Last weekend saw thousands of people flock to Veterans Auditorium in Des Moines for the Wizard World Comic Con, where several celebrities — most notably the iconic illustrator Stan Lee — made appearances.
Lee undoubtedly drew the largest crowd at the two-day comic book convention, but other popular attendees included John Cusack, Jon Heder, Dean Cain, Barry Bostwick and others.
Many comic enthusiasts came dressed as their favorite characters, such as Janelle and Donny Teague of Granger and their children, who were in full gear. Donny made the costumes for the kids, who dressed up as several characters throughout the weekend. Even 2-month-old Lily Teague took part in the fun.
Another group attending was a local charity organization known as the Justice Corps of Iowa, which is made up of several superheroes. Superman (Jeremy Lester), Super Girl (Marie-Josee Lavallee), Flash (Jeff Badger), Red Hood (Kiefer Van Hanawalt) and Hawkeye (also Jeff Badger) are a few of their members.
The Justice Corps is a not-for-profit organization that attends charities, helps with fundraisers and pays hospital visits to children. Donations they receive are sent to charities, such as Make-A-Wish, Easter Seals, Children’s Cancer Connection and Iowa Kids Net. They also pick one or two local fundraisers to donate to. This past year, one Iowa charity they chose was the Austin Strong Foundation.
According to Lester, who doubles as Superman, the talent coordinator did a good job booking celebrities that people wanted to see.
“Stan Lee was pretty huge,” Lester said. He said the celebrity power was much better this year than last year, but he was surprised to find no vendors with comic books to purchase, which is a staple for most Comic Con events.
An estimated 100 people attended the Friday session and some 2,000 came Saturday.
John D. Maatta, Wizard World CEO, introduced himself to everyone in line on Friday and provided his personal cell phone number for feedback to improve the event for next year.
Besides meeting comic world icons, attendees were entertained by puppet shows and Nerf gun mazes for the kids and a stage with local bands playing cover songs. There also were information panels with instructions on how to do Cosplay (making costumes from foam, leather and other materials).
Tommy Teague, 11, showed his drawings to several successful artists and got their input. All of the Teague boys sat in on an interview with Stan Lee on Saturday, possibly a once in a lifetime privilege.
“Comic Con is a great experience for our family,” Donny Teague said. “The people are wonderful and accepting of everyone. It’s rare to go to something as big as comic con and not worry about being different. Different is embraced and welcomed.”
Teague said he was especially grateful for the session on cosplay.
“It is refreshing to be able to build costumes and have them appreciated no matter the skill level,” he said. “The love of the characters and the courage to do it is what’s appreciated. All of our kids love stepping into their costume and being whatever character for an afternoon.”
The Wizard World conventions are held in large cities across the U.S. The next Midwest show is in Chicago in August. Future Des Moines shows have not been announced yet.
For more information about the Justice Corps of Iowa, contact them on their Facebook page.
