As 2025 has been a slow start, I am quite happy to say that has not been the case for Conventions this year. Especially not for VXV Events third year of Missouri Comic Con. It is a two-day convention held in the heart of Springfield, MO. It has consistently sold out of its Weekend and Saturday passes! So what’s the magic sauce behind this year’s event? Was it a worthwhile visit for the weekend? I hope to answer these and take you through my impression of this convention, having been a three-year attendee of the event! So, without further ado, let’s get this review on the road!

Star Studded Meetings and World Class Talent On Display For 2025!

To run a great convention, I’ve found over the years that can mean a variety of implementations. These can range from a star studded cast of actors and actresses, to industry guests or artists alike. In the case of Missouri Comic Con it has always been a focus on the voice acting and live action guest list. This years has been the best yet, at least from the anime side of things! From seasoned actors to newer talent, the convention was in full swing. The guests that we managed to get time in to visit and engage with, were above and beyond in engagement. Nothing beats getting to ask Cristina Vee how much fun it was to record lines for her first game series! That being said, half the fun of getting to meet prolific voice actors is just getting to learn about the reasons why they enjoy it. It can be informative and it will also give you a deeper appreciation for the person behind your favorite characters.

This also takes me over to the queues! They were planned out perfectly this year and they were handled wonderfully! The much more obvious and busy guests, such as Tom Kenny and Todd Haberkorn, had appropriate sized queue lines. While when guests show up is beyond their control, no guest was excruciatingly late. The only problems that arose with some guests was the pure demand they had for autographs on Saturday. Their managing of guest cancellations shouldn’t be ignored either. They had to cover one guest cancellation with two more announcements within a day. This speaks absolute testament to their capacity to bring triple A talent to their events on a moment’s notice. We were sad to not be able to meet Keith David. However, having both Ron Pearlman and Jim Cummings as replacements was a worthwhile surprise.

If I were to have but one critique of their guest handling, it is that we need access to up to date information in regard to autograph pricing. While some guests seem to have current information; others fail to. Guests like Cristina Vee may charge 45USD for an autograph, but if you wanted her to sign say, a video game that you brought, that’s an additional 15USD. Still, this is something entirely beyond their control. However, I do feel confident in saying they should be able to ask for pricing directly via the company that handles the talent they book. Again, it is a small criticism to have, but it should be noted regardless. Not every guest will want to sign merchandise you have. Be prepared to pay for a print that they bring specifically.

Growing Pains Were in Focus This Year!

While I was chatting up several guest handlers and staff, it was made evident that the growing pains were at the forefront of their minds. Something that they ran up against on the first year of the convention back in 2023 as well as their 2024 convention. While selling out year after year is a problem any convention would love to have, it has placed a query in the mind of VXV staffers about how to best move forward. Having both the Expo Center and University Plaza hotel, a combined 150,000 Square feet, there aren’t many options to consider.

That being said, there was talk about a potential move to the E-Plex at the Fairgrounds. Personally, as a local, I would argue this would be a terrible choice. Not only do they lose over 70,000 square feet of convention center space, they would cause massive headache to the logistics of guest handling and the lack of nearby hotels for out of town attendees. Not to mention the north side of Springfield, where the fairgrounds are located, is not known for its peace of mind. Not only that but, forcing both guests and attendees to have to drive to and from a hotel, would just be a generally bad move all together. There is still room to work with their current location and it’s the most sensible one, with access to near by hotels within walking distance and the heart of downtown itself. There’s just more logical sense to the space they currently occupy.

Let’s just hope all of what I was able to gather was just hypothetical conjecture and nothing more. My opinion on working towards better utilization of the space, would be to move smaller guests out of the main hall. They could potentially have them at the University Plaza Hotel side, or they could find a use for photo ops over there as well. On top of that, having the cosplay guests being bundled with the Springfield Cosplay corner, would help to keep the cosplay section more contiguous. These are just a few options that I would consider, especially if they feel that they lack flexibility. There’s always a way to make a space work, it’s just finding it first.

The other aspect worth addressing was the confusion that still seems to permeate the local populace who haven’t had the traditional, convention experience. Lines, sold out passes and attendance capacity are concepts that seem to still be a struggle to educate the masses on. That isn’t to say that VXV Events hasn’t been clear with their information, but rather, most of the Springfield population is of the, “let’s show up day of and see what happens” mentality. So here are some tips that I would suggest as a seasoned convention attendee.

• Purchase your badges online: Doing so negates any issues you might experience the day of and will guarantee you entry to the event. You may still need to wait in line to enter, but you don’t run the risk of not being able to buy a badge the day of.
• Plan out your day or weekend ahead of time: One way to make the most of a busy convention is to figure out what you want to do first. Are you wanting to peruse the vendors and attend panels? Maybe you don’t wanna fight a busy Saturday crown in line for guests so you decide to do a Sunday autograph run. Having an outlined game plan and following ticket sales will help to clue you in on how busy it will be! Arriving early to events, if possible, is also extremely helpful for time management.
• Guests are still working and time is money, be prepared for a cancelation: Something I did hear was murmurs and general confusion as to why a specific guest had to cancel or why they were only there for a day. These guests are still working creators. As such, they can and will cancel at any time. If a job pops up that pays them, they will take it over a convention appearance.

So Many Shopping Options and Panels, Yet So Little Time!

Speaking of vendor variety, this convention attracts a talented bunch of vendors. Year after year there is great content on offer from artists like: Cat Nerd Creations, Mallyjanx, Sen-Chan and artbylittlemissluna. With these artists you are guaranteed to find something from a show or fandom you enjoy! With that being said, there is a need for a larger diversity of vendors and some changes to the types that they allow in. From overpriced and near scalp-pricing of anime figures vendors, to controversial and known issues with Where da Waifu. The latter of which was in hot water for refusing to pay their booth babes last year and offering a current one payment via a free shirt or two. That being said several artists that I did talk with, had expressed some concern or prior issue with them. A few even have stated as to feeling, “uncomfortable” with them. Here’s hoping VXV Event staff do reconsider their partnerships with Where da Waifu in future events.

Issues with vendors aside, there is room to grow in this regard as well. Frankly speaking, I would enjoy seeing more space allocated to more artists and less on random businesses. Variety is the spice of life after all! Yet one common complaint given is the seemingly lack of available time to peruse vendors while also combating a line or catching a panel when the convention itself only runs from 10AM-6PM for Saturday and 11AM-5PM for Sunday. While these times aren’t abnormal, they certainly don’t offer everyone the time they want or need from a convention. After all, if you want to plan out an autograph run with two or more guests, you are pretty much relegating a whole day, if not more to getting those signatures. That’s not also to say anything of catching Q&A’s with your favorite guest or even the always fun, Cosplay Contest! Having more time would be a boon to the convention, and it might help to spread out their growing pain woes too.

That’s why moving toward a three day event might be a great option for VXV to consider rolling into next year! At least that’s what we would personally love to see.

In Conclusion…

2025 for Missouri Comic Con was a year of continued success. While the convention scene in Springfield has definitely shown an appetite and appreciation for what VXV Events has accomplished, there’s still plenty of room for growth. My hopes would be that they continue to optimize their utilization of space within both the Expo center and University Plaza Hotel Convention Center. They know how to run a show and I am confident in saying that they will make 2026 an even better show than this year as well.

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