Downtown Kansas City had more to offer than NCAA basketball over the weekend.
Planet Comicon Kansas City, the largest and longest-running comic book convention and pop culture event in the region, celebrated its 20th anniversary this past weekend, March 29 – 31, at Bartle Hall. With record attendance numbers, exhibitors, and guests, the event was the largest in its 20-year history.
Tens of thousands of fans gathered each day to meet their favorite stars, like William Shatner, Henry Winkler, Bonnie Wright, and James and Oliver Phelps, as well as comic creator luminaries such as Kevin Eastman, Chris Claremont and Jim Steranko. Celebrity guests and comic creators shared dazzling stories and laugh out loud moments during panel discussions and memorable autograph and photo sessions with attendees. A packed exhibit floor that featured more than 700 comic creators, artists, exhibitors, and vendors delighted fans with non-stop fun and interaction. After hours events in venues throughout downtown Kansas City gave Planet Comicon KC guests an opportunity to celebrate with their fellow attendees.
Not only did Planet Comicon offer up a ton of well-known film stars, but they honored local filmmakers as well. This year they held the first ever Planet Comicon Film Fest. Our very own Ethan Jackson had a film play in the Grand Ballroom, the same place where they did the celebrity panels. In fact, Ethan took home an achievement in excellence award at the film fest for his movie “Seeing Scarlet.” Catch Ethan’s film showing at the WiFi Film Festival at Washburn University on Friday April 12th.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better 20th anniversary celebration,” said Chris Jackson, PCKC CEO and founder. “We want to thank our fans, creators, celebrity guests, vendors, staff, volunteers, and the City of Kansas City, Missouri, for making this the biggest and best Planet Comicon yet. We’re already looking ahead to 2020.”
Planet Comicon Kansas City will return to Bartle Hall for its 21st year, March 20-22, 2020. For photos and highlights from this year’s show, visit Planet Comicon on Facebook
