Springfield News-Leader “Ozarks” dated Monday, February 19, 2001

Sci-fi, fantasy celebrated at Visioncon, Inc.
The convention draws many, from medieval re-enactors to Trekkers.
by Tom Bray

A Star Fleet officer peered over his cards to keep an eye on a worrisome medieval knight.

Clusters of shadowy, black cloaked figures flipped through cartons of animation from Japan. Impromptu tai-chi sessions erupted around the hall, though some participants had to remove their chain-mail garb to move about more gracefully.

Some imaginary spaceport located conveniently near a small tear in the fabric of time? Well, sorta.

Visioncon, a celebration of fantasy, science fiction, horror, and other flights of fancy marked it s 11th year in Springfield on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Nearly 2,000 eager fans of the various genres stepped up, dressed up and, in many cases, stayed up all night to talk, watch movies and make real friends in an unreal setting at the Clarion Hotel.

“Our motto is leave the reality at the door,” said event director Joyce Reedy, a bit weary after three days of broadswords, Boba Fett, and Battlestar Galactica. “Our event draws everyone from sci-fi fans to recreational re-enactors. If you look at our participant list, you’ll find people from coast to coast.”

Just then, a beefy, black-clad warrior lumbers past, brandishing a big smile, but a bigger battle-ax. It’s well padded, but still looks like it could keep the Highlander at bay for a while.

This leads to the inevitable question: Who are these people?

Reedy laughs at the suggestion that Visioncon’s clientele are at all unusual. “These are just ordinary people who want to put a little fantasy into their lives,” she said. “We’ve got police officers, nurses, teachers, students and their parents. They all come here and share their common interests and have a lot of fun.”

Those interests include a wide range of topics, from role-playing fantasy games to Renaissance clothing and jewelry to high-tech paintball gear to TV shows and movies with “Star” and “Space” in their titles. On a cursory trip through vendors’ aisles, one could spy horror-flick posters, Japanese animation videos, hero Wolverine, samurai swords, Batman-style battle gadgets, and a row of handmade macramé dragons. The event also featured a mini-film festival, roundtable discussions, a masquerade, and more.

Among the top draws were sci-fi TV stars, including Erin Gray – Col. Wilma Deering of the 1979-81 “Buck Rogers” show. (Don’t you remember? Gray looking svelte in her snug spacesuit, Gil Gerard looking less-than-svelte in his and that annoying little “Twiki” robot chattering away with electro-babble?).

Also drawing lines of autograph-seekers were Jason Carter and Richard Biggs of “Babylon 5” and Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica.”

Bucking the cliché of the bored thespian sneering at fans and hurriedly scribbling away at autographs, the sci-fi stars seemed caught up in the event’s casual spirit. Sure, many charged for their names scrawled on an 8x10 glossy, but they also answered endless questions, posed for photos, swapped stories, and indulged requests for hugs. Gray even offered instant tai-chi lessons.

Steven Bentley quietly sold his videos of action, horror, and “heroic bloodshed.” The budget of one of his videos wouldn’t stock a breakfast buffet for one of George Lucas’ “Star Wars” crews, but to Bentley, it’s not about the money.

“We shoot everything on video,” said Bentley, a regular at independent movie festivals, showcases, and roundtables. “At first, people are taken aback. When I said that at yesterday’s panel discussion, there was this long period of silence. But when people understand what I do, they say ‘that’s cool.’

“You don’t have to spend millions if you have good ideas and a lot of imagination. And I have complete creative control of my work,” Bentley said.

Bentley writes, directs, and performs in the videos he creates at Oklahoma-based Dark Talisman Productions, Sunday, he showed off his latest thriller, “Confession,” which he proudly declared cost less than $15,000 to produce. He spoke glowingly of his next project, “Dynawoman.” Bentley will direct the film while artists at Rage Press, an independent comic publisher, craft the comic. Neither will get a look at the other’s work until it’s finished. “It will be two completely different takes on the same vision,”Bentley said.

Card games dotted the event, most of them popular role-playing games. Some played hot new games, others old stalwarts such as “Dungeons and Dragons.”

“The collectible gamecards are very popular,” Reedy said. It’s easy to learn. And it’s cheap.”

Nearby, two nearly identical figures perused the proceedings. They shared similar steely gazes and identical black-and-white nun’s habits. It would have been tough to tell the two “sisters” apart – except for Ben Tokey’s goatee. “Well, it is Sunday, he said with a grin when asked about the getup.

Tokey helped tend the booth booked by his friend, Lebanon resident John Benner, who aimed to promote his costuming business, Ozarks Visions.

“We do everything from renaissance fair costumes to stuff for Halloween,” Benner said. “I just did the entire Adams Family for one group – Gomez, Morticia, all of them.”