Attention nerds: The Wizard World Miami Comic Con is going down February 26 and 27 at the Miami Airport Convention Center. For fans of comic books, sci-fi, professional wrestling, and all sorts of other guilty pleasures, it's an opportunity to step out of the proverbial nerd closet and openly embrace your inner geek.
For Adam West, however, Comic Con's a paying gig. The 82-year-old actor has been in the game long enough to understand the business of pop icon status, joking, "I don't go much of anywhere unless they pay me. It's what Bob Hope taught me."
West is no stranger to the convention circuit, admitting he's been to so many, "they're all blurring together." However, some of the people he's met at the conventions leave a lasting impression.
"A few weeks ago (someone brought) a lunchbox from the early '70s. I said, 'wait a minute, do you still have your lunch in that?' He opened it and god, it was awful."
West's wit is as sharp as a shark tooth, and the iconic actor shows no signs of slowing down. At the Miami comic con event, he and his Batman co-star/sidekick, Burt Ward (Robin) will reunite for a series of fan photo ops, autographs, and a Q&A session.
"You know it's amazing, in the last year, [Ward] pops up frequently, which is nice," he says. "We have different lifestyles. We don't fraternize or get together that often, but when Burt shows up, it's amazing how the chemistry just comes back between us."
While some fans remember West as the caped crusader, younger audiences know him as Mayor West on Family Guy, and admits the comic con crowds are just as interested in his animated career as his superhero days.
"It's become kind of fun to kid around, perceive a bit of irony," he says. "I keep reinventing myself like Madonna... The Adam West/Mayor West character is so nutty; I think people just want to see if he's real."
Find out for yourselves whether or not Mayor West is anything like the real Adam West on February 26 and 27 at the Miami Airport Convention Center, and bring him a snack. "I won't get a chance to hit South Beach, or any good restaurants. I'm going to be held captive down there near the airport."
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