Cape Comic Con gets ready for heroes, villains and gamers

Heroes, villains and alien creatures will invade the Osage Community Centre this weekend as part of the fifth annual Cape Comic Con.

The show's founder, Ken Murphy, said he started the convention to allow fans another way to experience their hobby.

"Cape Comic Con was started after 10 years of retailing in the comic book industry," he said. "I wanted to do a trade show and a fan show where you invite professional artists and writers into your town. It was another outlet to bring this hobby, this business and this fan interaction to Cape."

He said the show has grown from the crowd of 400 the first year to an anticipated 1,400 at this year's event. Murphy said part of the draw to this year's show is one of the guests, comic book artist Ethan Van Sciver.

"He is the first A-list comic book artist that we have had," Murphy said. "Ethan Van Sciver is in the Warner Bros./DC stable of artists, and he is their No. 1 artist currently. That will be a huge boost to the comic book side of our show.

"You will get to talk with and get original sketches and commissioned art pieces from one of DC's very top artists. We are very excited about having him this year."

He said Van Sciver created an original piece of artwork specifically for this year's convention depicting the Green Lantern flying over the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge. Murphy said that art will be available in prints, as well as on T-shirts.

This year's show has partnered with Free Comic Book Day, a national promotion sponsored by various comic book publishers. From 9 a.m. to noon, a limited quantity of free "all-ages appropriate" comic books will be available.

Murphy said the convention is more than just caped crusaders and evil geniuses.

It also features a full gaming center with extended hours.

There will be tournaments, as well as areas for open play. The gaming center will be open from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. He said participants can bring their own games.

"You will have plenty of tables and plenty of comfortable seating," he said.

As with any comic convention, costumed characters roaming the floor is popular.

"Costuming is becoming a tremendous hobby for a lot of people," Murphy said. "We are looking forward to a large costume presence, everything from Star Wars to pop culture to comic book superheroes and villains."

This year's show will feature costume tutorials, as well as a costume contest for children at 2 p.m. and adults at 3 p.m. Saturday.

"Whether they are shopping or just talking to artists and writers, enjoying the costume contest or going to workshops, we try to put on a tremendously interactive show," Murphy said.

This year's 25 vendors will feature a large assortment of comic books, artwork, toys and more. Many booths will be donating proceeds to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation to fund breast cancer research.

"Anywhere at my show you see the pink ribbon, proceeds from that sale will benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure," Murphy said.

Tim Tolbert of Chaffee, Mo., is a regular convention attendee with his sons, Chris and Eric.

"We've been to a couple of them," Tolbert said. "They were a lot of fun. You see some neat stuff. It is pretty neat how creative some people can be."

The fifth annual Cape Comic Con will from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5. More information is available at www.capecomiccon.com.