Yo Joe! The Voice of Duke, Michael Bell, to attend Retro Con 2015!
We’d like to welcome the venerable Michael Bell to Retro Con 2015!
With nearly 60 years of professional acting experience (over 40 of them as a voice actor), Michael is a true legend in the industry! Though widely known for his voice work, you may also have seen Michael in character parts in such classic TV shows as Get Smart, The Monkees, CHiPs, Three’s Company, Charlie’s Angels, and Star Trek. Michael also ran his own voice acting workshop, which he used to train well-known voice actors such as Cam Clarke and Corey Burton, and he also currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Screen Actors Guild. He is married to actress Victoria Carroll, and you may also know of their daughter, actress Ashley Bell!
Michael’s most notable role for retro fans is probably that of First Sergeant Conrad “Duke” Hauser in the Sunbow GI Joe: A Real American Hero cartoon series! He voiced the confident field leader of the Joe team in the two original miniseries, both seasons of the syndicated tv show, and in the GI Joe animated movie (1987). Though originally written to be killed off in the movie, a severe backlash over the death of Optimus Prime in the Transformers movie spurred producers to spare the character of Duke. So in lieu of dying in a battle with Serpentor, Duke would slip into a coma and later reawaken.
Michael gave voice and personality to several other Joe and Cobra characters on the show too: Major Bludd, Scrap-Iron, Xamot, Blowtorch, and many more!
Mr. Bell is also popular for his work on G1 Transformers, with his most prominent role arguably being military strategist Prowl! A highly capable Autobot, Prowl was known for his straight-laced and logical personality. He also stood out with his unique police-themed robot and car design. Unfortunately, Prowl met his demise in the 1986 Transformers movie at the hands of a Decepticon raiding party while co-piloting an Autobot shuttle on its way to Earth. ☠
And just like GI Joe, Michael also provided voices for many other characters on Transformers as well! Among them were Dinobot Swoop, warrior Sideswipe, Insecticon Bombshell, and Constructicon leader Scrapper.
Other highlights in Mr. Bell’s voice acting career include: Zan of the Wonder Twins (along with space monkey Gleek), Lance and Sven on Voltron, Chas Finster on Rugrats, Handy, Grouchy, and Lazy Smurf, and Plastic Man!
Michael will be on hand all weekend to sign autographs for retro fanatics, so bring along your cartoon memorabilia! Michael is also a huge animal rights activist, so we will be donating part of the totals of the Retro Con 2015 charity auction to an animal foundation of his choice!
Win Prizes at the Retro Con 2015 Trivia Contest!
Get ready to test your mental mettle! We’ve once again combed the far reaches of our attic to find prizes for the Retro Con 2015 trivia contest!! We’ve got a huge selection of retro and retro-related items to give away at the show: Star Wars, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Transformers, GI Joe, TMNT, and a whole lot more!
Hosted once again by our good friend Mike Breaux of The Breaux Show, the contest will be held in the panel area at the convention on SUNDAY afternoon (exact time to be determined)!
No sign-up is required and there are no age restrictions, anyone can watch or play! We will reveal each item one at a time, then ask a trivia question related to it. This could also include audio or video clues. Directly afterwards we will randomly select a person in the audience that has their hand raised to answer. If they get it right, they win the prize on the spot. If not, we ask a different audience member until the prize is claimed!
The contest is completely free to all Sunday and weekend pass Retro Con attendees! So stop by and test your knowledge of all things geeky!!
“AAAAAAYYYYYY!!”
The Nostalgia Critic & Angry Video Game Nerd to attend Retro Con 2015!
We are pleased to announce the return of two Retro Con alumni for this year’s show: Doug Walker, aka The Nostalgia Critic, and James Rolfe, aka The Angry Video Game Nerd!
Though at one time they shared a faux rivalry, they’ve always remained good friends and now often collaborate on videos together. One of the more recent being an extended review of the 2014 TMNT movie!
