Planet Comicon Kansas City 2021 wraps after big weekend of celebrities, creators, fans, cosplayers, and masks

After a year-and-a-half delay from the COVID pandemic, the pop culture convention Planet Comicon Kansas City slipped in what may be a final convention circuit event for 2021 this weekend, as COVID cases return to the worst of last year’s numbers. The Kansas City community came together, complying with the city’s mask mandate, tens of thousands of attendees in the five-football-field-sized space of the Kansas City Convention Center over three days. And masks and acrylic sneeze guards didn’t seem to detract at all from the fun of attendees, cosplayers, creators, and other guests, with only a few detractors not complying (we estimate 1% or less didn’t follow the rules, including, unfortunately, a few exhibitors). The event hosted a pantheon of celebrities, this year focusing on actors from the long-running series Supernatural, plus nationally recognized writers and artists, all for its eighth year in its downtown Kansas City, Missouri, venue. Unless other conventions follow the new trend of requiring vaccination cards as happening in New York City, San Francisco, and at NFL games, plus more national businesses and restaurants joining in (or the rest of the outliers just get the shot), this could be the last of the big indoor Midwest events this year. The show ran Friday, August 20 through Sunday, August 22. Check out several photos below, which should give you a feel for the attendance, and some of the guests and fans.

First, some cosplay:

cosplay a — Green Arrow and Stargirl, and Belle and Victorian Velma.

cosplay b — Sorsha and Elora Danan, and Elsa and friends.

cosplay c — Darth Vader, and a visit from Frank.

Mike Power cjb cosplay borg dot com — And just in case you thought you wouldn’t get a new borg fix, here’s my G.I. Joe Adventure Team Mike Power cosplay, based on the early 1970s action figure.

Creators and guests:

pckc 2021 ecb — borg’s own, author Elizabeth C. Bunce.

pckc 2021 arnett ward dilmore — Authors Kevin Dilmore, Dayton Ward, and Jason Arnett.

pckc2021 crowd e — Author John Jackson Miller.

pckc 2021 ande parks — Writer-artist Ande Parks.

pckc 2021 timmins — Artist Bryan Timmins.

pckc 2021 rob davis — The great Rob Davis.

pckc 2021 roy thomas — Long-time comics writer and editor and multiple superhero creator Roy Thomas.

And people and aisles… and aisles… of comics, books, art, posters, clothes, video arcade games, swag, and more:

Although it seems both far away and not so far away, Planet Comicon Kansas City is scheduled for its next event April 22-24, 2022, also at Bartle Hall in downtown Kansas City. Whether it will happen will depend a lot on the state of the pandemic. Follow the Planet Comicon Kansas City website here for more information, updates, 2022 guests, and cancellation notices.

C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg