The biggest pop culture event in the Ark-La-Tex celebrates its first decade

In 2015, the plan for a Comic-Con festival in Shreveport-Bossier City was to “throw it all against the wall and see if it would stick.”

It did, and has stayed stuck for 10 years. “I’ve said for a decade now that pound for pound, Shreveport-Bossier is the geekiest place on the planet,” said Greg Atoms, the event’s founder. “If you just look at the amount of comic book retailers and trading card retailers and game stores that we have, for a market this size, we have more than we probably should. I don’t think we were worried if it would work; it was how well would it work?”

It’s worked so well that Geek’d Con X:

The 10th Anniversary Show will feature close to 50 celebrities from television, film and comic books. Those celebrities, along with more than 160 vendors, will be at the Shreveport Convention Center the weekend of Aug. 22-24. Geek’d Con bills itself as the biggest pop culture event in the Ark-La-Tex.

“I think it’s phenomenal that Greg, as well as the community, has created something that has not only continued, but thrived, especially during times when one could guess that perhaps some of the fan world might be facing what the real world is facing — a reflection of the fact things have changed economically within the past few years post-Covid,” said Kat Cressida, one of the celebrities who will be at Geek’d Con.

“It says so much about their hearts, their passion and their vision that it continues to flourish. I am honored to be one of an astonishing roster of guest talent this year.”

You may not recognize Cressida’s face, but you may very well recognize her voice. Cressida has had an impressive voiceover career. She’s the voice behind Constance Hatchaway, the bride from Walt Disney’s “Haunted Mansion,” Dee Dee in Cartoon Network’s “Dexter’s Laboratory,” Jessie The Cowgirl for the “Toy Story” franchise, and Princess Leia in various “Star Wars” video games.

“I think all of us are so grateful for the fact we’re making any kind of living in such a delightful, challenging, creative and dynamic field,” Cressida said.

For a price, Cressida and others will be signing autographs at Geek’d Con. Part of the money Cressida receives will go to three of her “targeted” charities — The Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Pediatric Cancer Foundation of America, and No Kid Hungry. All three focus on children, and that’s not by accident. In 2012, Cressida was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, which almost robbed her of the way she makes a living: her voice.

“When I was going through the worst of it, and in cancer treatment, I would often find myself next to, or across from, families who had a child who was going through it. It just really hit me hard that as scary and unpleasant as my journey was, at least I knew at a certain point I was most likely going to make it. It was clear that some of these amazing children might not. It felt important to me at those moments to give a bow to the universe that if I managed to make it through and find my way back to doing voiceover work and everything that goes with it, I would make that a priority.”

One thing Cressida is known for when appearing at shows like Geek’d Con is her refusal to take breaks. If she is supposed to be meeting, greeting and signing at a specific time, she will be there.

“That’s my opportunity to ensure that I’m there for whatever fan might come whenever throughout the event, and that I don’t accidentally miss that wonderful family that just had a few moments to dash through in-between soccer practice or birthday parties, or the time they budgeted to meet me. I want to make sure I’m there for them.”

In addition to the long list of celebrities scheduled to appear at Geek’d Con, there will be more than 160 vendors.

These are a few of the celebrities appearing at Geek’d Con X. A complete list of the lineup is on geekdcon.com.

“We have a lot of travel vendors who come in from out of state and either have collectible merchandise, hand-crafted items or hard-to-find items,” Atoms explained. “There will be lots of comic book and trading card vendors. It’s great to have things that aren’t readily available on a daily basis in Shreveport.”

And some of those things can fetch a pretty penny.

“A few years ago, we had somebody come in with a big boy book — like a five- to six-figure comic book — that they had on-site.

That’s not something you can usually just drive down the road and find. That’s not to say that transaction is going to take place here, but this is the type of show that the dealer knows there is the possibility that a sale of that magnitude could take place at our show.”

In honor of its 10th year (Covid forced cancellation of the 2020 event), Geek’d Con is bringing back something from its first year.

“We went and found the original file from the art print (Chewbacca eating crawfish out of R2D2’s head),” Atoms said. “This year, we dusted off that original file and are reprinting serial-numbered, 10th anniversary prints of the original print. We’re going to frame those and they are part of our ultimate VIP package.”

Atoms is also bringing back guests who have made appearances at Geek’d Con over the past decade. This year’s event is incorporating other anniversaries being celebrated simultaneously with Geek’d Con’s anniversary. For example, there will be an actor representing all four turtles from the original “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie, which premiered 35 years ago. There will be three stars from the movie “Mallrats,” which came out 30 years ago. And actor Barry Bostwick will represent “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” which debuted 50 years ago.

“We’ve integrated a lot of anniversary celebrations into our anniversary celebration.”

Ten years ago, Atoms was confident Geek’d Con would be a success. But he may not have realized what the event would do for Shreveport’s self-esteem.

“We’re 10 years in, and I still get to hear the same thing every year, which is the phrase that never gets old, and is actually the kind of thing that keeps me going in this direction. Every year, I get to hear a person say, ‘I never thought I would see this in Shreveport. I can’t believe this happens in Shreveport.’ Shreveport gets a bad rap in a lot of ways. The people who almost give it a bad rap more than anybody are the people from Shreveport. To be a part of something that changes the attitude of people, or brings a positive spin on Shreveport — a positive story that somebody can attach the name Shreveport to — is a big motivator when it comes to this.”

To learn more about Geek’d Con X: The 10th Anniversary Show, you may visit www.geekdcon.com.