Fountain City Con takes local comic book conventions back to a less crowded, overwhelming time

Fountain City Con 2023. // Photo by Orrin Grey

Those who have lived in the Kansas City area for a while may remember when our own Planet Comicon was not such a massive undertaking as it is today. Years ago, the event was tucked into what was then the Overland Park Convention Center. Inside a large, empty room was a scattering of vendors, exhibitors at the artist’s alley, cosplayers, board games, and more.

It was a fun day trip, but not something likely to consume your entire weekend.

For those who attended this nascent Planet Comicon back in the day, Fountain City Con may bring back fond memories. And for those for whom bigger conventions like what Planet Comicon has become can be overwhelming, it may serve as a pleasant tonic to your nerves and crowd anxieties. 

This is not to say that Fountain City Con isn’t growing, and growing steadily. 

Now in its fourth year in one form or another, 2023 marked its second year as a two day event and also its second year in its current location, the New Century Fieldhouse just outside Gardner, KS. Though it may appear an unlikely location, the venue works remarkably well for this purpose. 

Fountain City Con 2023. // Photo by Orrin Grey

The fieldhouse itself is a wide open space divided into two halves. On one side, kids were playing soccer, even as I was picking up my press pass first thing in the morning on Saturday. On the other side, the hoops of the basketball courts had been raised to the ceiling to make way for vendor tables, an artist’s alley, both video and tabletop gaming, and even live music. The space between offered seating, restrooms, a concession stand, and even a balcony from which one could take in the whole tableau.

This year was my first experience with Fountain City Con, but most of the guests and vendors I talked with were returning regulars from the con’s previous iterations, and they all praised the vibe of the event, while also underscoring that it was growing all the time, and that this was the biggest it had ever been. 

With more than 40,000 square feet of space for vendors, artists, and so on, the convention brought a lot of very different opportunities to bear, even while the focus was still firmly on comics. Besides innumerable comic book vendors and artists, often stocked with long boxes of affordably-priced back-issues, there were toy sellers, local publishers, booths where you could buy or play retro video games, local makers, charities such as the Heroes Initiative and Beat the Competition/Give Back, and more.

It wasn’t all shopping.

Near the front of the fieldhouse, a room had been set aside for panels, including discussions with creative teams from Doom Patrol and Batman: The Animated Series, to name a few. On a stage at the back of the room, live-drawing demonstrations from artists such as Kyle Strahm, Brent Peeples, Arie Monroe, and others alternated with musical performances from the KC School of Rock. The latter may have been a little loud for those vendors closest to them, but it was great to see the kids rocking out!

The stage was situated behind a truly massive display highlighting the work of the KC Brick Lab, a showpiece cityscape featuring Kansas City landmarks and characters and details from pop culture, all made out of Legos. There was also a building space where you could jam out your own Lego creations. 

Fountain City Con 2023. // Photo by Orrin Grey

Beyond that, tables had been set up for gaming, where attendees could play video games or join various tabletop tournaments occurring throughout the weekend, including Magic: The Gathering, Star Wars Shatterpoint, and even a drop-in game of Dungeons & Dragons on Sunday, all sponsored by Brute Squad Entertainment.

And then, of course, there were the cosplayers. A regular sight at these kinds of conventions, they serve as a vital part of the convention ecosystem. Among them were both old favorites who regularly make the rounds of local cons, as well as new faces—or new masks, at least. Sightings at this year’s Fountain City Con included several Star Wars characters, Silent Hill’s own Pyramid Head, pretty much the entire cast of Sailor Moon, at least one dinosaur, a lot of pint-size Spider-mans, and even someone dressed as The Shadow.

Even at a smaller convention like this one, there can be so much to see and do that it is easy to get overwhelmed. You need a break to get off the floor, maybe grab a bite to eat. This was another place that the venue for Fountain City Con proved to be propitious. Built into the middle of the fieldhouse was an extant concession stand, serving all the usual standbys, including burgers, hot dogs, chicken sandwiches, and so on.

There was just one twist this year. The folks at the concession stand had changed the names of all their offerings to reflect the convention. So, if you wanted a burger, you had to order a “Spider Ham-burger,” or you could always chow down on the “Nacho Libre” or the “Pulled Bebop Sandwich.”

