Comic-con culture returns to Kauai

Mar. 26—In 2019, Kauai residents who had a love for all things related to the comic book universe no longer had to make the trek to Oahu to get their comic-­con fix.

In 2019, Kauai residents who had a love for all things related to the comic book universe no longer had to make the trek to Oahu to get their comic-­con fix.

Filmmaker Aaron Yamasato brought the inaugural Kauai Comic Con to the Garden Isle in June of that year. Yamasato had become a hometown celebrity in 2001 when he wrote and directed "Blood of the Samurai, " an homage to the action and horror films he enjoyed as a boy.

"I've always been a comic-­con-goer from the'90s going to these conventions. Even my daughters, they were like, 'I wish we had a comic con (on Kauai ), ' and I thought that would be cool, " said Yamasato, who was born and raised on Oahu. "So I used all my connections, my filmmaking connections and friends, and put one together. That was before the pandemic, but finally things are looking up, and events are happening again, so finally we can do it again."

Kauai Comic Con 2 is set for April 8 at the Royal Sonesta Kaua 'i Resort Lihue.

Top star on the bill is the ever-popular Ban Daisuke, Jiro of "Kikaida " fame.

"The cool thing is he's gonna be bringing in some merch from Japan for the 50th anniversary (of the show ), " Yamasato said. "He did a CD (in Japan ) singing the "Kikaida " song. It actually sold out, you can't buy it online, but he has some copies and he's going to be bringing them down."

Seventeen-year-old dancer and social media ­celebrity Nicole Laeno will hold a free dance workshop during the event. Yamasato describes her as a "TikTok, teen YouTube dance sensation, " and says that bringing her to Kauai gives him "cool dad points " from his two daughters.

"The cool thing is that last time she held a dance class, but it was a paid dance class and it was in a side ballroom. This year, they're renovating those ballrooms so what she's gonna do instead is give a free class to everybody at the convention on the main stage—for all the kids and anybody who wants to learn. She'll be doing her video blog so the kids could be on her YouTube video."

Actor, podcaster and webmaster Ming Chen will join Laeno in a panel discussion and emcee the Comic Con cosplay contest. Fans might remember Chen as a cast member on "Comic Book Men, " the AMC reality show about the clerks and customers in a New Jersey comic book store owned by filmmaker Kevin Smith.

"He's very popular with the comic book and comic-­con crowd, " Yamasato said of Chen. "He's super cool, humble and the kind celebrity that loves Hawaii."

Musical entertainment will be by Console, a band that plays rock versions of classic video game music themes such as "Tetris " and "Mario Brothers "; violinist Kimberly Hope will play what Yamasato calls "comic-con themed music " such as the themes from the films "Star Wars " and "Lord of the Rings."

Local talent also will be represented by Honolulu Star-Advertiser cartoonist Jon Murakami, comic book artist Sam Campos and character artist Derick Fabian. Other attractions include the Artists' Alley, where vendors will be selling collectables and refreshments ; a retro games section with games such as Pac-Man ; a Playstation 5 VR2 demo station ; and an area for tabletop gaming.

Yamasato had a special commemorative T-shirt made for the event in 2019, which featured an exclusive "Mecha-­Chicken " design by celebrity artist Matt Frank. The black tee, which is emblazoned with the Kauai Comic Con mascot in the style of Frank's classic Mechagodzilla, will be available for sale again this year.

"Kauai has so many chickens, so we gotta have a chicken, " Yamasato said about the T-shirt design. "It's comic-­con, and you know, robots and Godzilla and Mechagodzilla."

He asked Frank if he could make a Godzilla chicken.

"Matt Frank is the Godzilla (and ) Ultraman artist, and he did it, and I'm so appreciative of it."