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On a chilly mid-March weekend, over 60,000 comic book and pop culture fans descended into downtown Kansas City’s Bartle Hall to attend the three-day Planet Comicon Kansas City, the region’s largest and longest-running comic and pop culture event that celebrates comic books, science fiction, superheroes and fantasy, and its creators.
The show celebrated its 24th anniversary this year, first beginning in the south suburbs, to continue to grow exponentially to become the Midwest’s premier comics and pop culture gathering.
The show itself remains extremely well-run– with easy to find volunteers happy to answer questions and provide directions, generally orderly celebrity signing lines, and good overseeing of in-person panels in both the larger ballrooms and the smaller side rooms.
The dealer exhibit space covered over seven football fields worth of area and featured comic books, pop culture collectibles, anime, nostalgia and memorabilia, along with gaming, entertainment, and other retail options.
Several related outside evening events (dubbed Planet After Dark) attracted large crowds as well, with the fantasy-themed Fae Ball selling out very quickly, and cosplay remains as popular as ever, with a full house on-hand for the Saturday night Cosplay Contest. Pinball and vintage video games were available, and hands-on workshop presentations were held for would-be creators.
Crowds size stayed healthy all weekend, with Saturday especially busy and the ballroom panels were especially filled for William Shatner, Giancarlo Esposito, and several voice casts.
Notable guests for the 2023 show included:
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Ming Chen – Comic Book Men actor / Podcaster
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Chris Claremont – X-Men Writer
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Amanda Conner – Harley Quinn Comic Artist
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William Daniels - Actor
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Kevin Eastman – TMNT co-creator
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Giancarlo Esposito – Breaking Bad and Star Wars Actor
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Jonathan Frakes – Star Trek Actor
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David Mack – Comic Book artist / writer
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Bill Morrison – The Simpsons Artist / Writer
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Jimmy Palmiotti - Comic Book Writer / Inker
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Cassandra Peterson – Elvira actor
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Don Rosa – Donald Duck/Disney artist
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William Shatner – Star Trek / TJ Hooker Actor
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Roger Craig Smith – Sonic the Hedgehog Voice Actor
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Brent Spiner – Star Trek Actor
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Jim Steranko – Marvel Comics Pop Art creator / artist
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Roy Thomas – Marvel / DC writer and editor
Paid celebrity meet-and-greets and photo opportunities were available and one of the best ways to learn about these attendees or ask a particular question, was to attend their public Panel discussion/Q&A. We’ll be showcasing those closer, in an upcoming separate post.
Japanese animation and its associated culture aka Anime has become even more popular in recent years; so much so, that a companion show Planet Anime Kansas City will make its inaugural weekend, this October 21-22, to undoubtedly large crowds as well.
As for Planet Comicon Kansas City, plans are already in the works to top themselves with next year being their 25th anniversary, and a show already confirmed for March 8-10, 2024.
(click any image to enlarge and see in full)| john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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