By Gabrielle Fitzgerald
Darth Vader, Captain Kirk, and Superman all made appearances in the Overland Park area last weekend.
The city wasn’t in need of heroes, but if it was, they need not look any further than the Overland Park International Trade Center, the location of this year’s Planet Comicon.
Planet Comicon was a two-day long event, March 24 and 25, costing $20 for both days. The Campus Ledger, however, held a ticket giveaway so many of the college’s students had a chance to attend for free.
This year’s convention had a variety of people in attendance, many of whom were from out of state.
Although a costume wasn’t necessary, many people were dressed in role playing attire. If you can think of a comic book character, that character was most likely in the audience, especially on Saturday for the costume contest. Women dressed as Wonder Woman or Electra came with men who were dressed as Luke Skywalker or Batman.
Both days provided opportunities to meet a variety of famous people. The “Star Wars” saga actors Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian, and Jake Lloyd, who played young Anakin Skywalker, made appearances and gave interviews. Also present were actors Gil Gerard, Erin Gray, Felix Silla, and Adrienne Wilkinson.
There were over 50 booths selling any and all related items, including Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, DC, and Doctor Who. There were action figures, Legos, t-shirts, posters, and thousands of comic books at competitive prices sold by vendors who were more than eager to talk about their favorite characters or to help you find the exact comic you were searching for. There were plenty more booths displaying art and comics by various comic creators, who were willing to draw anything upon request for a fee.
Also making an appearance at the convention was a life-sized Tardis, which is the blue police box used by Doctor Who for teleportation. The Tardis was co-built by a former student Hanna Oliver and is actually available for rent.
Contact Gabrielle Fitzgerald, advertising manager, at gfitzge1@jccc.edu.