Fountain City Con 2023. // Photo by Orrin Grey

The convention didn’t even end within the walls of the fieldhouse. On Friday night, there was a special VIP showing of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary. Afterward, attendees could enjoy a special Q&A and meet and greet with creators Alan Burnett (who was also kind enough to discuss the film with us here at The Pitch) and Kevin Altieri, who were this year’s guests of honor at Fountain City Con.

A Brief Bonus Q&A with Alan Burnett about Batman: Mask of the Phantasm:

The Pitch: Mask of the Phantasm was released between the first and second seasons of Batman: The Animated Series, and I’ve read online that the decision to give it a theatrical release was not something that was part of the initial pitch. Can you give us a brief picture of how the movie came about?

Burnett: Originally Mask of the Phantasm was supposed to be a home video, but early on one of our producers, Eric Radomski, created a CG Gotham City for the opening credits. CG was new at the time, and when one of the executives saw it he said, “Why don’t we put this in the theatres?” And that’s how it became a movie. I don’t think he realized that there was no other CG in the film. 

You share screenwriting credit with Paul Dini, Martin Pasko, and Michael Reaves; how did that writing process work out? Are there specific parts of the film that were your contribution that you’re particularly happy with?

I wrote the story for the movie, and originally, I was hoping to write the entire film, but we were still producing the television series at the same time, so I didn’t have the time. Instead, I split the script between myself and my story editors.  Marty got the flashback section with Bruce’s cemetery scene, a scene that remained untouched during revisions; Paul Dini did the scenes that introduced the Joker; and Michael the climactic fight to the finish. It’s an unusual way to write a movie, but it worked out well.

Was the decision to create a new villain for the movie rather than go with an established member of Batman’s rogue’s gallery something you had wanted to do from the start? Was that something the studio asked for, or something that you had to fight them to do? Or was it pretty amicable?

I think I felt that a big movie-length story called for a new villain. I knew Joker would eventually enter the story and that he would fill the room as they say. Mostly though I wanted to tell a story about Bruce Wayne, the life he lead, and how Batman came about. As Marty Pasko used to say, it was a great day for Gotham when Bruce put on the Batman mask, and the worst day for Bruce Wayne. I also wanted a romantic interest. We hadn’t done that in the series yet.

How did you end up with the name Phantasm for the new villain, especially since I don’t think anyone actually calls the character that in the film? I’ve read that the design was intended to evoke both the Reaper character from the Batman: Year Two comic, as well as the Ghost of Christmas Future, but was there any influence coming in from the movie Phantasm? I feel like the character’s bladed hand resembles the flying spheres from that film.

People think that the character is based on the Reaper, but I confess I didn’t know about the Reaper. I might have called him the Reaper otherwise. I just wanted a ghostly killer and was inspired somewhat by Mysterio from the Spider-Man comics. I wanted a killer who could disappear in a cloud of mist.  The design was all Bruce Timm’s, my fellow producer. By the way, I named him the Phantasm not thinking it’s been used. Wrong again. Marv Wolfman came up with a villain named Phantasm way before. 

Was the World of the Future Fair always a key part of the story you had in mind, or is that something that came about during the course of writing and producing the film? How did the idea to set the climax of the story at a dilapidated World’s Fair come about?

I came up with the World’s Fair because the New York World’s Fair from the ’30’s was on my mind for some reason, and I thought it fit perfectly with the themes of the movie about dreams of the future and dashed hopes when that future is corrupted.

Mask of the Phantasm has been hailed as the best Batman movie of all time by places like Screen Rant, Paste, and Empire magazine. Did you anticipate that kind of reception when you were working on the film, or did it just feel like another part of the animated series?

I always thought it was a solid story that the fans would appreciate, and they did even though it did not get a great reception from the critics, and it disappeared from the theatres after a week. (In Los Angeles it played only matinees.)  I thought, “Well, that’s that,” and then a year later when it came out as a home video, Siskel and Ebert gave it a surprise review and they loved it! Suddenly we were getting national attention again. And, of course, in the intervening years it is still getting noticed by fans. It’s been very gratifying.