com and on Facebook (http://facebook.com/wizardworld), Twitter (http://twitter.com/wizardworld), Pinterest (http://pinterest.com/wizardworld), Instagram (http://instagram.com/wizardworld) and other social media services.

The 2018-19 Wizard World convention schedule is available at: http://www.wizardworld.com/comiccon.