We♥Comics!- Planet Comicon Kansas City PANELS 2023

Panels are among the best chances to hear what your favorite celebrity has on their mind, listen to behind-the-scenes humorous stories, potentially have a chance to ask your own question, and occasionally get to see or hear something completely unexpected. 

WILLIAM SHATNER

The legendary actor is known from everything from the original Star Trek to TJ Hooker, to Boston Legal, and so many more roles. Now in his early 90s, Shatner was still engaged in telling his Hollywood stories (most questions were Trek-based) and there was no short answer to what he thought of going into (near) space aboard Blue Origin last year, which left him even more introspective and with a profound feeling of brief following the ten-minute flight.

JONATHAN FRAKES

Frakes was among the most entertaining of panel guests (both with and without Brent Spiner) pitching show ideas, and answering questions (what he could reveal) on the latest season of Picard, a fascination with history, and his voice work on the animated Gargoyles.

FINAL FANTASY CAST

Rachael Leigh Cook (Tifa Lockhart), George Newbern (Sephiroth), and Steve Burton (Cloud Strife) reunited on stage as the primary voices of the original Western version of the highly influential Final Fantasy VII game. They remarked how isolating most voice work can be, and often with long lead times, diplomatically compared the remake and later volumes to theirs, and spoke of the fun it is in being immortalized in this format.

NICOLE STOTT

A veteran astronaut after two spaceflights and 104 crew member days logged, Stott is also an author with a first book out, and an accomplished artist, painting a watercolor in zero gravity and is co-founder of the Space for Art Foundation – whose mission is uniting a planetary community of children through the awe and wonder of space exploration and the healing power of art.

CASSANDRA PETERSON

Everyone’s favorite horror hostess Elvira was a general delight for her hour, almost always smiling, exuding an energy like someone half her age, and happy to answer any and all questions (most being horror-related, of course), in support of her latest book, 2021’s “Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark” which dives into her personal life and stories for the first time. Peterson admitted liking psychological horror much more than the slasher-style films (House on Haunted Hill remains a favorite for her), told empowering stories of trying to break into the business first in comedy, and warding off unworthy casting directors, and dividing her on-screen persona, from the actress and person she is.

CHAINSAW MAN CAST

Lindsay Seidel, Sarah Wiedenheft, and Ryan Colt Levy of the English dub cast of the popular Anime came together on the ballroom couch as a bit of a reunion to themselves, as most voice work is done over months, by oneself in a sound booth, so the actors don’t often see each other. Most similar actors do other dub voice work and Levy and Seidel also voice the popular My Hero Academia, so questions came from fans asking about all the different shows.

HENRY THOMAS

In a panel dubbed “Hollywood’s That Guy”, Thomas of course, hearkened back to filming as a ten-year-old Elliott in 1982’s E.T., but he’s been in numerous other films, including Legends of the Fall, Suicide Kings, All the Pretty Horses, and Gangs of New York, though he did mention some struggles along the way about typecasting and finding work as he aged into adulthood. Thomas’ persona seemed reserved but friendly, still somewhat showing some of the scars associated with surviving being a child superstar and still successfully acting, today.

GIANCARLO ESPOSITO

The ever-expressive actor is a fan favorite from a handful of memorable roles – from Gus in the Breaking Bad universe to The Mandolarian, he also announced he’s more than ready to join the Marvel Universe whenever they want to call, and though he wasn’t sure which character might be the most ideal for him. His stories and compelling nature made fans hang on his every word.

COMIC CREATOR PANEL

Being a comic convention, of course, there were several comic-centric panels, and the ones we enjoyed most centered on current and former Batman creators discussing their particular take on the caped crusader and how the setting of Gotham City acts as an additional character in story lines.

Another group panel centered on the various inspirations in discovering and developing a character, imagining the general concept at first and then refining the details from their persona to costume specifics, and motivations that drive that character.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG

Roger Craig Smith and Colleen O’Shaughnessey aka the iconic English voices of Sonic and Tails, brought their charm and stories to the ballroom couch to reveal some of the stories behind their voice work on Sonic Frontiers, with Smith almost quitting in 2021, and realizing the joy their work brings to fans of all ages.

TERRIFIER 2

David Howard Thornton and Damien Leone were two of the weekend’s most anticipated guests, also hosting a screening of the game-changing Terrifier 2 film. Both talked about the impact the new film has had, and the “New Horror” movement it is helping define, with Leone raising his game exponentially from the 2016 original film.

Art the Clown remains one of the most terrifying characters in recent memory and some scenes were asked about, including the infamous “bedroom scene” though the talk was tempered, due to an all-ages audience in the ballroom.

RICHARD DREYFUSS

The legendary Oscar winner was joined onstage by his friend and Jaws co-star Kramer, who play Deputy Hendricks in the 1975 groundbreaking Spielberg film, and the 1978 sequel. It was a little surprising to see Dreyfuss entering on a motorized electric scooter, but once he was on the couch, lit up with joy and glee as he told stories of the filming and answered questions about his career. He did preface things with a warning about the very real potential of losing the democracy that helps define our country, but the mood quickly lightened up with memories of filming on Martha’s Vineyard almost fifty years ago.

Get out that 2024 calendar, as Planet Comicon Kansas City has set March 8, 9, 10, 2024 as their return dates, but is also debuting their inaugural Planet Anime Festival this Fall, on October 21 / 22.

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