'... a little bit of everything': Cape Comic Con brings out crowd to Osage Centre

Thousands turned out once again this weekend for Cape Girardeau�s annual celebration of pop culture, now in its 13th year.

A crowd of nearly 5,000 and more than 150 vendors filled the Osage Centre for the event, according to organizers.

Ken Murphy, co-organizer of the event with his wife, Deneke�, said the idea of Cape Comic Con originated back to when he owned a local comic book store and on its 10th anniversary, he decided to start an event for the community.

Joy Mentink and Matt Wacker, as Indiana Jones, talks with Lonnie Johnson, as Superman, Saturday, April 21, 2018 at Cape Comic Con at the Osage Centre.Fred Lynch ~ Southeast Missourian

There are �tons� of reasons why Murphy wants to keep Cape Comic Con going for years to come, with one main reason: smiles on the faces of the community.

�The community spreads about 60 to 70 miles in every direction, and they come here for the weekend,� Murphy said. �I think it�s really good for Cape Girardeau to have the influx of a few thousand people come to town.�

Murphy said a lot of the vendors participate in similar events every weekend to make a living, and Cape Comic Con provides them that opportunity by bringing the fans.

As for the �community side,� Murphy said he wants to provide a family-friendly atmosphere for parents to bring their children and for people of all ages to �come and have that like-minded experience� by enjoying the pop culture, comic books, film and art.

�We do like to keep it designated to a comic con pop culture,� Murphy said. �There�s a little bit of everything.�

Lou Ferrigno, known for his role as the Hulk on the television show �The Incredible Hulk,� was one of Cape Comic Con guests on Saturday and said he was there because he was asked to take part and also because he�s �never visited the town before.�

�I heard there are great people and great fans. I wanted to come here,� Ferrigno said. �It�s great pop culture.�

Also in attendance Saturday was artist Wil Woods with his business Musetap Studios, which he said specializes in �any kind of illustration.�

�We do everything from commercial work, contract work, board games, comic books, anything that requires the pop-art style,� Woods said.

Woods said he has been part of Comic Con for nine years and travels all over the country with his business. He said he always comes back to Cape Girardeau, though, because it�s close to his hometown, Metropolis, Illinois.

�When you�re an artist growing up, you live in a world where it�s just your friends and family telling you how great you are,� Woods said. �You don�t know if you�re good or not because they�re going to tell you that you�re great.�

He said it�s when you can be around other artists who are like, �Hey, that�s great, but work on this,� that will spark growth.

Woods credited Murphy with �kick starting� his career by providing him with an opportunity to showcase his talent.

�No matter where we go, I always wanna come back here because this is what got me going,� Woods said.

Southeast Missouri natives Abigail Campbell, David Brown and Sierra Sedgwick were dressed to impress Saturday.

Campbell said she likes doing special effects and made her �pumpkin� costume herself.

�I really like games and I like dressing up and having people recognize who I am and wanting to take pictures,� Campbell said. �I�m really nobody specifically, I just created this,� she said of her costume.

Brown said he has been attending Comic Con for eight years and it�s a �huge thing� for him. Growing up, he said he played a lot of �Dungeons & Dragons,� read comics and played videos games.

�So this is kind of something I�ve been all about since I was a little kid. I go to this every year,� Brown said. �I�m a character from a personal �D&D� game.�

Sedgwick was dressed as Junko Enoshima from the anime �Danganronpa,� and said this is probably her fourth year to attend.

Trevor Dugger and Celesta Shipman � dressed as Pyramid Head and one of the nurses from �Silent Hill� video game � traveled from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, because, �It�s just a really fun thing to do,� Dugger said. He said it was their second year attending, and they�ve been involved with �cosplay� � dressing up as characters from movies, books or video games � for nearly five years.

�You can be whatever you want, whenever you want,� he said.

Shipman said it�s a �completely� judgment-free zone where you can be yourself and �you get to meet awesome friends.�

Murphy said vendors at this year�s Cape Comic Con included general merchandise; craft; straight pen and paper artists; creative people; three-dimensional artists; actors; filmmakers; and professional wrestlers.

�We spend the entire year putting the show on,� Murphy said. �Next year�s already scheduled, and I�ll start on it probably June 1.�

Murphy said being part of Cape Comic Con is his passion, and he loves bringing people together.

He said the support shown to him, his family and the community is �overwhelming,� and the event can�t work without the support of the vendors and the fans.

Murphy said the event is for anybody in the community who wishes to can gain some traction and interest in their brick-and-mortar stores.

Saturday�s �staple,� according to Murphy, is the costume contest.

This was the first year the contest was held at Cape Girardeau Central High School�s Kinder Hall, in cooperation with Care to Learn, Young Men�s Club and Tiger Lilies.

�200 people will take part, another 500 will watch,� Murphy said.

As for the nature of the event allowing masks and props, security initiatives are still enforced, explained Murphy.

�We have posted some rules and regulations out front,� Murphy said.

Murphy said anyone with a mask must remove it to show who they are, and they also must present a driver�s license.

And �certainly� there are no live weapons allowed, Murphy added.

�There are zero live weapons,� Murphy said. �They are all props.�

jhartwig@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632

Pertinent address:

1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.