The inaugural 2 Rivers Comic Con takes over St. Charles this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (May 23–25)—and when I say “takes over,” I mean takes over, with convention space across two venues plus after-hours events up and down the Missouri River riverfront.
At the Foundry Art Centre (520 N. Main Ctr.), which 2Rivers has affectionately dubbed “the Hall of Justice,” you’ll find con registration, a bar, and a dealers room, including a sizable presence by St. Charles mainstay comic book store the Fantasy Shop. In the Hall, you’ll also find six celebs famous for their roles in the 2000s Justice League animated series and its various incarnations and sequels. Each will be signing autographs as well as headlining a panel about their respective careers and upcoming projects:
- Hawkgirl voice actress Maria Canals-Barrera first kickstarted her career on the Disney Channel, co-starring on Wizards of Waverly Place alongside Selena Gomez and in the Camp Rock films with Demi Lovato. Her panel, “From Wings to Waverly,” is at 4:30pm on Friday, 05.23.
- Justice League director/artist Dan Riba and writer/producer Alan Burnett will be running a “Storytelling in Animation” panel on Saturday, 05.24, at 11:30am. Burnett will also be running a panel on “Compelling Characters” at 4:00pn the same day.
- Carl Lumbly played J’onn J’onnz, a.k.a. the Martian Manhunter; Lumbly has also had a lengthy career in front of the camera, with a recurring role in the ‘80s detective series Cagney & Lacey and the 2000s Jennifer Garner-led TV series Alias, plus the lead role in the ‘90s Fox sci-fi series M.A.N.T.I.S. Lumbly’s panel will concentrate not on his DC role, but on a Marvel one as Isaiah Bradley for his “Captain America: Brave New Role” panel at 12:30pm on Saturday, 05.24.
- Susan Eisenberg has been the voice for the 21st century’s animated Wonder Woman, plus voice acting roles in twenty video games and counting. Her panel, dubbed “A Wonder-ful Discussion,” runs Saturday, 05.24, at 1:30pm
- MadTV vet Phil LaMarr’s panel (at 2:45pm on Saturday, 05.24) is dubbed “101 Voices,” but that sounds like an underestimation. LaMarr is one of the busiest voice actors in the biz: in addition to voicing Green Lantern in Justice League, he’s played the titular lead in Samurai Jack, Static in Static Shock, beloved bureaucrat Hermes Conrad in Futurama, and dozens upon dozens upon dozens of other roles over the years.
- Lastly, the entire group will take part in “The Justice League Reunited” panel at 12:00pm on Sunday, 05.25.
The second venue is right around the corner at The Steel Shop (49 Lawrence St.). Dubbed “the Baxter Building,” this is the more comics-centric of the convention’s two locales, with one end of the floor taken up by big name comic vets while the rest of the venue features an artist’s alley packed with indie creators. The comics lineup is led by Missouri native Roy Thomas, one-time Marvel editor-in-chief, writer of lengthy runs on X-Men, The Avengers, and Conan the Barbarian, and co-creator of the Vision, Red Sonja, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and many, many others. St. Louis’ own Rich Burchett will also be in attendance, famed for his artwork on the animated-style adaptations of the ‘90s Batman and Superman cartoons as well as a beloved 2000s run on Marvel’s She-Hulk. The Arts STL contributor Jim Ousley will also be there, proudly shilling his Eisner-nominated, St. Louis-set horror comic, The Atonement Bell.
Additional comics pros in attendance include comic art workhorse Mark Bagley, who has almost certainly drawn more issues featuring Spider-Man than any other artist in history, with lengthy runs on both the flagship Amazing Spider-Man as well as the 2000s relaunch Ultimate Spider-Man, plus launching the series Thunderbolts; longtime The Phantom artist and inker extraordinaire Keith Williams; former Green Arrow art team Phil Hester and Ande Parks; longtime Amazing Spider-Man writer and Venom co-creator David Michelinie; 1980s Justice League artist Chuck Patton; and Spider-Man 2099 and Nightwing artist (and your favorite comic artist’s favorite comic artist) Rick Leonardi.
The 2 Rivers Comic Con runs Friday 05.23 from 1:00 to 7:00pm, Saturday 05.24 from 10:00am to 7:00pm, and Sunday 05.25 from 11:00am to 5:00pm. In addition to the main event, after-hours events include a kickoff party Friday at 8:00pm at Main Street Arcade (126 N. Main St.), a whiskey tasting with Ande Parks at Cardinal Sin (825 S. Main St.) at the same time, and a special screening of the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring Conan the Barbarian movie hosted by longtime Conan scribe Roy Thomas on Saturday night at 7:00pm at Two Plumbers Brewing Company (745 Friedens Rd.). One day passes are $20 for adults and $10 for kids 10 and under; weekend passes are $50 for adults and $30 for kids 10 and under. (Don’t quote me on those, they may just be the advance ticket prices.) To get the latest info and schedule, visit 2riverscomiccon.com. | Jason Green
