Another successful Retro Con, the Philadelphia Region’s best Con, came to a close this past weekend. Mrs. Rose Tuski, the Organizer/Owner/Czar of Retro Con, took the time to answer a few questions for Pop Vinyls, including her interests and the impact Funko is having on Retro Con. You can view my interview below.
- How did you come up with the idea of Retro Con?
My husband Tony and I have been long-time fans of 80’s “action” oriented cartoons and toy lines such as Transformers, GI Joe, ThunderCats, and He-Man. We noticed that many of these properties had specific conventions devoted to them, but there really weren’t any that were all-encompassing. So we decided to make the nucleus of our show about these toylines/cartoons as a whole.
We’ve also run in many circles over the years, such as the Star Wars 501st Legion costuming group, the Philadelphia Ghostbusters costuming group, and the local DeLorean car club. So right off the bat we had the support and participation of all the friends we made in these clubs over the years!
I addition, I used to contact voice actors to do interviews with them and talk about their experiences on cartoons from back in the day. I hit it off with many of them and continued to keep in touch. This led to me helping get some of these talented individuals to other conventions, and eventually inspired us to start our own!
- How long has Retro Con been in business? How do you separate yourself from other cons?
This will be our 5th year! What sets us apart from the rest is that we don’t focus on what’s “new and hot”. We feel that nearly everything popular these days is derived from a retro property, but the older iterations of these properties are often not being celebrated anymore. We equate this to shoving your old toys in the corner when something newer and shinier comes along.
We also have a strong focus on voice actors, who we think aren’t nearly as revered as they should be. They gave voice and personality to some of the greatest characters of all time! To have the voices of Skeletor, Krang, Lion-O, Baroness, and Matt Trakker at the show over the years has been just a surreal feeling for us!
- How many people attend Retro Con?
Last year we had about 2500 attendees, and hopefully we will continue to grow!
- Has it always been 2 days or is this recent?
Our first two shows were one day each. Starting in 2014 we moved to a two-day format. The second day gives us much more time to work in contests and panels!
- Who are your dream guests that you haven’t booked yet?
For sure Peter Cullen (voice of Optimus Prime) and Weird Al Yankovic! Maybe someday! 🙂
- Who was your favorite guest? Any guests give you trouble?
All of our guests have been just amazing, but we have to give a special shout out to Larry Kenney, the voice of Lion-O! He’s been at the show three times now and is always just a ball of energy, humor, and friendliness!
- Obviously toys play a huge part in Retro Con. Have you always had a love for toys or is this just part of the Con Business?
Ask our friends, we literally have a house full of toys both vintage and new! So yeah, huge collectors. Our favorites being G1 Transformers, GI Joe, M.A.S.K., and ThunderCats. I actually met my husband Tony through Transformers!
- If yes to the love of toys, do you have a favorite toy you will never get rid of?
Most of our vintage toys have been re-bought at flea markets, toy shows, and ebay over the years. But I have a G1 Starscream toy from when I was a kid that I will never give up. It is missing many accessories and the stickers are worn away, but it means too much to me to ever scrap!
- Is there any talk about getting a Retro Con exclusive item, like a Funko Pop for instance?
We would love an exclusive toy of some kind! Being such a diverse show, it’s hard to pick one toy that would appeal to large amount of our attendees. What we’d really like to design someday is a mascot for the show!
- Has Funko become a big part of Retro Con with vendors and attendees?
You bet! While not a vintage line, Pops have obviously made runs of characters from very popular retro lines such as ThunderCats and Masters of the Universe. And we’ve had vendors selling ReAction Figures at the show ever since the line hit the market. We even have a vendor that makes amazing custom ReAction-style figures, complete with custom cardbacks!
Matt Norris