Planet Comicon Kansas City, formerly Planet Comicon, is an annual

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

convention taking place in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. Originally held at the Overland Park International Trade Center in nearby Overland Park, Kansas, the venue changed in 2013 to its current home at the

Kansas City Convention Center The Kansas City Convention Center, originally Bartle Hall Convention Center or Bartle Hall, is a major convention center in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, USA. It was named for Harold Roe Bartle, a prominent, two-term mayor of Kansas City in th ...

. The show is a three-day event.

Programming

The convention features a wide array of activities and programming including industry guests, various discussion panels, celebrity signings and photo opportunities, and costume contests. It features a large and lively Exhibitor's Hall with comics retailers from across the country bringing a large stock of modern and vintage comics, as well as other products such as statues, art prints, toys, and action figures. RPG and

tabletop Tabletop may refer to: Mountains * Table Top Mountain in Rangeville, Queensland, Australia * Table Top Mountain (New York) * Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa * Tepui, flat top mountains in South America Places * Tabletop, New South Wal ...

gaming as well as comic book

third-party grading Third Party Grading (TPG) refers to coin grading & banknote grading, grading of stamps, cards, comic books, etc., authentication, attribution, and encapsulation by independent certification services. These services will, for a tiered fee, "slab" a ...

is supported in specific areas of the convention center. Industry guests have included

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...

Neal Adams Neal Adams (June 15, 1941 – April 28, 2022) was an American comic book artist. He was the co-founder of the graphic design studio Continuity Associates, and was a creators-rights advocate who helped secure a pension and recognition for Supe ...

Howard Chaykin Howard Victor Chaykin (; born October 7, 1950) is an American comic book artist and writer. Chaykin's influences include his one-time employer and mentor, Gil Kane, and the mid-20th century illustrators Robert Fawcett and Al Parker. Early life ...

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

, Michael Turner, and

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibl ...

. Celebrity guests have included

Project Gemini Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...

, and Apollo program astronauts, stars of

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

and

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

, including

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

, and stars of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

film and television properties. The convention’s large Artists Alley includes nationally-known guests, including returning local creators such as comic book writer

Jason Aaron Jason Aaron (born January 28, 1973) is an American comic book writer, known for his creator-owned series '' Scalped'' and '' Southern Bastards'', as well as his work on Marvel series ''Ghost Rider'', ''Wolverine'', ''PunisherMAX'', ''Thor'', and ' ...

, writer-artist

Ande Parks Ande Parks (born October 1, 1964) is an American professional comic book artist, known for his work as an inker and writer in the industry. His best known work has come from his stint with fellow artist Phil Hester (comics), Phil Hester on DC Comi ...

, artists

Freddie Williams II Freddie E. Williams II (born May 30, 1977) is an American comic book writer and artist. Williams entered the comic scene in 2005, when he began work with DC Comics on the comic series Robin and on the Eisner Award-winning series ''Seven Soldiers ...

and

Skottie Young Skottie Young (born March 3, 1978) is an American comic book artist, children's book illustrator and writer. He is best known for his work with various Marvel Comics characters, his comic book adaptations of L. Frank Baum's Oz books with Eric Sha ...

, and authors

Elizabeth C. Bunce Elizabeth C. Bunce is an American author who writes mysteries, fantasy, and ghost stories featuring strong female characters. Best known for her Edgar Award-winning Myrtle Hardcastle Mystery series and her novel ''A Curse Dark as Gold'', her books ...

Dayton Ward Dayton Ward (born June 7, 1967) is a science fiction author primarily known for his ''Star Trek'' novels and short stories, which began with publication in the '' Strange New Worlds'' anthology series. He published stories in each of the first th ...

, and Kevin Dilmore.

History

The event began as Planet Comicon, a two-day event at the Overland Park International Trade Center in 1999. It was first organized by comics retailer Chris Jackson of

Overland Park, KS Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal city, principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, ...

, and Elite Comics owner William Binderup. Because it outgrew its original venue, it moved to its current event location at the

in 2013, expanding to a three-day event in 2014. It added “Kansas City” to its signage and logo in 2017. In 2013 Planet Comicon hosted an episode of the

Syfy Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

television series

Heroes of Cosplay ''Heroes of Cosplay'' is a 2013 Syfy channel reality television show co-produced by Mark Cronin, Courtland Cox and Dave Caplan of 51 Minds Entertainment. The show's first season's six episodes follows nine cast members as they compete in cosplay ...

, thereafter making the convention a cosplay destination for professional and amateur cosplayers. Planet Comicon made national news in 2016 when guest

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

, a movie director and comic book writer, posted on social media about a flight delay, changing a flight to

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

to not disappoint his fans. Planet Comicon celebrated its 20th anniversary event in 2019. The convention’s 2020 event was canceled because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, but resumed in 2021, including an appearance by the original NASA

Liberty Bell 7 Mercury-Redstone 4 was the second United States human spaceflight, on July 21, 1961. The suborbital Project Mercury flight was launched with a Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle, MRLV-8. The spacecraft, Mercury capsule #11, was nicknamed the ''L ...

space capsule.

References

External links

* {{official, https://planetcomicon.com// Comics conventions in the United States Gaming conventions Multigenre conventions Recurring events established in 1999