Comic Con honors roots Marvel-ously

Stan Lee, Jon Heder, John Cusack among celeb guests, writers

It’s five years old now, and the Rose City Comic Con, Sept. 10-11 at the Oregon Convention Center, still remains true to its mission from the start, founder Ron Brister says.

“We’re trying to be loyal to our soul and DNA — it’s a comic con,” he says. “San Diego and others (comic cons) don’t get the creators and writers we do. We’re trying to be an honest comic book convention that celebrates the craft. We stick to the comic books.”

There’ll also be 30,000 square feet of gaming and a cool kid’s area with its own “mini-convention,” but it’s all about comics — celebrity and writer appearances, workshops, scores of vendors, crafts people, artisans and more.

The big name attending is Stan Lee, the face of Marvel Comics and maybe the greatest comic book writer ever.

“He’s never been to our show,” Brister says. “This is the only year he’ll be at our show, and he has announced it’s his last year on the (comic con) circuit. ‘Let’s get him before he goes off and retires.’”

Acting siblings John and Joan Cusack will attend, as will the likes of Ming-Na Wen (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Jon Heder (“Napoleon Dynamite” and from Salem) and Billy Boyd (“Lord of the Rings”).

Some bigger publishers will be there, including Dark Horse Comics, Valiant Comics and Onie Press.

Among the writers making appearances are Brian Michael Bendis (“He only does our show,” Brister says), Jonathan Hickman, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, Mike Mignola and many more.

“We built a reputation, and people want to hang out with our fans,” Brister says.

Ticket prices are $125 (Fast Pass), $60 (two-day pass), $35 (Saturday), $30 (Sunday) and $5 (child, 3-10 years old). Autographs also cost money, such as for Lee ($100), John Cusack ($70), Wen ($50), Boyd ($50), Joan Cusack ($40) and Heder ($40).

Hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11, at Oregon Convention Center, 777 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. For more: www.rosecitycomiccon.com.

There have been other comic book events in the city, including the Stumptown Comics Fest, held from 2004-2013, and some smaller events still exist.

The Wizard World Comic Con comes through Portland every year in February.

But, Rose City Comic Con has quite a following.

Brister is proud of his event, that it celebrates the comic book industry in “Ground Zero for the creator community,” with artists, writers and independent publishers living in the Portland area.