Retro Con brings back fond memories for attendees, guests alike

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. - Fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Resident Evil and other pop culture brands packed into Civic Arena for a second year of Retro Con.

With increased venue space, Retro Con featured a variety of vendors including KC Crochet, Prettiest Mess Studios and Capo's Cave of Collectibles along with special guests like artists Charles D. Moisant, Paul Neimeyer and members of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie cast.

"The best part about coming out and doing these shows is to find out how much the projects I worked on actually meant to people," Neimeyer said. "I really didn't understand any of that until I started doing these shows. Specifically with Mortal Kombat, people come up and started telling me ‘You illustrated my childhood.' ‘This game was responsible for my relationship with my dad, mom, cousin, brother or whoever.' There's over 1,000, different versions of that story, but it it's been a revelation for me to hear these stories."

A first time guest at Retro Con and visitor to St. Joseph, Moisant quickly appreciated the passion exhibited from locals as he explained his work as an artist and the types of things he creates such as custom Dungeons & Dragons dice and posters. He believes sharing the energy fans experience and encouraging their fandom helps make events like Retro Con worthwhile.

"People come in with so joy and the fact that I can assist with the joy is why I'm extremely grateful to every fan who I meet," Mosiant said. "I'm humbled by the fact that they're willing to take the time out of their busy lives to look at my work and maybe get inspired by what I produce. I've even helped a woman lose weight because of the caricature I had drawn inspired her. It's very humbling to be able to take this all in."

St. Joseph Retro Con continues today, Sunday May 3, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Civic Arena, located on 100 N. Fourth St. For the full list of guests and vendors visit Retro Con's website.

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