KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Celebrities, artists and tens of hundreds of enthusiasts proud to name themselves nerds are converging in Kansas Town for the Missouri town’s twenty fifth annual Planet Comicon this weekend.
Devotees starting from “Potterheads” — fans of the prevalent Harry Potter sequence — to “furries” — society dressed as cartoonish animals — can take a look at area of interest trivialities abilities, compete in Pokémon battles and sing their own praises intricate, home made outfits in homage to their fictional heroes.
Lead visitors come with Ian McDiarmid, who CEO and founder Chris Jackson described because the “quintessential villain” in his portrayal of Star Wars‘ Emperor Palpatine, infamous for luring Darth Vader to the dark side.
Organizers expect record-breaking attendance this year at the three-day event, which began Friday and typically draws about 60,000 fans, Jackson said.
Spokesman Chris Phelan said “Midwestern hospitality” contributes to the conference’s welcoming nature.
“Whether you wear a costume or you don’t wear a costume, this is your place to be who you are,” he said.
Jackson started out buying and selling comics at the now-famous San Diego Comic Convention in the 1980s. He tried to recreate those experiences in the first Planet Comicon in suburban Kansas City.
“I really wanted to bring in the creators so the fans could meet the people who created their comic books,” Jackson said.
Roughly 1,200 people attended the first Planet Comicon, Jackson said, and the only celebrity guest was Star Wars’ R2-D2 actor Kenny Baker.
Phelan said it’s unique that Jackson continues to run Planet Comicon Kansas City compared to other large cons, which he said are typically run by corporations.
“Kansas City kept its hometown roots while still becoming one of the largest and longest-running comic book pop culture events in the entire country,” he said.
Visitors on Friday cosplayed as characters together with Big name Wars stormtroopers (who stayed in personality and directed enthusiasts to “move along”), Darth Vader, Batman, Harley Quinn, Spider-Man and creepy, larger-than-life animatronics from “Five Nights at Freddy’s.”
“Scream” fans wore the long-lasting Ghostface masks to honor the actors who performed the killers within the actual horror movie, who are also on the fest.
“It’s been nice, having been the nerd who was weird in the beginning now be the person who’s cool for doing the same weird stuff I did in high school,” mentioned Kori Couldry, who wore pointed ear prosthetics and horns to cosplay as a demon from the online game “Baldur’s Gate 3.”
Jackson mentioned the stand in cosplay on the tournament additionally resulted in extra girls collaborating.
“The comic shows were kind of a little boys club for many years, let’s face it,” he mentioned. “But now, as you can see, when you wander the floor, you’re going to see a much more broad base of people here. And I think that’s really great.”
Humorously, this past’s accumulating coincides with the Large 12 Girls’s Basketball Championship at Kansas Town’s close by T-Cell Heart.
“There are people that are going to be wondering why is everybody dressed up?” Phelan mentioned. “Because they have no clue what what might be happening just down the street.”
Attendees will have to pay for autographs or pictures with celebrities, even if Q&A classes with celebrities are most commonly separate.
Miracle’s Chris Claremont — who created characters together with Dim Phoenix, Rogue and Legion — is amongst a slate of comedian writers on the fest.
Actors to be had for meet-and-greets come with:
1. Paul Bettany, who performed Seeing in “WandaVision” and “The Avengers: Infinity Battle”
2. “Scream” actors Matthew Lillard (who also starred in “Five Nights at Freddy’s”) and Skeet Ulrich
3. Stars of “Boy Meets World,” including Topanga actor Danielle Fishel
4. Henry Winkler, who played The Fonz in the sitcom “Happy Days”
5. “Lord of the Rings” star John Rhys-Davies
6. The voice actors behind the beloved “Avatar: The Last Airbender” characters of Toph, Prince Zuko and Uncle Iroh
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Ballentine contributed to this report from Columbia, Missouri.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship, not the men’s championship, is this weekend in Kansas City, and also that Chris Phelan is a spokesman for the event.
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