Planet Comicon Kansas City 2022 – recap

Kansas City, all traveling to Bartle Hall to attend the three-day Planet Comicon Kansas City, the region’s largest and longest-running comic and pop culture event celebrating comic books, science fiction, superheroes and fantasy, and its creators. 

The show has been in existence since 1999, moving locations and growing exponentially along the way to become the Midwest’s premier comics and pop culture gathering.

 

The show itself is very well run – plenty of volunteers in bright green shirts to answer questions and direct you to locations, orderly celebrity and creator signings, and in-person panels in both larger rooms and small, that went off without a glitch. 

The dealer exhibit space covered over seven football fields worth of area featuring comics, pop culture collectibles, anime, nostalgia and memorabilia, along with gaming, entertainment, and retail spaces.

Beer was even served via Boulevard Brewing, free play pinball and video games were available, and workshop presentations were held for would-be creators. 

Crowds were brisk all weekend and many dealers were overheard saying it was their best sales show to date.  Panel rooms were especially filled for presentations from Mythbusters’ Adam Savage, actor Ralph Macchio, and voice actor Bryce Papenbrook.

Also unique to the convention and a first-of-its kind for any similar show, was the 1960 Liberty Bell 7 space capsule on display, on loan from its permanent home at the Kansas Cosmosphere.

Celebrity guests for the weekend included:

Comic creators appearing included writers James Tynion IV, Garth Ennis, Jason Aaron, and Cullen Bunn, artists John Romita, Jr., Pat Gleason, Scott Hanna, creators Howard Chaykin, Brian Pulido, Don Rosa, Skottie Young, and many from the local area and region. 

Celebrity meet-and-greets, and photo opportunities were available (a few with safety plexiglass between) and one of the best ways to learn about these attendees or ask a particular question, was to attend their public Panel discussion/Q&A.

We’ll be covering those more in depth, in an upcoming separate post.

Planet Comicon Kansas City 2023 is already less than a year away – confirmed for March 17, 18, and 19, so start making plans now to attend.

(note- no actual photos taken from the weekend are here, as the backpack with our photographer’s camera inside, was stolen in a car break-in, shortly after the show ended)  Click any image to enlarge and see in full.