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They call the event Wizard World... but that's not quite accurate. Like the infinite parallel Earths in the comic books that beget the convention, this weekend-long celebration of four-color fantasies would be better titled Wizard Worlds.

When the savvy folks at Wizard magazine took over the Chicago Comicon four years ago, they expanded its focus: Now the Rosemont Convention Center annually hosts the (self-proclaimed) world's largest multimedia pop-culture gathering. As such, the press release gives top billing not to any big-name comics creators or science-fiction film stars, but to the "ever-popular wrestler/actress," World Wrestling Federation's Chyna. This makes for an interesting mix. Among the 32,000 attendees, you can spot would-be writers and artists, toting their portfolios, hoping for a big break; collector geeks with boxes of comics, seeking autographs; and pop-culture freaks, enthusiastically costumed as their favorite characters. (One hero wannabe clad in shiny yellow spandex demonstrates definitively why director Bryan Singer made the right choice by dressing his "X-Men" in black leather.)

PR notwithstanding, WWF caricatures really aren't the biggest draw. Several panels are huge -- it's standing room only for the more than 1,000 people who've turned out to hear writer/director Kevin Smith crack wise about sex, drugs and "Dogma." Proving that fame is an aphrodisiac, he fields several come-ons -- who knew there were Jay and Silent Bob groupies? -- but deflects the propositions by sharing stories about his 1-year-old daughter, Harley Quinn.

Seems Smith stole the name from one of the most popular female characters in comics. Ms. Quinn's creator, Paul Dini, tells a few hundred fans during a Q-&-A session how he dreamed up the Joker's girlfriend for the animated "Batman" series. He thrills the room by screening an entire episode from the upcoming season of "Batman Beyond," featuring the origin story of Bruce Wayne's Bat-hound, Ace.

Other panelists had weightier issues to discuss. Sith Lord supreme/mutant of muck Ray Park, actor and fanboy favorite from "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" and "X-Men," ponders (by request) who might win in a fight: Darth Maul or the Toad? Meanwhile, admirers wait in huge lines for autographs from J. Michael Straczynski, creator of "Babylon 5," and Joss Whedon, the brains behind "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." One large woman with a steroid fetish, supposedly at work hawking an upcoming interactive "Scooby-Doo"-inspired card game, instead gushes to all who'd listen about having hugged both Lou Ferrigno and Tyler Mane.

Just another day in the life on the alternate Earth known as Wizard World. (2000-08-10)

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