Star Wars, Marvel fans swarm Kansas City convention
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Hundreds of fans came from Kansas, Missouri and neighboring states to this year’s Planet Comicon in the Overland Park International Trade Center.
“Star Wars” fans lined up to meet Kenny Baker, who portrayed R2-D2 in all six “Star Wars” films. And Tom Kane, who voices Yoda in the upcoming animated series, made a surprise appearance.
Marvel artist David Finch (“New Avengers”), a late replacement for Arthur Sudyam, had lines of Marvel fans excited to meet the Canadian artist. “Star Trek” fans could meet the gracious Walter Koenig, who played Chekov in the original series.
Also on hand were three well-known “Ghost Rider” creators — the character’s co-creator, Gary Friedrich; 1990s “Ghost Rider” artist Javier Saltares, and current “Ghost Rider” writer Jason Aaron. Look for more about these three men’s experience with “Ghost Rider” in Friday’s Weekend Look.
Planet Comicon remains one of the best conventions to find high-quality books at reasonable prices; I saw multiple copies of “Amazing Spider-Man” No. 1 and “Avengers” No. 4 that were priced reasonably and looked nice. I was also tempted by an “Incredible Hulk” No. 181.
Dealer Jon Tintinger, a fixture at area shows for 20 years, announced this year’s Planet Comicon would be his last show. Always a great source for correctly graded Golden and Silver Age comics, Tintinger said he planned to still be around comic-book shows as a fan. This year, Jon hooked me up with several issues of “Comics Interview” and “Amazing Heroes,” which are great reference tools. I’ll blog some highlights from these magazines later this week.
Overall, Planet Comicon remains a strong show with great talent and guests — not only Kansas City-area regulars like B. Clay Moore and Jai Nitz, but also writers and artists not often seen in this area, including Kurt Busiek, Bernie Wrightson and Eric Powell.
– Matt Price
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