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Steve Wozniak says he’s not your typical comic book nerd — though he did once drive 400 miles to attend a “Star Trek” convention.
The Apple co-founder told Re/code he has devoted his entire life to technology and bringing the stuff of science fiction to life. But a conversation with former Marvel Comics exec Stan Lee at a party in Las Vegas set Wozniak on an unexpected path that led, two years later, to this weekend’s first-ever Silicon Valley Comic Con.
(Note to non-geeks who accidentally clicked on this story: “Con” is short for convention.)
“We agreed we had to do something together,” Wozniak recalled in an interview from Los Angeles’ Four Seasons Hotel.
The event is a collaboration between Wozniak and Lee and will celebrate the intersection of technology and pop culture, bringing together prominent figures from Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
Author Andy Weir, whose novel “The Martian” was adapted into an Academy Award-nominated film starring Matt Damon, is scheduled to appear onstage with NASA systems engineer Bobak Ferdowsi and “MythBusters'” Adam Savage to talk about sending humans to the Red Planet.
Caltech quantum physicist Spyridon Michalakis will discuss his consulting work on Marvel Studio’s “Ant Man” and the forthcoming movie “Doctor Strange.” And Emmy Award-winning animator and comic book artist Bret Blevins and comic book writer Tim Blevins will talk about the evolution of the comic industry and technology’s impact on storytelling.
“There are all sorts of meaty things that you can sink your teeth into,” said Comic Con Chief Executive Trip Hunter of the various panels. “These guys are making pop culture become reality.”
And — because no comic book convention worth its price of admission could go without — there’ll be plenty of celebrities, including the stars of “Back to the Future” — Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson — reuniting at the event, and Captain James Tiberius Kirk himself, William Shatner.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
