[singlepic id=85 w=320 h=240 float=right]Sunday at Planet Comicon wasn’t as packed as Saturday, but don’t think for a minute that it wasn’t fun. I’m a little biased since I coordinated the panel programming, but I believe Planet Comicon 2010 was the biggest, best comics convention that Kansas City has ever seen.
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Were you there? Give us your feedback. What can we do next year to make it even better. Be sure to contact the convention organizer Chris Jackson at chris@planetcomicon.com. I’d also like to hear your comments on the programming in the panel room: kirk@kansascitycomics.com.
Here’s who you can expect to see at next weekend’s Planet Comicon:
Media Guests: Ashley Eckstein (Clone Wars), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Mira Furlan (Babylon 5, Lost), Tom Kane (Clone Wars), Helen Slater (Supergirl) [SATURDAY ONLY], Jane Wiedlin (The Go-Go’s), Matthew Wood (Clone Wars)
Comics Guests: Jason Aaron, Dane Ault, Eric Basaldua, Scott Beaderstaedt, Rick Burchett, Talent Caldwell, Tommy Castillo, Trent Coffin, Anna-Maria Cool, Grant Cooley, Clayton Crain, Steve Daniels, Rob Davis, Dr. Fantastic, Dave Dorman, Tony Fleecs, Sam Flegal, Nathan Fox, Travis Fox, Gary Friedrich, Rudy Garcia, Stephen Gilpin, Michael Golden, Rob Granito, Alex Grecian, Chris Grine, Jeremy Haun, Phil Hester [SATURDAY ONLY], Saturday only, Dennis Hopeless, Greg Horn, Brian Hurtt, Jennifer Janesko, Damont Jordan, Joe Jusko, Matt Kindt, Ed Lavallee, Lee Leslie, Cynthia Martin, Monte May, Sean McKeever, Holly Messinger, Arie Monroe, B Clay Moore, Mario Mora, Bill Morrison, Jeff Moy, Phil Moy, Jai Nitz, Phil Noto, Ande Parks, Brent Porter, Brian Pulido, Chris Rich-McKelvey, Tone Rodriquez, Don Rosa, Stephane Roux, Javier Saltares, Steven Sanders, Dan Scott, Steve Scott, Chad Spilker, Daniel Spottswood, Chris Sprouse, Cat Staggs, Rick Stasi, Arthur Suydam, Amber Stone, Herb Trimpe, Ron Wagner, Tyler Walpole, Bryan Ward, Jesse Weedon, Renee Witterstaetter, Kevin Wolf, Seth Wolfshorndl, Darryl Woods, Mike Worley
Studios, Companies & Businesses: Antidote Comics, Blood Stone Comics, Face Art by Bill, Hydraworx, Indy Comic Creators World Wide, Pixel Portrayal, Spookshow Pinups, Strong Ave. Studios.
And here’s a snippet of some of last year’s activities. In addition to the cosplay, you’ll notice local comics creators Ed Bickford and Kevin Mellon toward the end of the video.
As far as I’m concerned, this past weekend’s Planet Comicon was a great success. There were far too many highlights for me to possibly cover them all, but I’m going to ramble through what comes to mind. I’ll just have to fill in the rest later.
First, my biggest regret: I was so busy that I didn’t manage to take many photos. I guess it will just have to live in my memory (but if anyone’s got photos they’d like to share, I’d love to have some.) I was constantly scrambling during the show because I did double duty, serving as Panel Coordinator and also making courtesy car runs to transport our out-of-town guests between the hotel and convention center. The courtesy car service meant that I always hit the convention hall after the show was up and running, so I never managed to catch up with all of the programming duties. Next year I’ll have to do one or the other.
Thanks to Seth Wolfshorndl for allowing my to swipe this image of Kenny Baker at Planet Comicon!!
Next, the most special memory: I had the pleasure of driving Kenny (R2-D2) Baker and Valerie Gale during the convention. My Chrysler Concorde, it turns out, is well-suited for Kenny’s needs. It’s low enough to the ground for easy entry and also has a large trunk to hold the rented wheelchair that helped him get around. They are an absolutely charming couple and were wonderful to escort. My kids were delighted that Kenny gave them signed photos. I was thrilled when Valerie kissed me on both cheeks as we said our goodbyes – and she got quite a razzing from Kenny for that!
The parade of courtesy cars: I also provided transport for sci-fi icon Walter Koenig, scream queen Brinke Stevens (who “liked my chariot”), editor/publisher/artist representative Renee Witterstaetter, and artists Angel Medina and Bernie Wrightson. Each and every trip was a pleasure and it was great to get a chance to spend some one-on-one time with some very talented and interesting people.
Through pure coincidence we had a terrific assemblage of Ghost Rider talent on hand for a fabulous panel (pictured above). Ghost Rider co-creator Gary Friedrich, current series writer Jason Aaron, long-time GR artist Javier Saltares were interviewed by Jai Nitz (with the microphone in the photo). Another definitive GR artist, Mark Texeira, was slated for the panel, but unfortunately a delayed flight kept him from making it in time.
Jai Nitz also interviewed Kurt Busiek on Sunday. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see more than a few seconds that panel, but they ran long, so the large crowd must have been enjoying it.
The last panel of the weekend featured your truly and Renee Witterstaetter providing tips to aspiring creators about how to crack into the comics biz. The session was modestly attended but seemed to be received well. Those in attendance were the first to hear an announcement that affects this blog.
My wife and I are drafting a business plan to launch a full-scale ad supported site for comics creators. I’ll finally make use of the comicscareer.com URL that I’ve had parked for ages (if you go to it now you’ll just be redirected back to this blog). The plan is for Kelly to run the day-to-day operations for the foreseeable future while I maintain my “real job” as Marketing Director of MCH, Inc. There will be much more to announce as we finalize the business plan and move toward a launch date. Check back regularly. If you would like to get our upcoming weekly e-newsletter for comics professionals and aspiring professionals, just send your name and email address to us at comicscareer@yahoo.com.
