Puppeteers, comics expert highlight KCC Comic-Con presenters

Klamath Community College will host puppeteers, comic book artists, and rock band Owls and Aliens during the second annual KCC Comic-Con on Saturday, July 15.

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - Klamath Community College will host a varied group of featured speakers and presenters at the upcoming second annual KCC Comic-Con, slated for Saturday, July 15.

Multiple speakers will join the festivities – both virtually and in-person – as well as Klamath Falls rock band Owls and Aliens. Slated to present are Justin Thibodeaux and Sarah Frechette of The Hand and the Shadow – a prominent nationally touring puppeteering and shadow show; Battle Quest Comics artist Justin Zimmerman; and Josh Gross of Ashland-based touring puppetry troupe Puppeteers For Fears. A cosplay costume contest will also be held on the main stage.

Entering its second year, the annual KCC Comic-Con is a free, all-ages carnival-like event celebrating pop culture in its many forms: films, television, anime, videogames, comic books, music, and more. Attendees are encouraged to dress up in costume as their favorite superhero, villain, or recognizable character. Admission is donation of a non-perishable food or personal hygiene item to benefit the KCC Student Food Pantry.

Puppeteers for Fears

Gross is the artistic director and co-founder of Puppeteers For Fears, which features original live horror and science fiction-based rock ‘n’ roll themed musicals matched with puppetry. Their current show, “Cthulu: The Musical,” will tour the western United States in July and August, including an Aug. 12 performance in Klamath Falls at the Linkville Playhouse. Gross is also an author of multiple novels, is a working musician and competitive slam poet, and radio host on Jefferson Public Radio. Gross will appear for a question-and-answer session at the KCC Comic-Con at 2 p.m.

Battle Quest Comics

Zimmerman is an internationally recognized writer, director, instructor, and comic book artist. His film work has appeared in over 200 film festivals and garnered multiple international television awards. He serves as the media director for Battle Quest Comics, and lectures regularly at seminars and Comic-Con events around the country. Zimmerman will attend the KCC Comic-Con in-person and showcase his various works and comic book experience at 3 p.m.

Hand and the Shadow

Thibodeaux and Frechette are Portland-based stop-motion animators comprising The Hand and the Shadow, a nightshade cinema-style puppet show that has toured nationally. As filmmakers, their stop-motion short film “The Spooky Girls: Before the Fall Preludes” has won multiple awards, including Best Northern Short at the 2020 Klamath Independent Film Festival. They have worked extensively with Laika Studios as well as Adult Swim’s television series “The Shivering Truth,” Guillermo Del Toro’s Netflix feature “Pinocchio,” and Netflix’s “Wendell & Wild.” Thibodeaux and Frechette will appear at KCC Comic-Con at 4 p.m.

Costume contest

A cosplay costume contest will also be held on the KCC Comic-Con main stage from 5:30-7:30 p.m., participants will need to register at the photo booth prior to the start of the competition. Over $1,000 in prizes will be awarded in categories based on age: 6 and under, 7 to 12, 13 to 17, and 18-plus. Also, a prize will be awarded for best group cosplay.

Owls and Aliens

Rounding out the event will be Klamath Falls’ own rising rock stars, Owls and Aliens. Fresh off a national tour and back on the road again this August, the band has been making noise for several years playing major festivals, touring with prominent acts, and performing on legendary stages like the world-famous Whiskey-a-Go-Go. Following the cosplay costume contest Owls and Aliens will present live-band karaoke, with prizes for everyone who comes up to sing along with the band for a handful of famous classic cover songs. The grand prize will go to the best singer, as chosen by the band. Owls and Aliens will close out the KCC Comic-Con by performing a set of their original music starting at 8 p.m.

KCC Comic-Con will be from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 15 on the KCC campus at 7390 S. Sixth St., in Klamath Falls. Advance registration is available at www.eventbrite.com/e/597894738257.