Comic Con slated for Mountain Grove

A decade ago, local pop culture enthusiasts had to travel to huge hubs like St. Louis or Kansas City to attend conventions dedicated to their interests—events popularly referred to as “comic cons.”
In more recent years, pop culture events have been on the rise in the Ozarks, from the Route 66 Toy and Comic Convention in Lebanon to Missouri Comic-Con in Springfield. And this weekend, Mountain Grove will be hosting the first Comic-Con of its very own, appropriately named Mountain Grove Comic Con.
For those unfamiliar with the term, “comic cons” are typically more than conventions dedicated to comic books.
They often celebrate fandoms of all kinds of media: comic books, television shows, animation, movies, video games, toys and everything in between.
Collectors and pop culture enthusiasts buy and sell various wares. Some vendors sell their own original artwork, crafts or books. Many attendees “cosplay,” or dress up as characters from franchises that they enjoy.
Special celebrity guests are often present, including movie stars and artists. Mountain Grove Comic Con aims to provide all of that and more.
Convention organizer and Houston native Kevin Mooney is no stranger to the world of pop culture conventions, having been a vendor at various events over the years.
“I’ve been a nerd my whole life,” he said. “I grew up with that stuff. I enjoyed reading comics as a kid. I collected action figures. They say you grow out of that. I never did. I got into action figures more as I grew up.”
When Mooney started hitting local conventions, he discovered that there were a lot of people in the Ozarks interested in pop culture. With the nearest hubs for similar events being West Plains to the east and Springfield to the west, Mountain Grove made for the perfect “middle ground” for potential travelers—and especially for local residents who barely have to leave their own backyard.
“You see so much of it in bigger cities,” he says. “You never really think about it in Mountain Grove. You’d be amazed how many people around are still into comics, action figures, anime and that whole culture.”
Going from a vendor to the other side of the table as a convention organizer, a job Mooney shares with a close-knit group of family and friends, has proven to have its fair share of challenges. “I have never in all my years seen a ‘regular Joe’ throw a comic con,” he said. “It makes it difficult to try to even figure out where to begin, like being in the middle of the ocean and trying to swim towards where you think the island is. You have to figure out everything involved in it. I did a lot of research to market it for our area and figure out what I could do to bring people in to have them enjoy it.”
Mooney wants attendees of all ages to enjoy the event at a reasonable price. Children 12 and under get in free, and tickets are only $10 for those 13 and older. Kids can enjoy activities specially designed for them, including coloring, Lego building and mask making.
Attendees can take photos with Pikachu from the popular Pokemon franchise, as well as participate in trivia contests and question and answer panels with special celebrity guests and artists.
At 5 p.m. on Saturday will be the cosplay parade, where all the cosplayers can show off their costumes in front of an audience. Prizes will also be given away throughout the event. A wide variety of food will be offered, ranging from popular British eatery London Calling to Houston-based pizzeria Dodo Shack, to keep attendees fueled up. And as mentioned, there will be vendors of all sorts, from comic, trading card and game sellers to local artists and authors.
“There’s going to be some cool stuff that we just don’t really see much around here,” Mooney said. “There’s not a whole lot that you see come into a small town that’s new like this.”
One of the biggest draws to a comic con is the special celebrity guests, and Mountain Grove Comic Con has managed to procure someone with local flavor: actor Clint James, who has played in TV shows and films including Fear the Walking Dead, Law & Order and NCIS: New Orleans.
“He’s a friend of mine,” says Mooney. “He’s got family and friends down here. That’s how I met him. I was working at O’Reilly’s. His uncle used to run that O’Reilly’s years ago. I didn’t even know that he was a celebrity. We were talking about motorcycles and ended up being friends. Then I found out that he was in movies. So I was like, ‘You know what? I plan on doing something.’ He’s like, ‘You know what? I’ll do it with you.’ Sure enough, he’s flying in from California to come down here and be with us. It’s pretty cool for him to come by and hit a local thing like this. I know he wants to see it thrive.”
“Love my hometown peeps,” James said in a recent social media post, “and to be a part of something like this is pretty special to me. I ride motorcycles too, so come on out, and let’s get it.”
All in all, Mooney anticipates an attendance between 500 and 1000 for Mountain Grove Comic Con’s inaugural year.
“I think if anything, even if it’s just a lot of foot traffic from the town, it ought to be a pretty impressive event for Mountain Grove,” he said. “I think not only is the town of Mountain Grove going to come out and enjoy it, but that a lot of out-of-towners are going to be like, ‘Let’s go see what this is about.’ I joked that I would drive an hour and a half to go get some good food somewhere, much less go to a comic con. I mean, there’s people that drive days to go to a big one, so I can imagine that it ought to be pretty good.”
Mooney adds that turnout will determine whether Mountain Grove Comic Con will become an annual event and what might be in store for the future, including the potential for more celebrity guests.
“[Clint] said, ‘Man, if we need, I can get more friends,’” Mooney added.
“And I’m like, ‘Well, let’s make sure first.’ If I can touch on 500, that’s gonna make me happy. If you’re not familiar with it, come check it out. You don’t know if you like something unless you try it. It’s not expensive. It’s not that far out of the way. I can almost guarantee you there’s going to be something there that you like. I want to see that 45-year-old farmer that wants to put on a Superman costume and come to town, man. I want people to be able to enjoy themselves, even for a little while, to come out and be themselves and have a good place to have a little freedom, enjoy your nerd-dom, revert back to your childhood and read some comic books. Have fun. I would love to see this as something that we can do every year.”
The inaugural Mountain Grove Comic Con is scheduled for this Saturday, June 27 and Sunday, June 28 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. both days at the YMCA in Mountain Grove. It is located at 1 YMCA Dr.