The fifth annual Heroes For Kids Comic Con returns Saturday and Sunday to Perry Park Center in Perryville for two days of family-friendly fun and to raise funds for The Perry County Senior Center and Kenny Rogers Children’s Center in Sikeston.
Comic Con will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are available for purchase online at www.heroesforkidscomiccon.org and at the door. Children ages 5 and under get in free with a paid adult. Also, first responders and active military have free admission with credentials.
For those who may not be familiar with Comic Con, it’s a comic book convention for all ages that focuses on comics and related popular art, including movies, television, gaming, and interactive multimedia. It’s also where comic book fans gather to attend guest panels featuring content creators, actors and artists.
“It’s an event for the pop culture nerd,” said Jessica Johnson, who — along with her husband, Lonnie, was promoting a program called Heroes For Kids, a fundraiser held in the Walmart parking lot that had its start a little over nine years ago.
“Heroes For Kids uses costume characters to introduce kids to our real-life heroes — our law enforcement, firefighters, military, EMS and such,” Mr. Johnson explained. “We started off doing meet and greets and then began doing events where we were helping fundraise for different nonprofit organizations. We got tired of being the middleman helping corporations raise money because we saw how much of the donations were going to them instead of the nonprofit getting everything. That’s when we became a nonprofit and cut out the middleman.”
Asked how the Heroes For Kids fundraiser morphed into Comic Con, Mr. Johnson said, “We were doing Children's Miracle Network events on the Walmart parking lot, and a DC comic artist asked, “Why don't you just turn this into a Comic Con? You've already got the start of one.”
Perryville’s Comic Con started in 2019 as a one-day show with around 500 to 600 people in attendance. The 2020 convention was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the event bounced back in 2021. Last year, almost 2,000 people attended Comic Con in Perryville, and more than $11,000 was raised for the 2023 recipients. This year, in commemoration of its fifth anniversary, Comic Con has been expanded into a two-day event, with the turnout expected to be bigger than ever.
Activities at Comic Con will include a Cosplay/Costume Contest, a Quick Draw/Sketch Contest, a Brick-Building Contest, Trivia, a Super Smash Brothers Tournament and Dungeons and Dragons (D&D).
Also, Villain’s Café, located in the corner with the Villainous Grounds booth, will offer non-alcoholic drinks, lunches and treats, with all profits going to The Perry County Senior Center and Kenny Rogers Children’s Center.
Comic Con will feature four special guests.
Matthew Atchley is an actor and artist known for his intricately hand-drawn artwork and ever-growing list of acting credits. His art subjects span all fandoms and forms of pop culture, including characters from popular TV, film, comics, and more. He has created artwork for several actors from various TV series and movies. Ever diverse, his other projects have included co-creating a cartoon/comic series with Actor Sean Astin, book cover art, company logos, and more.
Atchley’s acting credits continue to grow as he has been cast in over 80 productions. He performed on episodes of “Watchmen,” “The Gifted,” The Originals,” “The Resident,” “Nashville,” Ozark,” and “MacGyver.” He’s also very well known in the “True Crime” genre with principal roles on multiple episodes of “Snapped,” “Killer Couples,” “Murder Calls,” “Homicide Hunter,” “Murder Chose Me,” and over 17 more series.
His film credits include principal roles in the award-nominated short films “Special Election” and “Archer’s Window.” He portrayed a sports magazine photographer in the movie “What Men Want” and FBI Agent Doug Wall in the Clint Eastwood-directed film “Richard Jewell.” His artwork portfolio, online shopping links, current appearance schedule, acting credits and all social media links can be found at artofmatthewatchley.com. Atchley’s acting credits can be found on IMDb.com.
Erin M. Evans is the author of the “Books of the Usurper” series, beginning with “Empire of Exiles” and the award-winning “Brimstone Angels Saga,” set in the Forgotten Realms. She is a co-host of the podcast, “Writing about Dragons and S**t,” and a cast member of the play series Dungeon Scrawlers. She lives in the Seattle area with her husband and sons. More information about Evans can be found on her website: https://erinmevans.com.
Steve Geiger has been a professional artist in the advertising and comic book fields for the past 25 years. After graduating from Buffalo State University, he began his career as an apprentice to the legendary comic book artist John Romita Sr. He was soon hired on staff and eventually named managing art director for The Marvel Entertainment Group.
Throughout his career, he has been a regular artist for comics such as Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Bloodshot, Scion, Lorelei, and Samuree. Geiger has also illustrated many covers and single issues — known as “one shots” — for titles that include The X-Men, Punisher: War Journal, The Fantastic Four, Batman, and countless others.
Geiger’s enterprise, The Evilgeiger Empire, is an entertainment development company devoted to creating, implementing, and producing original content and creator-owned concepts and characters. He has also begun production on his new creator-owned comic: THUNDERSNOW, Guardian of Niagara.
Geiger lives with his wife, Kristy, and their children in Silver Creek, NY.
Marti Matulis is an American character actor, musician, cinematographer, and editor best known for playing non-human characters in works such as The Mandalorian, American Horror Story, Star Trek: Picard, Teen Wolf, Evil, Studio 666, Smile, and the upcoming Disney+ show Skeleton Crew.
Trained on a steady diet of Looney Tunes, 80s sci-fi movies and Shakespeare, Marti officially started acting in grade school with a gravitas-infused turn as Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. With his acting bug firmly planted, he continued studying through college before starting a professional career in Hollywood.
He can be followed on his site: https://www.martimatulis.com/ and on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martimatulis. A list of his acting credits can be found on IMDb.com: https://www.imdb.me/martimatulis.
Sponsors for the event are Robinson Outdoor, The City of Perryville, Perryville Walmart, Baer Engineering, The Republic-Monitor, EPS Buildings, Dreyer Electric, Perry County Veterinary Hospital, Wibbenmeyer Concreters, Frank’s Produce, Rotary International, Mattingly Boxdorfer Dental, Rollet Brothers Trucking Co., Inc., RE/MAX Realty, Charlie’s Fast Lube, Richardet Floor Covering, Citizens Electric Corporation, Robinson Construction, The Webb Law Firm, LLC, TG Missouri,
Comic Con’s ticket prices can be found at www.heroesforkidscomiccon.org. For more information, email heroesforkidsperryvillemo@hotmail.com.
Saturday, July 20
9 a.m. – Early Bird/VIP Entry
10 a.m. – General Admission
Sunday, July 21
11:30 a.m. – Vendor Floor Opens
11:30 a.m. – Villain’s Café Opens
Noon – Drawing Lesson Panel “Art The Marvel Way” By Steve Geiger @ Villain’s Café
1 p.m. – Trivia @ Villain’s Café – Marvel & Star Wars Themes
2 p.m. – Guest Panel – Matthew Atchley @ Villain’s Café
3 p.m. – Brick By Brick Building Contest @ Villain’s Café
3 p.m. – Silent Auction Ends
4 p.m. – Check Presentations (Preliminary Count)
4:30 p.m. – Villain’s Café Closes
5 p.m. – Vendor Floor Closes
