Rogue Comic Con returns with cosplay, artists, activities and more
Published 11:20 am Monday, May 12, 2025
Rogue Comic Con will have costume contests for kids, adults and more. (Courtesy photo)
Adrian Huggins as Spider Punk walks through the rain at the 2024 Rogue Comic Con at Pear Blossom Park in downtown Medford. (Andy Atkinson / Rogue Valley Times)
Jae Burlingame of Portland creates an art piece during the 2024 Rogue Comic Con in downtown Medford. The family-friendly event includes a wide variety of vendors. (Andy Atkinson / Rogue Valley Times)
Rogue Comic Con is a great place to show off your cosplay. Many costumed visitors at the event will be in costume. (Courtesy photo)
Sid and Leilani Humphries participate in the festivities during last year's Rogue Comic Con at Pear Blossom Park in downtown Medford. (Andy Atkinson / Rogue Valley Times)
Downtown Medford is set to be filled with cosplayers, helmets and shields, lightsabers and more as people of all ages and abilities come together to celebrate a wide range of fandoms with Rogue Comic Con.
The yearly event includes a variety of entertainment such as the fan-favorite costume contests, vendors, photo ops, activities, panels and much more.
“Anyone and everyone is invited,” said Lanessa Pierce, executive director of Rogue Comic Con.
The event is free to attend as well.
“We feel really fortunate to have so many talented people in Southern Oregon and there’s a new way of doing a comic con coming out of the woodwork,” Pierce said.
Rogue Comic Con is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 17, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 18, at Pear Blossom Park, 312 E. Fourth St., in downtown Medford.
For a full list of activities, special guests, vendors and more, visit roguecomiccon.com.
The local park’s main stage will be filled with performances and demonstrations throughout the event.
“On both days, the main stage will be packed full; we have a ballet presentation, sword demonstration like last year and a romance author panel,” Pierce said.
Other things to expect at the main stage include: a cosplay dance party hosted by Enchanted Experiences; cosplay contests; a Q-and-A session with author Timothy Zahn; demonstrations of live action role-playing (LARP); a banned books panel discussion with Eileen Bobek of Jacksonville’s Rebel Heart Books and more.
“New this year, in addition to the kids and family cosplay contests, is the kids costume parade; there are requirements for the contest and the parade is for anybody to enter and have fun,” Pierce said. “They’ll be able to march across the stage and get applause and a gift from Astral Games and The RetroWormhole.”
This year’s event will have an adult, kids and family costume contest for people to participate in, with a chance to win upwards of $100 for the best outfits.
“The cosplay contest is our grand finale,” Pierce said.
Participants can sign up and look at the rules at roguecomiccon.com/costume-contest.
Rogue Comic Con will also include featured guests participating in the event, doing Q-and-A’s, comic book signings and more.
“Janeshia Adams-Ginyard is an actress who was in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ and also the female Cartman on ‘South Park: Joining the Pandaverse,’ and she’ll be here signing autographs and judging the cosplay contest on Sunday,” Pierce said.
Other featured guests attending will be comic book artist Jeffrey Johnson, author Megan Crane, comic book creators Scott Kolins and Matt “Mad Cat” Case, character designer and visual development artist Adam Bunch, author Maisey Yates among others.
And for the little ones this year, much more fun is in store in the Kid’s Zone section of the convention.
“The Kid’s Zone is going to be way bigger than last year,” Pierce said, adding, “we have 20 organizations and nonprofits in the Kid’s Zone.”
Each of the participating organizations will have activities to do, stickers to collect and more for the children.
“Organizations like Talent Maker City will be there and we’re super stoked for Tree House Books; they usually don’t do events, but they’re coming to Medford with a wizard potion-making challenge,” Pierce said.
For Pierce, there are many favorite parts of the comic con each year, but one in particular is watching the live action role-playing.
“Seeing a group of 20 people sword fighting each other and dressed like wizards and superheroes and everyone having a great time is pretty awesome,” she said. “It’s such a great community.”
Rogue Comic Con works to create a safe event space to foster lifelong learning and connecting people through pop culture in all its forms. The Comic Con staff have also expanded to have more options for attendees with autism or anyone experiencing sensory overload.
“The Autism Society (of Oregon) was there last year and the booth was so busy we’ve added another booth with a true quiet space for sensory stimulation or rest,” she said. “We’re working on making this accessible to all communities, like access for wheelchair users.”
This year marks the seventh rendition of Rogue Comic Con, though it was previously known as Medford Comic Con for some of that time.
Organizers also intend to create more comic cons around the region in the future with the possibility of establishing a new comic con on the Oregon Coast in 2026 or 2027, Pierce said.
Reach reporter James Sloan at james.sloan@rv-times.com.
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