by Andy Lyons, Editor-in-Chief
Kansas City Comic Con returns Friday, Nov. 10 and runs through Sunday Nov. 12 at Bartle Hall. The convention will attract fans of pop culture and comic book enthusiasts as hundreds of media guests, creators, artists and cosplayers descend on Kansas City for the weekend to interact with fans.
This year’s KCCC focuses on the 40th anniversary celebration of “Superman: The Movie.” As the first official stop on the 40th anniversary tour, KCCC will host panel hosts Derek Maki, of Coolwaters Productions LLC, and Jim Bowers, of Capedwonder.com, for a very special two hour “Superman: The Movie” 40th anniversary reunion presentation and panel, which will feature celebrity media guests Margot Kidder, who played Lois Lane; Sarah Douglas, who played Ursa; Jack O’Halloran, who played Non; Aaron Smolinski, who played Baby Clark Kent; Jeff East, who played Young Clark Kent; and via Skype, a rare live video appearance by actress Valerie Perrine, who played Miss Eve Teschmacher. The panel will showcase rare behind-the-scenes imagery from the CapedWonder Collection, and delve into the memories the guests have from making the 1978 classic.
Other celebrity media guests include David Ankrum, the voice of Wedge Antilles in the Star Wars franchise; Karan Ashley, the yellow Power Ranger; Eva Bell, the voice of Young Elsa in “Frozen;” Diane Sherry Case, who plays Lana Lang in “Superman: The Movie;” Doug Jones, who played Abe Sapien in “Hellboy;” Walter E. Jones, the black Power Ranger; Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman in the 1966 Batman film and television series; Livvy Stubenrauch, the voice of Young Anna in “Frozen,” Burt Ward, who played Robin in the 1966 Batman film and television series; and Tom Kane, the voice of Yoda on “Clone Wars.”
KCCC is also set to host more than 40 creators, including Kansas City native Jason Aaron, who has worked on Marvel’s “Star Wars” comic series and “Mighty Thor,” and Jai Nitz, who is a co-creator of DC’s El Diablo and a writer on “Suicide Squad Black.” Adding to the fun will be a multitude of cosplayers, including locals Aaron Rabe and Ron “Panda” Coleman, and vendors selling all sorts of pop culture and comic-related merchandise.
In addition to the Con itself, KCCC is also welcoming filmmaker Kevin Smith to town as he brings his podcast “Fatman on Batman” to Bartle Hall Sat. Nov 10. It will be hosted on the SModcast Podcast Network. Co-host Marc Bernardin and Smith will explore his fandom for the DC comic property Batman.
Tickets for the podcast are separate admission from KCCC, but tickets to both can be found via Ticketmaster or the KCCC website by clicking here. Kansas City Comic Con is open Friday Nov. 10 from 1 to 7 p.m., Saturday Nov. 11 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday Nov. 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information or to volunteer, please visit www.kansascity-comiccon.com or follow KCCC on their Facebook page here.