Middle Georgia Comic Convention aiming for record attendance in Macon
Superheroes, villains and their creators are descending on Macon this weekend.
The Edgar H. Wilson Convention Center will be filled with all things comic book related for the third Middle Georgia Comic Convention on Saturday and Sunday.
The event is organized by a group of friends who met through the Heroes and Villains Comics store in Warner Robins and saw a need for a convention in the area, said Kyle Yentzer, vice president of MGA Comic Con.
Actors, artists, writers, photographers and special effects people are among those who will discuss their work during a series of panels, he said. In the dealers' room, vendors will have pop culture and comic book products for sale, and comic book creators and artists will meet visitors and sign items for them.
Jeremy Barker, of Personify 3D in Warner Robins, is returning for the second year. He does 3-D scans of attendees -- often in costume, then produces action figures of them using a 3-D printer.
"There are lots of bigger events in Georgia, but these events that are local are far and few between," Barker said. "I really wanted to support them. It's also a good way of getting my business better known in this area. People in Macon enjoy this kind of thing."
In the gaming hall, attendees can play board, card and role-playing games; watch demos; and participate in tournaments. Yentzer said the video room will show Marvel movies Saturday and anime programs Sunday. Also planned are costume, drawing and trivia contests.
"It's an opportunity to get together with like-minded people who enjoy the same things and to express things in ways that they don't normally (get to) in their normal life," Yentzer said.
The first convention drew about 1,100 attendees and grew to nearly 1,900 in 2015. The team has been marketing outside Georgia this year and is aiming for 2,400 visitors.
"I hope this year people can kind of see the dynamic and evolution of the convention and take notice of the effort the staff has put in to improving upon everything since year one," Yentzer said. "Hopefully, everybody has a good time and wants to come back and tell their friends about it."
This will be the third time that Warner Robins resident Alex Johnson has attended MGA Comic Con. He said he loves conventions and decided to attend the first Middle Georgia event to look for key "Green Lantern" issues and play in the HeroClix tournament. HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game involving the world of superhero comic books.
He likes spending time at the vendor and artist booths and sitting in on the panel discussions.
"As big as this area is, I think it needs something like" the comic convention, he said. "Not everyone can afford to go to Atlanta for Dragon Con or to San Diego for Comic-Con. This gives people something local they can attend, and it's still pretty awesome."
MGA Comic Con
When: Early registration is from 6-10 p.m. Friday, but you can also register Saturday and Sunday. The convention lasts from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Edgar H. Wilson Convention Center, 200 Coliseum Drive, Macon
Admission: At the door, $25 for Saturday, $20 for Sunday, $35 for two-day pass, or $10 for two-day gaming pass. The two-day convention pass is $20 if you preregister online by Thursday. Children 10 and younger get in free.
Info: mgacon.com
This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Middle Georgia Comic Convention aiming for record attendance in Macon ."