Calling all heroes and supervillains. The annual creator-focused Memphis Comic Expo (MCX) is back this weekend, this year at the Memphis Sports & Event Center at 995 Early Maxwell Blvd. 

“We’ve got some great comic book artists and writers this year,” said show organizer Donnie Juengling, whose event also features creator discussion panels, card gaming, video games, role-playing games, and even a Ninja-style obstacle course for kids. “We’re just trying to give people more stuff to do while they’re here.”

The creator lineup touts some heavy hitters from the comics world, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman, James Robinson, Greg Land, Kyle Starks, and more. 

Starks, best known for his work on the Rick and Morty and Peacemaker comics as well as creator-owned titles like Where Monsters Lie, has appeared at the show every year except two.

“We love it. This is one of the best regional shows,” said Starks, who traveled from Indiana with his daughter. “This year we went and saw the Peabody ducks. There’s always something for us to see. And we’re crazy about Gus’s (World Famous Fried Chicken).”

His newest title, Devil On My Shoulder, will be released in November.

Memphis Comic Expo moving to Sports & Event Center

Alfredo and Leo Sanchez, creators of Southern Fried Kaiju and self-described comic fanatics since birth, came from Dallas to promote their comic.

“This is our first time in Memphis,” said Leo, who writes the title. His cousin, Alfredo, does the art. They self-publish their work under their Belcanto label. “This is a really great event. It’s well-organized, and the people are really into comic books.”

The show also features voice actors from popular animated series and video games, including four stars from “Marvel Rivals.”

The MCX Cosplay Contests (on both days) have fans dressing up as their favorite characters, often in elaborate, handmade costumes.

Ashley Bulluck took home one of the the top awards on Saturday for her Beholder costume from Dungeons & Dragons.

“I cosplay pretty heavily, so I have a lot of different characters,” she said. “I’ll be wearing Scarlet Witch tomorrow.”

Vendors selling all kinds of collectibles also make up a huge part of the show, with everything from vintage toys, posters and books to the gaming cards, Funko Pops and deluxe statues and figures of today.

“This is the first comic expo we’ve been to,” said attendee Matt Davis, who was there with his friend from North Carolina, Thomas Christian. “We’re just looking for really cool comic art and some stuff we can frame and put on our walls.”

Last year was Chicago-based vendor 3 Keys Comics’ first time at the expo, and they’re back again this year. They specialize in gaming cards and comics.

“This is a nice venue,” 3 Keys Manager Chance Anderson said. “We do a lot of traveling to some big shows, and we did pretty solid last year here, even with it being Downtown.” 

This year is also the show’s biggest push into the card-gaming community, which is wildly popular at the moment thanks to Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, Star Wars Unlimited, Disney’s Lorcana and a variety of other titles.

With the nearby Cooper-Young Festival taking place Saturday (but not on Sunday), Juengling thinks they might have lost out on a little attendance on Day 1, and he is hoping for a surge for Day 2. 

The expo runs Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with another full slate of family-friendly activities.

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