POP CULTURE CON MAKES MAJOR IMPACT 

WITH a rich list of works including credits on comics such as “The Avengers,” “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” “Wonder Woman,” “The Infinity Gauntlet” and “The New Teen Titans,” renowned comic book artist and writer George Pérez has spent plenty of time toiling away in a studio, what can often be a solitary environment.

That is why Pérez loves to attend fan conventions such as Geek’d Con, a threeday event dedicated to all things geek, which will hit Shreveport Aug. 19-21.

“It’s wonderful to see the faces of my audiences and to see them smile when I sketch for them, pose for pictures and autograph their books,” Pérez said. “It’s like comparing a screen actor to a stage actor. The stage actor, as I feel like when I’m at the cons, not only gets the satisfaction of playing his craft, but also gets the joy of hearing the applause.”

Pérez is just one guest in a varied lineup of stars set to meet and greet fans during Geek’d Con. Event organizer Greg Atoms of Townsquare Media describes Geek’d Con as a pop culture convention whose diverse lineup has “something for almost every corner of the geek world.”

That lineup includes Pérez; actress Tara Reid, currently starring in the “Sharknado” series; Cassandra Peterson, also known as Elvira; “Hocus Pocus” actress Kathy Najimy; “The Walking Dead” actor Pruitt Taylor Vince; professional wrestler John Hennigan; “Clerks” and “Mallrats” actor Brian O’Halloran; makeup and special effects artist Tate Steinsiek; Karlee Perez, also known as Catrina from “Lucha Underground”; actress Azure Parsons of “Salem”; and many more.

Pérez will appear at Geek’d Con as he prepares to finalize the sixth and last issue of “George Pérez’s Sirens” for BOOM! Entertainment. His list of accomplishments is long.

“I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in many landmark projects for both DC and Marvel Comics,” he said. “‘The New Teen Titans’ has been cited as the book that saved DC Comics, and ‘Crisis On Infinite Earths’ was also the companywide crossover maxi-series to which all others are now compared.”

Pérez also takes personal pride in helping to bring “Wonder Woman” its biggest sales in decades when he wrote and drew her title.

Despite some health issues, including an operation on his eyes, Pérez said he continues to consider new projects.

“While I still work with pen and paper, due to my weakened eyes, I follow up by scanning the art and then digitally clean, tweak and add more detail to the art, since I can blow up the image as large as I need it to be,” he said.

Pérez said he received an invitation online to attend Geek’d Con, and he looks forward to having a local friend give him a quick tour of the sights of Shreveport while he’s in town.

Speaking as one of the talents who will be meeting local fans at the event, Christopher Stanley, known online as Cosplay Chris, said he enjoys participating in events like Geek’d Con because he loves to hang out with likeminded people, whom he describes as “gentle souls.”

“It's amazing to come to these types of events and meet fans because it makes you feel like you're doing something right when you meet fans and get amazing feedback,” he said. “Plus, it's amazing to geek out with them and talk cosplays.”

Cosplay contests will be a big part of the Saturday schedule, Atoms said, with multiple tiers and levels to the competition. Guests will also participate in panels to talk all things cosplay – “how they make their outfits, what they do for their makeup, where they get their ideas, where’s a good place for others to get ideas, how to feel comfortable – we’re going to have a lot of cosplay conversation,” he said.

Shreveport-Bossier City cosplay is a rich soil that just hasn’t really been cultivated, Atoms said, and that could possibly change after the convention. 

“There could be some really awesome cosplay that comes out of here – we just need to feed the soil, and so having some of these cosplay conversations openly will hopefully create sparks with others,” he said.

In addition to the focus on cosplay on Saturday, the convention will feature opportunities to take photographs and purchase autographs from the guest stars in attendance, as well as offer a multitude of vendors with a variety of items to purchase.

cosplay [noun, cos·play / käz-pl ]: the activity or practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction (such as a comic book, manga, video game or television show).”

– Merriam-Webster Dictionary

“From what I have seen of the vendors, there are going to be people who wish we were closer to Christmas because it’s going to be one-stop shop for geeks,” Atoms said. “Comic books up and down, shirts on hand, some people doing posters, and there are a lot of people bringing collectibles.”

What’s important for visitors thinking about attending the convention to know, Atoms said, is that it’s completely locally planned with this area in mind.

“This year, we want to tell the story of the people who are behind this event,” Atoms said. “We [Townsquare Media] are a really big company, but this event is put on by people here.”

Geek’d Con got its start in 2015 when its organizers looked at the untapped market of Shreveport’s geek community and felt the city should have a Comic Con event of high caliber.

“We started with: Why are we going to do this event?” Atoms said. The answer to that question, he said, was “because this area deserves that kind of event.”

A newcomer to the area, Atoms got to know Shreveport and found that the area, with its multiple comic book and gaming stores, was “a very geeky community, but it was really weird that no one was really talking about it or touching it in any way.

“That’s the biggest disconnect in this market versus other places is other places have that centralized point where they all come together, that melting pot, and this community’s never had it,” he said. “There’s no common thread and they’ve never come together, and they’re starting to now.”

Atoms hopes the second annual event will only continue to help convention-goers meet others with similar interests, as well as open their minds to what a “geek” really is. In Atoms’ opinion, everyone has some geekiness inside of him or her, and he hopes that everyone can be accepting of the different niches in the geek world, instead of having division over what being a “geek” should look like.

“We would rather be the event that brings all these people together and makes them realize we’re all geeky,” Atoms said. “This should be the community that supports whatever it is that you’re going to do.”

Attendance of last year’s Geek’d Con more than doubled the figure that organizers initially hoped for – at least 10,000 visitors went through the convention over that three-day period in August 2015.

“As this continues to grow, as we see more people come out, we see more guests reach out to us, which is something we saw this year that we didn’t have last year. It’s become easier, and if we see more people this year and if people are just as passionate this year, then next year is going to be even bigger, and it just keeps growing,” Atoms said.

Tickets are still available, and Atoms doubts the event will sell out due to the high capacity of the Shreveport Convention Center. The $20 weekend pass is the most popular ticketing option, he said, which garners visitors entrance on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday. If purchased individually, Friday tickets are $5, while Saturday and Sunday are each $15.

“Friday night is only a few hours – it’s our vendor showcase night,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of comic book retailers who are going to be there. If you’re looking for that hard-to-find comic book, you get first crack at it if you come Friday night.”

Friday’s ticket also gives visitors the opportunity to just hang out and see the layout of the floor, such as where guests will be positioned on Saturday and Sunday.

While Saturday afternoon will be devoted to cosplay contests, the rest of the weekend is mostly a free-for-all, Atoms said.

“The focus of the event is giving people an atmosphere and a place to come and celebrate being a geek,” he said. “The schedule really becomes what time the doors open and what time the doors close – everything that happens in between is up to you.”