Vancouver car revs up Wizard World Comic Con action

• What: Portland Wizard World Comic Con, a comic book, TV show, movie, video game and pop culture convention with a number of celebrity guests, in its third year.

• Where: Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Portland.

• When: 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 24; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25.

• Cost: One-day passes range from $40 to $50 online at http://wizardworld.ticketleap.com/portland/, $10 more at the door. Each ticket includes up to two free child tickets for ages 10 and younger.

• Information: www.wizardworld.com/home-portland.html

At least one part of the Wizard World Portland Comic Con will have a decidedly Vancouver spin — complete with custom chrome, a deep, throaty engine and movie star flash.

Brock May, a Vancouver truck driver, is taking his 1969 Yenko Camaro SYC over the river to Portland as part of the event’s car showcase. May’s car, which he rebuilt himself, is fixed up to look like a car in the film “2 Fast and 2 Furious” that was driven by actor Paul Walker.

“I had the car, and I was building it when that movie came out (in 2003),” May said. “And I didn’t know what I wanted to do with the paint and all that. And when I saw the movie, I thought, ‘Now that’s a cool car.’ So I decided to model mine after it.”

Brock and his wife, Peg May, have taken the car to two comic conventions in the past two years, including last year’s Wizard World Portland Comic Con.

They decided to show the car last year as a tribute to Walker, who was killed while filming a sequel in the series, “Furious 7,” which is set for release April 3.

Fans of the series are very passionate about the actor and his charity Reach Out Worldwide, which helps disaster relief efforts, Peg May said.

“We have actually had people come to the booth and start crying, as this car reminds them so much of Paul Walker and his work,” she said.

After expenses, the couple give about half of the profits from their booth to Walker’s charity, Brock May said.

The Wizard World Portland Comic Con, in its third year, has a lot more than cars. It also has a host of celebrity actors and actresses including Michael Cudlitz, who plays Sgt. Abraham Ford on “The Walking Dead”; Ming-Na Wen, who plays Melinda May on “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D”; Stephen Amell, who plays Oliver Queen on “Arrow”; and Sasha Roiz, who plays Capt. Sean Renard on “Grimm.” It has a wide variety of booths from artists and authors in a variety of pop culture genres.

There’s also cosplay, costume contests, seminars and a variety of other events.

“We have a huge costume contest on Saturday evening — it’s a big deal, with a judging group and great prizes,” said Jerry Milani, a spokesman for the convention. “The shows have really grown. They’re more about pop culture than ever. It’s not just science fiction, comics and celebrities. It’s a celebration of fandom.”

Cars may seem like an odd inclusion in all of that, but they continue to be immensely popular with fans. It’s a way of physically experiencing a film or TV show, Milani said.

“They’re always a big hit,” Milani said. “We’ve had the Batmobile, The Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, Ghost Busters, all sorts of cars.”

Sometimes, the cars come from far away. But organizers didn’t have to go far to find two of the showcase cars this year. Along with May’s car, the “Seattle Time Machine,” a replica of the 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 from “Back to the Future,” also came from Washington.

“I love that Vancouver has such a car culture,” Milani said. “That’s how you guys exert your own personality at our show.”

The other cars at the Portland show will be “Baby,” a replica of the 1967 Impala from the show “Supernatural,” and “Futrell Autowerks 2012 Volkswagen Star Wars Passat,” which has a custom paint job featuring characters from the first six “Star Wars” films.

Cars will be displayed in the registration area, so visitors can give them a look while they wait to get information packets or tickets, he said.

Brock May said last year people flocked to his Camaro to take photos with it.

“I bet 1,000 people sat in the car just on Saturday last year,” he said.

He also takes the car every year to Vancouver’s Cruisin’ the Gut celebration, he said.

“Actually lots of Vancouver people came through the Comic Con last year and stopped by to say hello,” Brock May said.

There was also an interesting older gentleman last year who stopped by to say hello, he said.

“There was a guy doing a skit with the show ‘Toy Hunter’ near where we were, and I shook his hand and didn’t know who he was,” May said. “I was like ‘Oh, what’s your name?’ He said ‘Stan Lee,’ I’m like ‘Cool,’ and he walked off. Then my wife told me who he was.”

Lee, 92, an iconic writer, editor and publisher in the comic and film industry, is also the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics. He created Iron Man, X-Men and The Avengers, among many others.

Lee was at the first two Portland Comic Cons but won’t be at this year’s event, because his age makes travel more difficult.

“I know who he is now,” May said with a laugh. “I get to meet Lou Ferrigno this year. That will be great to meet the Hulk.”

And if Ferrigno wants to sit in the Camaro, May said he’s all for it.

“I love having people in this car,” May said. “That’s what I built it for. If everybody gets to enjoy it, that’s the fun part.”