“I remember it so you don’t have to!”
Doug Walker is best known for his video reviews as ‘The Nostalgia Critic’. The show involves the title character looking back at movies and tv shows from the 80’s and 90’s, and pointing out why they may not be quite as classic as we remember them. He also reviews newer movies, along with oddities from the past such as this crazy animated Titanic movie featuring a rapping canine! With humorous insights and a frenetic style, the show has been a huge hit since 2008 and is still going strong. You can check out his team’s work over at Channel Awesome!
“What were they thinking?!”
James is best known for his hilarious reviews of classic video games as the character ‘The Angry Video Game Nerd’, which mix together insightful commentary, over-the-top language, physical comedy, and various theatrical elements. In addition he’s made videos reviewing retro movies, toys, board games, and more. Last year he also released a feature-length movie based around his AVGN character. Check out his team’s huge body of work over at Cinemassacre.com!
Doug will be available at the show both Saturday and Sunday for autographs and pictures. He will also be hosting a Q&A panel on Sunday afternoon.
James will be at the show for autographs and pictures on **SUNDAY ONLY** and will be signing from 11am to 2pm. James will be part of the same Q&A panel as Doug at 2pm.
Michael McConnohie to Appear at Retro Con 2015!
We are excited to announce the addition of Michael McConnohie to our 2015 guest list!
A veteran in the voice acting industry for over 30 years and still going strong, Michael has been part of hundreds of projects in the field, ranging from dubbing anime, to recording for western animation, to voicing characters in video games. In addition Michael also works as a voice director and writer.
Michael’s most popular role in the retro realm is arguably that of Autobot Tracks on the original G1 Transformers cartoon!
Introduced in season 2, Tracks with his sleek (flying!) car mode, warrior skills, and flamboyant and narcissistic personality, quickly made him a favorite among Transformer fans!
Michael was also voice of the quirky UFO character Cosmos on the show! Being one of the few Autobots able to fly into space, Cosmos would sometimes lament his lonely function on the team.
Michael also voiced Cross-Country on the original Marvel/Sunbow GI Joe cartoon. Usually a polite and jovial soldier, but don’t steal his tape deck or else you’ll see his angry side!!
Some of Michael’s notable roles in dubbing include D and Left Hand in Vampire Hunter D, the lead role in Captain Harlock and the Queen From a Thousand Years, General Rolf Emerson in Robotech, Ryuken Ishida on Bleach, as well as providing the voice for Tatsu in the first two live-action TMNT movies!
Michael has several popular roles in video games as well. In the World of Warcraft series, he can be heard as the voice of Kel’Thuzad, Uther the Lightbringer, and the Lich King!
He also voiced Zhanh Liao and Zhou Tai in installments of the Dynasty Warriors series!
And he can most recently be heard in the brand new Mortal Kombat X, where he provides the voices for both Kano and Ermac!
Michael will be at the show all weekend and will be signing for attendees free of charge! We politely request that you limit your free items signed to two. We thank Mr. McConnohie for agreeing to come to the show this year!!
Larry Kenney at Retro Con 2015!
We welcome fan-favorite Larry Kenney back for Retro Con 2015!
A veteran in the world of radio and voice acting for over 40 years, Larry is of course best known to us as voice of the heroic leader of the ThunderCats, Lion-O! The popular show by Rankin/Bass Productions ran for 130 episodes across four seasons (from 1985 to 1989) and still has a staunch fan base to this day!
John Moschitta Jr. to attend Retro Con 2015!
In a rare convention appearance, we are pleased to announce that John Moschitta will be attending our 2015 show!
“America’s Favorite Fast Talker,” John has performed for eight US Presidents, recorded over 750 commercials (including his famous Federal Express ads), starred in four network television series, was featured in over a dozen movies, appeared on over 1,000 talk shows, released two best-selling audio books, and worked for over 500 corporations. He can most recently be heard on the animated series Adventure Time, Family Guy, and Robot Chicken!
