In honor of Batman’s 75th anniversary, KOKOMO-CON (a comics and pop culture convention) will feature the greatest Batman writer of all time and the hero’s iconic car, The Batmobile on Saturday, Oct. 18. “Denny O’Neil is a legendary writer,” said KOKOMO-CON co-founder, Shawn Hilton. “He’s written Batman, Green Arrow, The Question, Green Lantern. He is an innovator, and has won just about every industry award you can win. He is also known as the creator of Ra’s al Ghul, Talia al Ghul, and the League of Assassins. Anyone who has seen the last three Batman movies, has seen the creations of our guest of honor, Denny O‘Neil.”
There are 150 booths, Artists’ Alley, and 2 gaming rooms! Take part in a Zombies tournament. The art designer for the game, Dave Atkins, is one of the guests of honor. He is donating an original piece of Zombies art to the winner of the tournament. You’ll recognize Atkins for his work at Nickelodeon, as he is the artist for Spongebob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer, the Backyardigans, and many other Nicktoons.
We’ve increased thecostume cosplay element this year,” said Hilton. “We have $501 in cash prizes available, sponsored by Comics Cubed, Kokomo Toys, and KokomoCon. The prizes will be awarded to the best kids costume, best male costume, best female costume, and best group costume.
“You can watch the contest for free, and you can come to the con in costume. But to enter the contest, there is a $1 entry fee. That money goes to the Excelsior Scholarship fund. We’ve added a second charity. We’re going to try to raise a little money to provide a scholarship to a high school student who is involved in a comic book club.”
Hilton added that the top three finishers in each category will receive an award.
For the past four years, KokomoCon has raised money for the Kokomo Humane Society through its charity auction. That event will continue this year as well.
“We have some wonderful items that Mark Enstrom has put together for us,” said Hilton. “Autographs from Tim Allen, Betty White, and James Earl Jones. We have sports autographs. We have a Jim Davis autograph. We’ll have vouchers to get tickets to see David Letterman in his final season, vouchers to see the Wheel of Fortune.”
Tickets to KokomoCon are $10 and can be purchased at the door on the day of the event or in advance at Comics Cubed, 121 E. Sycamore St. Hours for KokomoCon are 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. For additional information, visit the KokomoCon Facebook page.