[ By TROY ROBINSON ]
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — On June 21, 2013, Jon Robinson stood on a stage at Topeka’s Washburn University with his family in costume, ushering Clark Kent/Superman into the Kansas Hall of Fame for his 75th anniversary. Back home, Hutchinson had been declared Smallville, Kansas, for a day. A lifelong Superman fan, Jon had loaned his personal Man of Steel costumes to promote the Smallville cause and was now wearing them proudly along with his son, who is actually named Kal-El, the Kryptonian birth name of Superman. It was in these moments that Jon developed the vision to build a comic convention in the most unlikely of places: Hutchinson, Kansas.
The 5th annual ‘pop culture and comic book celebration’ was hosted June 23-24, 2018, on the grounds of the Kansas State Fair. Jon, owner and promoter of the annual Smallville Con, reported 5,835 fans and vendors attended the 2018 event. “We worked hard to promote this year’s event and increase interest and community participation. Last year we had 4,000 through the door, so our goal was to reach 5,000 this year. I am overwhelmed we not only reached our goal, but exceeded it.”
Filling three buildings, the event organized over 158 exhibitors providing something for everyone, from comic books and collectibles to original art, toys, and even jewelry. Celebrity guests included Mindy Sterling (Austin Powers, I Carly, The Legend of Corra), Steven Williams (Supernatural, X-Files, Stargate SG-1), Corin Nemec (Stargate SG-1, Supernatural, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose), David Nykl (Arrow, Supernatural, Stargate Atlantis), Eddie McClintock (Warehouse 13, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Supergirl), Master Daniel Pesina (Action Choreographer, Co-Creator of Mortal Kombat), and Dean Cain (Lois & Clark, Supergirl, Ripley’s Believe It or Not).
Dean Cain’s appearance was sponsored by Bretz & Young – Injury Lawyers. According to Attorney Ethan S. Kaplan, “We wanted to provide support for Smallville Con in any way we could because we know both what it has done for the community in the past as well as what it can do for the community in the future. We were excited to be involved this year and especially to sponsor Superman himself, Dean Cain. We were optimistic bringing him here would not only bring joy to the attendees of the festival, but would help in making this year’s Smallville Con one of the biggest yet. We definitely plan on being involved one way or another in the future.”
Free customized commemorative tote bags stuffed with advertisements and coupons for local businesses were distributed to fans as they entered.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the celebration was the 13-foot-tall, 90-foot-long dragon named “Dra-El,” with glowing eyes and smoke emanating from its nostrils. Personally built by Robinson just to give the fans something amazing to pose for photographs with, it was constructed over the past year with updates regularly posted to Facebook. The dragon required 10 trailer trips and 6 hours of assembly to display.
Smallville Con also showcased two full days of live wrestling matches with Colton Alexander earning the first ever Grand Prairie Championship Wrestling title belt, awarded by Billy Simmons, owner of XWE Entertainment and co-founder of the Kansas Wrestling Alliance.
On Sunday, the 2nd Annual Smallville Car Show was challenged by the weather, but with the help of celebrity judge Corin Nemec, the top winners included:
- Larry Sangal, 1936 Ford Coupe, Celebrity Award
- Richard Smith, 1969 Ford Mustang, People’s Choice
- Eddie Tipton, 1979 Chevrolet Nova, Best of Show
- Kenny Harmony, 1968 Lincoln Continental
- Bryan Harris, 2013 Hyundai Veloster
In addition to celebrities and artists, panels included a Wichita Women of Letters Supernatural Meetup, the Paleontology of Jurassic Park – Science vs. Fiction presented by the Sternberg Museum, and ‘How-To’ clinics on being a writer and entertainer, and various techniques for constructing costumes and armor using foam or pneumatics, and Skin Wars Season 1 contestant Mythica von Griffyn speaking about her reality television experience while providing body paint opportunities.
“I am extremely grateful to everyone who made this year successful,” Robinson said. “To all my sponsors and contributors, especially Eagle Communications and Bretz and Young, my wife Heather, my mother Cheryl Buckley, brother Troy and sisters Jené Farmer, Sheri Albright, Christin Olson, and Dawn Robinson, son-in-law Alex Thibedeau, and to all the nieces, nephews and remaining 70 volunteers serving as ‘Champions of Smallville,’ I couldn’t do it without them, thank you!”
Stay tuned, the Robinson Family will be back June 22-23, 2019, for Smallville Con 6.
Photographs courtesy @SamPhoImages (www.sampho.net).