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A new comic convention in a very historic venue--
The inaugural Great Overland Comic Convention was held over the weekend in Topeka, KS featuring vendors, guests, events, panels, and more, and took place in an almost century-old venue, to great success.
The Great Overland Station began as a Union Pacific railroad passenger station in January 1927 and would survive floods, several remodels, being abandoned in 1988, and damaged by fire in 1992. Union Pacific Corporation donated the station and then efforts commenced to transform it into a railroad heritage museum, opening as such in June 2004. The venue brings Topeka's railroad heritage to life through photographs, special exhibits, and costumes, and even hands-on simulators.
The two-day show was an all-ages celebration featuring regional pop culture creatives that attracted over 1000 people over the course of the weekend. Shawnee County Parks + Recreation, Parks For All Foundation and volunteers helped bring the idea to life which featured artists and writers, cosplay, geek boutiques, video gaming, board games, and vendors selling comics, books, and pop culture merchandise.
Area guests included Kevin Dillmore (Star Trek), the musical duo of Clearly Guilty, Bona Bones (Robot Chicken), Pros & Cons Cosplay, and Robert Bolivar (Star Trek: Deep Space 9). Comic creators attending were Buster Moody, Danè Shobe, Bill Hook, Erica Batton, Travis Fox, Arie Monroe, EJ Drake, and BeeJay Hawn.
The venue is already known for hosting weddings and corporate events, and after a successful and similar Harry Potter-themed gathering last fall, it’s been proven that it can also host local pop culture shows as well, despite being somewhat remotely located along the river. A food truck was parked out front, and the arts district (which also hosted related off-hour events), was also within easy walking distance.
The $5 admission fee was inexpensive enough that any curious casual fan, or full family, could afford entry, and since all of the station’s museum exhibits could be seen as well (normally a $6 admission in itself), the door charge was that much more of a value.
Additionally, the advantage of being presented by the county Parks and Rec Dept meant for greater “official” word of mouth about the show, with listings on city/county social media, TV appearances, and coverage by most local outlets. Its relatively small size made a two-day show somewhat of an option, but that did also allow for more potential attendees to work it into their weekend calendars.
Most talent was located upstairs along a promenade, which allowed them more space, but also were somewhat isolated from the main foot traffic downstairs. A few dealers were located in additional rooms, which was needed to accommodate them all, but it seems always better to have any vendors gathered in a central area, when possible.
Minor quibbles aside, this was a well-staged and fine first show, one of hopefully many to come (next year’s plans are already being talked about) in a town that needs a regular pop culture event (again) like this one. Booking at least one high(er)-profile celebrity and a few more comic-centric dealers, would evolve the show that much more, but a very good start overall. All aboard for the next Great Overland Comic Convention!
(click on any image to enlarge and see in full)
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| John C ♥ johnc@weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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