Meet Elvira and stars from 'Breaking Bad' and 'Twilight' at Albuquerque Comic Con Jan. 17-19

This year’s Albuquerque Comic Con is the largest it has ever been.

“Last year was a record-breaking year for us, for not only the number of guests, but the size and the quality of the guests,” said Jim Burleson, Albuquerque Comic Con founder. “And this year, we have 50 more guests than we had last year. So this show, it’s going to blow it out of the water. There’s been no show in New Mexico that’s ever been this big. We’re up there in the top 10 shows across the country now.”

Albuquerque Comic Con draws big names in TV and film, renowned illustrators and voice actors

The event will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 17, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 19, at the Albuquerque Convention Center. There will be a soft opening at 3 p.m. on Jan. 17, to support children with autism. Entry is free for the child and one accompanying adult. The event will open to the general public at 4 p.m.

Visitors will be able to talk to many legendary and up-and-coming comic illustrators and writers, as well as voice actors from anime, animated productions and video games.

Cosplay contests, discussion panels and side events are planned during the three-day event. A schedule can be found at albuquerquecomiccon.com.

Ticket sales skyrocketed with the announcement of Cassandra Peterson, who is better known as Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, being part of the event.

“We sold, like, $10,000 worth of tickets the day we announced her,” Burleson said. “It’s kind of crazy.”

Another big draw will be the casts of “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul.” With the exception of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, a majority of the casts will be onsite to meet and greet fans of the beloved shows filmed in Albuquerque and other parts of New Mexico.

Burleson was a stuntman on a couple episodes of “Breaking Bad” and made connections with many of the cast and crew members.

“Steven Michael Quezada, being local, he’s actually been an actor on a couple of films that I produced, which was really great,” Burleson said. “I’ve maintained a really solid relationship with him. But the booking agent of the majority of the ‘Breaking Bad’ people, has been booking with our (comic) con for a long time, and finally got Dean Norris attached and that made it all come together. So with Giancarlo (Esposito) and Steven Michael Quezada, it worked out really well. Once Dean was part of this, it made a reunion. And then, we were able to secure everyone else.”

A good sampling of cast members from the “Lord of the Rings,” “Twilight,” “Star Wars,” “Star Trek,” “Power Rangers,” “Saved by the Bell,” “The Walking Dead,” “Yellowstone” and other popular film and television series, will be part of this year’s comic con. Some World Wrestling Entertainment and All Elite Wrestling stars will also be part of the event.

“Lord of the Rings” alumni Elijah Wood, Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies will be at the event.

“Elijah Wood basically saw that Sean was coming and said, ‘You know what, I’d like to come out too,’” Burleson said. “He agreed to come out on his own because he just wants to hang out with his buddy, Sean.”

“Twilight” fans will be able to mingle with Peter Facinelli, Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene.

“‘Twilight’ is gonna be huge for us,” Burleson said. “It’s the first time we’ve had Kellan. Kellan has never come before. He’s Emmett in the show. We had Ashley and Peter Facinelli a few years back and they did really well. They were so great. So, adding Kellan to the list, just made sense for them to come again.”

The force is strong with the “Star Wars” lineup, which includes Deep Roy, Chris Bartlett, Paul Blake, Julius Leflore and Dickey Beer.

“Deep Roy used to come to most of our shows back when we first started,” Burleson said. “In 2011, he came a couple of times. He came in like 2014, but we haven’t had him out in like 10 years. And Deep Roy, he’s such an iconic star. And, like every genre of the pop culture industry, he was in. He was in (The) ‘NeverEnding Story.’ He was in ‘Star Wars.’ He was in (‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’), like he’s in so much.”

Guests will get swept away back to memory lane with generations of celebrities that were part of many favorite TV shows and films from the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s, with many still going strong today. The lists include celebrities from all genres such as romantic comedy, sci-fi, drama, cult favorites and horror, including Kristy McNichol, Leif Garrett, William Katt, Andrew McCarthy, C. Thomas Howell, Darren Dalton, Nancy Allen, Lori Petty, Mira Sorvino, Ed Begley Jr., Kevin Sorbo and many others including “Saved by the Bell” stars Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley.

“We try to keep it as diverse as possible because New Mexico is such an eclectic community,” Burleson said. “We want to make sure that we cater to as many fans as we can. That’s why we keep the guest list the way it is.”