The cult of Armageddon

For a show named after the end of the world, Armageddon has - in the words of that most famous Vulcan - lived long and prospered.

On Labour weekend the Armageddon Pulp Culture Expo celebrates its 10th anniversary.

In a decade it has gone from a male-dominated trading card and comic event to a show that caters not only for the whole family but for everyone from gamers to sci-fi junkies to animation fans.

There's even some live wrestling this year.

"Kids who are into comics like wrestling too," says expo founder and director Bill Geradts.

The first Armageddon, held at the Avondale raceway, attracted 2000 people. Now the event is held over three days at the Aotea Centre in Auckland and more than 30,000 people are expected.

In 1998, Geradts, an avid comic collector, started expanding the expo to cater for the public as well as comics fans.

"We looked at the show and we realised that was as big as it was going to get. If we do a comic show, all we get is comic fans. That's great and they'll buy more comics, but you don't get new fans.

"But if you do a show that's sci-fi and comics and animation and The Lord of the Rings and wrestling, then people don't pigeon-hole it as much. You get more people coming in and you get people who have never even looked at Spiderman in a comic.

"That's how you grow an industry.

"That's what the trading card guys see - they're going to make some money plus it's the best advertising they could possibly get. You get the fans who don't even know you exist, and you get the fans who don't even know they're fans.

"I'm sure every show we get someone who walks away with a totally new comic collection or fantasy fetish," Geradts says.

You can tell how passionate Geradts is about Armageddon.

And he is positively gushing about a Battlestar Galactica trailer to be screened at the expo: "It's the closest you get to a sci-fi orgasm."

The trailer, created by Richard Hatch - who played Captain Apollo in the original 1970 series - was never used for promotion.

"It's something that will never be - but it's a nice reminder of something that will never be."

Such dedication to all things sci-fi is what Armageddon is all about. It's the Big Day Out for those who don't get out much because they have their noses buried in a Marvel comic or are obsessed with the latest anime DVD out of Japan.

Geradts says Armageddon is an interesting people-watching exercise.

"If anything, the audience over the years has become more intelligent and we've become more of a family show."

And yes, he says, you do get the "scary" people.

"The scary ones exist. But I want to avoid the scary ones. I don't need to tell you about the scary ones because everybody will see them."

* Armageddon Pulp Culture Expo, Aotea Centre, Auckland, October 22 to 24.

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THE FANS

Scary people

The least common sub-tribe, but as expo director Bill Geradts says, "They shine like beacons of dark light in the middle of the event."

They include: the guy who lives with his mum, the guy who hasn't washed for a year, and the guy who lives with his mum and hasn't washed for a year.

The tattooed freak, the ones who inevitably get on TV when the network news crews show up.

Young kids

They love the animation voice actors. This year's star is Dan Green, the voice of Yugi, from the series Yu-Gi-Oh.

18-year-old girls

Anime fanatics. For those not in the know, anime is Japanese animation, and one of the most popular series is Dragonball Z.

18-year-old boys

Also into anime, but of the dark and brutal variety.

Dragonball Z competitors

One of the most varied sub-tribes. Ranges from 25-year-old Rastafarians, to 6-year-old Asian boys, to 16-year-old girls. Some competitors train all year round for this annual contest.

Trading card competitors

Fifteen-year-old boys, because the trading card tournaments at Armageddon require a lot of time and energy to learn how to play the games. But it also attracts passionate 40-year-olds.

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THE STARS

John Rhys Davies - Lord of the Rings fans know him as Gimli. Taller in real life.

Sam Jones - Best known as Flash Gordon from the 1980 film, which is having its 25th anniversary this year

Jay Laga'aia - Aussie-based local lad back to relive his few minutes on screen as Captain Typho in the last two Star Wars flicks.

Matthew Lewis - Neville Longbottom in the Harry Potter films.

Gates McFadden - Chief Medical Officer Dr Beverly Crusher of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Richard Hatch - Best known as Captain Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica. Also plays Tom Zarek in modern remake of the show. Hatch is also a writer, director and producer.

Nicole De Boer - Ensign/Lieutenant Ezri Dax in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

John Billingsley - Dr Phlox in Star Trek Enterprise.

Dominic Keating - Malcolm Reed in Star Trek Enterprise.

Torri Higginson - Dr Elizabeth Weir in Stargate Atlantis.

Joe Flanigan -Major John Shepherd in Stargate Atlantis.

Cliff Simon - Goa'uld System Lord Ba'al in Stargate SG1.

Dean Haglund - Langly, one of the computer geeks in The X-Files and offshoot The Lone Gunman.

Robin Atkins Downes - Byron from Babylon 5.

Lex Van Den Berghe - Third place-getter in Survivor: Africa and Survivor All Stars.

Jerri Manthey - from Suvivor: Australian Outback and Survivor All Stars. Plus appeared on the cover of Playboy.

Tom Buchanan - from Survivor: Africa and Survivor All Stars.

Mark Waid - comics legend and writer for The Legion of Superheroes, Hunter Killer, X-Men and Captain America. Unofficial historian of DC Comics.

Michael Turner - comic book artist best known for Witchblade (co-creator), Fathom and Supergirl from Krypton.

Dan Green - voice of Yugi in Yu-Gi-Oh series. Also, Pokemon, Shaman King and Sonic X.

Joshua Seth - voice of Shobu in series Duel Masters.

Sonny Strait - voice of Krillin in Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT.