Anime-Comic Con invades Clovis

Participants show off their costumes at Clovis Anime-Comic Con held at Clovis Veterans Memorial District, May 13, 2018. (Photo courtesy of @Boss.Man.559/Facebook)

Comic fans of all ages invaded the Clovis Veterans Memorial District on Sunday to attend the Clovis Anime-Comic Con.

The event featured a cosplay contest, as well as plenty of items for sale, including movies, collectable toys and comic books. As part of Mother’s Day, the event also included giveaways for roses and chocolate.

“Most people can’t go to the big convention like San Diego, so we bring the convention to them,” said Ziggy Star, one of organizers of the event.

Star organized the event with his family, including his 17 grandkids.

“I have 17 grandkids, so where I can go and bring 17 grandkids for under 100 bucks?” Star said. “With us, you can.”

The event also featured special guests such as Len Smith, who worked as a character designer for Disney. Smith met his fans at the event and signed character art he designed for Disney.

Smith said he has relatives in Clovis, but this was his first time visiting.

“I was just driving through Old Town,” Smith said. “It’s really nice.”

Roxanne Cole came to the event with her mother as a vendor and also took part in the cosplay.

“My mom sells sewing stuff and others are with me to sell games, flashlights and more,” Cole said. “I usually attend Comic Con almost every time and sometimes I can’t because I’m at another con.”

Mark Vaughan came to Comic Con with the local Star Trek fan club called USS Saroyan.

“We come to these events to recruit new members,” Vaughan said. “Our Star Trek club is part of a national organization where each chapter is named after a starship. We like to get together and eat pizza and come to events like this and have a good time.”

AJ Sotelo came to the event dressed as Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.

“He was one of my favorite characters since I was a little kid,” Sotelo said. “I loved the arcade game and always wanted to dress up as him.”

Although this was the first year of Clovis hosting Comic Con, Star said the plan is to do 45 shows around the Valley this year. Upcoming stops for the event will include Porterville, Selma, Modesto and Fresno.

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