Stars align – Planet Comicon rolls into Kansas City April 28-30
Thousands of fans, dozens of celebrities and hundreds of cosplayers will descend on to Kansas City in less than a week in one of the Midwest’s largest and most popular comic cons. Planet Comicon will host its 19th convention at Kansas City’s downtown convention center April 28-30.
What started as a small gathering in 1999 in Overland Park, Kansas, has grown into Planet Comicon, attracting some of the biggest names in science fiction, comics, fantasy, television and motion pictures. The convention has drawn celebrities such as Stan Lee, the great comic book artist ad mastermind of Marvel comics and movies.
This year’s Planet Comicon’s list of stars is a fanboy or fangirl’s fantasy come true. Celebrities expected to attend include Ron Perlman, Summer Glau, Catherine Tate, Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, Jason Isaacs and John Barrowman.
TV’s Anna Silk (“Lost Girl”), Adelaide Kane (“Reign”) and Stephen Amell (“Arrow”) are among actors attending the con.
The list of attendees aren’t just tied to science fiction or fantasy. Tara Reid and Shannon Elizabeth will be on to hand to discuss subjects including the “American Pie” movie franchise. Wrestling’s Ric Flair will be attending Planet Comicon.
Comic book enthusiasts will be excited for the comicon. GoComics plans a major event at Planet Comicon with 30 GoComics creators in one area. GoComics is the web’s largest catalog of syndicated newspaper comic strips, political cartoons and web comics.
Comic book creator Kevin Eastman will be at Comicon. Eastman is one of the co-creators of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” The creative team behind “Harley Quinn” will be in attendance – Chad Hardin, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. “X-Men” writer Chris Claremont and “Dawn” creator Joseph Michael Linsner will be attending the con.
Voice actors will visit Comicon. Among those attending will be John DiMaggio (“Futurama”), Bret Iwan (the official voice of Mickey Mouse) and Tom Kane (“Rogue One”).
Several of the celebrities will participate in discussion panels. The neat thing about the panels is that fans can ask questions. The celebrity panels are one of our favorite parts of attending a comicon.
Of course, there will be cosplayers galore! I’m excited to check out this year’s cosplayers. It seems like people who enjoy dressing as their favorite movie, TV, science fiction or fantasy character always improve the look annually.
Speaking of cosplayers, if you want to take a picture of them, just ask. Most people tend to love showing off their character. Also, treat everyone respectfully.
Planet Comicon will host a series of panel discussions concerning cosplay, ranging from respecting everyone’s choice of character to how to get into local cosplay.
Other events and attractions during Planet Comicon include more than 250 exhibitors in an area taking up about 300,000 square feet. We are looking forward to checking out the collectibles and other items available for purchase.
Planet Entertainment Zone will include activities from Legoland Discovery Center, National Wrasslin’ League, Worlds of Fun & Oceans of Fun, Tapcade, Kansas City Renaissance Festival, Kansas City Public Library, Mesner Puppet Theater, State Farm Video Game Lounge, Hammerspace Community Workshop, Science City at Union Station and Maker Faire Kansas City. Participants can also take part in the Kansas City Zombie Walk for Hunger or donate blood to the Community Blood Center on-site.
So, we are excited to visit the Kansas City Planet Comicon beginning Friday. We’ve reviewed the convention’s schedule to ensure maximum coverage. We look forward to providing daily updates.
Will we see you at Planet Comicon? Tickets are still available. If you’re a nerd (like someone in our marriage) or know one, we recommend visiting the comicon. We hope to see you in Kansas City.
For more on the Kansas City Planet Comicon, please visit www.planetcomicon.com.
