For twenty-three years Planet Comicon Kansas City has been one of the Midwest’s biggest comic book and pop culture conventions and that was no less so in 2014 when it became the largest attended event in the history of the Kansas City Convention Center. And it’s only gotten bigger. The last show featured guests including Brandon Routh, Adam Savage, Ralph Macchio, Gates McFadden, John deLancie, Dee Wallace, and Ashley Eckstein, and this year even more familiar names from TV, movies, books, and comics from the past and present are scheduled to attend. Leading things off is astronaut William Shatner returning to PCKC with two other actors from the Star Trek franchise who have also been to PCKC in past years: Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner. From Star Wars’ The Mandalorian and Homicide: Life on the Street (and guest star of nearly every major show in between) Giancarlo Esposito is schedule to attend. Along with Shatner, astronaut Nicole Stott is the latest in decades of real-life space voyagers to attend PCKC. From Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and hundreds of other movies, Oscar-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss will be attending this year’s show, along with Henry Thomas, who audiences first met as the young star of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, along with several other stars of TV and film. It all takes place this weekend beginning today at Kansas City’s convention center at Bartle Hall, March 17-19, 2023.
Of course some of the biggest names and most popular comics creators are also in the line-up for this year’s show, most making return appearances, including Roy Thomas, Jim Steranko, Chris Claremont, Kevin Eastman, Garth Ennis and Sabine Rich, frequent returning comic book writers and artists Freddie Williams II, Phil Hester, Ant Lucia, Megan Levens, Seth Peck, Don Rosa, and Rob Davis, Star Wars artists Bryan Fyffe and Joe Corroney, returning authors Ande Parks and Elizabeth C. Bunce, and Star Wars: Rogue One, Cowboys and Aliens, and Mouse Guard movie writer Gary Whitta, making his first appearance at PCKC.
There’s something for every fandom and genre, fanboy and fangirl at this year’s show.
Check the Planet Comicon Kansas City website here for info about even more guests slated to attend, including several voice actors, cosplayers including Fancy Jen Cosplay, and lots more. Follow the website for late additions and cancellations. Note: Not all guests will be attending the event each day of the show, so check the website for details.
It’s finally here: Planet Comicon Kansas City is March 17, 18, and 19, 2023, in downtown Kansas City at the Kansas City Convention Center. Tickets are still available for each day, including photo opportunities and autographs.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
