A family of parents, grandparents and kids can all come out and be like, ‘I know that person!’ or ‘I know that character!’ The guests are kind of the magnet. “You’ve got anime people, voice actors from cartoons, screen actors, horror people, musicians, comic book artists, cosplayers. “I always want the most people possible to enjoy it, and I try to make it where it’s a well-rounded guest list,” he said. Having a wide variety of guests from all realms of pop culture is essential to Branch, ensuring that every person present has something - or someone - they can geek out about. Let’s go ahead and bump it up a little bit.” Wide variety of guests scheduled for Missouri Comic Con We added maybe five more guests than we had originally planned, but with the response the way it was, I was like, all right, they’re ready. And when you have that kind of reaction right off the bat, you can relax a little bit. “Doing a first-year show, no matter how you feel about the area, can be scary because you’ve never been there.
“It was just so positive, people tagging other people on Facebook and Instagram, people posting the event on their pages. “Everywhere we’ve been, people have been just head over heels from the first time we brought posters and started advertising,” he said. If previous numbers are any indication, the sky is the limit on how much Missouri Comic Con can grow for a potential second showing. The first con in Little Rock - around 2,025 attendees. The first Mississippi Comic Con had about 1,500 people. (Photo: Logan Bennett Photography, provided by VXV Events) Previous cons have experienced rapid growthīranch has seen this growth firsthand in his other convention efforts. That company is bringing the first-ever Missouri Comic Con to Springfield Feb. You believe in the place and that it can eventually grow into something.”Ī display of Lego builds at a VXV Comic Con in Rogers, Arkansas. But if you feel confident in the city, if you meet people and they’re excited about it, you know you’re in the right place. “There’s been a couple places we went and did shows, and I don’t feel it, y’know? And you just move on. This is the best response we’ve ever had for a first show. It jumped really high from the moment we announced it. “When I go somewhere, if I feel good about it, I give it time to grow,” he said. But Springfield, so far, has proved to be different. “There was just so much geek culture there, and I was like, I don’t understand why there’s not already a big event here.”īranch tries to temper his expectations when it comes to putting on a con at in a new city. “When I came the first time, we looked up stuff, how many comic shops, how many record stores, population, colleges, that sort of stuff,” he said. There are a lot of factors when considering whether a city is a good fit for a successful pop culture convention, but Branch and his crew could immediately tell that Springfield had all the necessary ingredients. The town itself really spoke to me.” Story continues below “I love the vibe of it, from the first time we showed up just to tour the venue and check out the city. “It was such an untapped market,” he said. Having put on cons in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and other lower midwestern states, it only seemed logical that he would eventually find his way up to Missouri - and, ultimately, Springfield. “Me and my crew are always working to make bigger and better shows in new and interesting cities.” VXV Events believes Springfield is an untapped market “I always want to find new places, new challenges, meet new people, work at new venues,” he said. The next year, he put on five, and things grew out from there. He loved the atmosphere so much, he eventually put on a con of his own. His initial exposure to the world of pop culture conventions was as a music vendor. It’s the brainchild of Mississippi-based VXV Events and its founder, Jay Branch. The best part - that’s just a small sampling of the guests, and the fun to be had, at this event’s inaugural showing. The event - the first Missouri Comic Con. The answer - the Springfield Expo Center on Feb. Where in Springfield can you meet two of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, the voice of Winnie the Pooh (and Tigger, too!), the original actor who played the Incredible Hulk, the frontman of the heavy metal band Slipknot, a legendary WWE Hall of Fame wrestler, and the actress behind April O’Neil from the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, all under one roof?
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