“We’ve got Decepticons at the gates, Decepticons in the air, Decepticons outside the walls! Decepticons, Decepticons, Decepticons! If we beat them off the walls, they’re still in the air. If we shoot them out of the air, they’re still at the gate. So where does that leave us? Nowhere, that’s where!”
Transformers fans will of course remember John as voice of the kinetic fast-talking Autobot Blurr on the original Transformers cartoon series! Introduced in Transformers: The Movie (1986), the character continued into season 3 as a regular on the show. Though a capable and dedicated Autobot, Blurr’s effectiveness would sometimes be hampered by his incessant chatter. He was also extremely proud of his hyper speed abilities, and disappointed when he missed the opportunity to show them off.
Voice of Matt Trakker, Doug Stone, to appear at Retro Con 2015!
“Personnel approved! Assemble Mobile Armored Strike Kommand!”
This September will mark the 30th anniversary of the M.A.S.K. cartoon and toy line, and we are pleased to announce MASK voice actor Doug Stone as guest for our 2015 show!
Doug has been in the voice-over business for almost 35 years as an actor, writer, director, producer, and more. He has done voice work in over 1,500 projects, ranging from video games to TV shows and films, original animation, anime, commercials, etc. He has running characters in such anime as Dynasty Warriors, Blaze Blue, Kill La Kill, and recently co-starred in the original animated film, “The Magic House.”
But his most prolific role is that of stalwart leader Matt Trakker from the classic 80’s cartoon series M.A.S.K.! Trakker piloted the flying gull-wing Camaro known as the ‘Thunderhawk’, and his Spectrum mask had a seemingly endless array of abilities.
MASK stood for Mobile Armored Strike Kommand. It was a secret task force that used specialized masks and transforming vehicles to suppress a criminal organization known as VENOM (Vicious Evil Network Of Mayhem). It was an imaginative, wholesome, and fun action cartoon by DiC Studios, as well as a slick toy line by Kenner!
KITT Turbo Boosts to Retro Con 2015!
Knight Rider creator Glen A. Larson may no longer be with us, but his legacy will live on. Notchback KITT will be on the show floor at Retro Con 2015!
Features include a show-accurate dash and steering column, oil slick (black water), front CO2 sprayer, simulated rocket launcher, jet turbine sound system, sequencing front scan bar, and even the talking voice of KITT himself!
A huge thanks to Joe Fiduccia for agreeing to bring his remarkable car to the show to give fans the opportunity to get pictures with and inside!
Retro Con 2015! UPDATED!!
We are happy to announce the dates for our 2015 show:
September 12th & 13th, 2015 at The Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA!
We will be in Hall C once again, giving us 54,000 square feet to fill with collectible toys, video games, art, costumes, and a whole lot more!
We’re still working on ticket pricing for the show, but vendor spots are already available! Click on the Vendor tab at the top of the page for details on how you can reserve a spot at the show.
More show announcements will be coming in the near future, so keep watching!!
Retro Con 2014 Is Now Over
A huge THANK YOU to everyone that attended Retro Con 2014!! As always, we were extremely impressed by all the amazing and unique costumes we saw throughout the weekend, and we were equally impressed with the wide range of collectibles and displays the exhibitors brought with them!
We apologize that our first raffle session was so delayed due to a malfunction with the PA system, but overall the show ran very smoothly. A special thanks to all of our volunteers for helping us run the show, we could not have done it without your dedication!
Stay tuned, we will be posting pictures from the show soon! Thanks again to you all!!
-Tony and Rose
PRE-REG NOW LIVE!
Vendor Table Info Below!
Sponsors!
Retro Con would like to thank all those that helped to sponsor this show!
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98.5 WXPM The Phoenix
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The Retro Network
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Rediscover The 80s
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Friends of Retro Con!
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The Breaux Show
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Fandom Spotlite
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Toy Spotlite
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The Very Best
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retrocons.com 