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Typically, the final day of a long weekend comic convention can often be its slowest – a chance to more casually shop through the aisles, spend more time at booths, or discover shorter lines to meet celebrities and creators.
That was not really the case at Planet Comicon Kansas City celLaebrating their 25 years as the region’s largest and longest-running comic and pop culture event celebrating comic books, science fiction, superheroes and fantasy and its creators. Mild weather, some solid guests, and numerous booths selling all kinds of wares, kept attendance strong for all three days of the convention, which was held downtown at Bartle Hall and the Convention Center.
One of the best ways to learn about these celebrities and creators, or ask them a particular question, was to attend their scheduled Panel discussions, and there were several on the final day of the show.
The Comic Industry Panel found four very veteran comic book creators spinning tales of working in the biz for decades – writer Mark Waid, TMNT Co-Creator Kevin Eastman. X-Men writer Chris Claremont, and Harley Quinn/Painkiller Jane writer/inker Jimmy Palmiotti, all revealed some of their favorite characters to work on, anecdotes with some of their co-creators, and the sometimes-harsh realities of why it’s still a comic book business.
The Spotlight on Bill Morrison panel allowed fans to hear inside stories of working on The Simpsons and Futurama from the longtime Michigan native artist. We learned he first broke into commercial art in Los Angeles working for the studios and painting movie posters in a realistic style, very different from his familiar cartoon look; and how his Midwestern background shaped his work ethic and tenacity to carry on, even during slower work times.
A mini Land of the Lost reunion of the fabled 1974 TV series in the Grand Ballroom brought back producer and co-creator (his brother Marty passed away late last year) Sid Krofft (who waxed poetic about visiting Kansas City in 1947) and TV kids then, “Will and Holly Marshall” aka Wesley Eure and Kathy Coleman (who probably now have grandkids!) to share fond memories of the three-season cult classic show which was remade in 1991, and adapted into a feature film in 2009.
“You go first, Indy!” was a short but very memorable bit of dialogue that cemented Welshman John Rhys-Davies into pop culture immortality. The multi-faceted actor is also known as playing Gimli in The Lord of The Rings Trilogy films and has countless supporting roles under his belt. As a trained actor does, Rhys-Davies was not content to sit and answer questions from a comfortable chair; rather, he stood for most of his hour, acting out many of his answers to fans’ questions.
The final Panel of the long weekend was perhaps the most fitting – originally envisioned as a “Rebel Moon” discussion of the recent Netflix sci-fi film, organizers were forced to pivot after actress Sofia Boutella became la last-minute cancellation, and instead booked a “Sons of Anarchy” Panel with stars Ron Perlman and Charlie Hunnam.
Both actors are also well-known for other roles, so initial fan questions also gravitated to “Hellboy”, “Pacific Rim” “Drive” and “Crimson Peak” films, but the panel took a dramatic turn when the gruff but soft-spoken Perlman brought out “real heroes” Trey Filter and Paul Contreras. The pair, who did not know each other prior, helped take down and subdue one of the active shooter suspects in the Feb 14 Super Bowl Celebration at Union Station, that left one dead and dozens injured.
Both actors graciously deferred their panel time to these two every-men who reacted by trying to do the right thing (even with their wives and children alongside them) and Perlman was clearly in awe of knowing them for the last day and a half and genuinely curious as to the true motivations of what makes a person react, in the most heroic ways.
The ballroom crowd was hushed and hung on every word said by the two men, who never wanted the attention or accolades, and both said they left the scene soon after with their families, content to have protected them and to have prevented further public harm. Heroes in the realest sense of the word ended the weekend in a way that none could have imagined.
Planet Comicon Kansas City ended in the most heroic way possible and is already confirmed to return to begin it’s second 25 years, on March 21-23, 2025.
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| john ([email protected]) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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