Special Guests and Presenters

Cosplay

Regarded as one of the top cosplay writers and editors working today, Alan Scholting has contributed to nearly every major pop-culture and cosplay magazine in print. As one of the founding members of Cosplay Culture, Alan has worked with some of the biggest names in the business and produced some of the most anticipated and well-received cosplay articles of the last several years. In the world of fiction, his writing has spanned over several different mediums, and has accumulated many local and national awards including the E.M. Koeppel Story of Distinction for his short story, Whiskey Sours. Alan resides in Illinois with his wife, two children, and enormous comic book collection.

Michael “Knightmage” Wilson was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio and now resides in Youngstown, Ohio.

A current decorated 19 year veteran Deputy Sheriff for the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio, Michael has been cosplaying since 2012 but the love for the comic and video game genre has been in his heart since he was little as it shows when he creates his costumes. Having created over 140 costumes, Michael is an award winning cosplayer along with many of his creations being praised and displayed on numerous platforms in print and online. Michael has been noted as one of the most influential male cosplayers in the world. Along with judging cosplay contests Michael often hosts cosplay panels and workshops at conventions showcasing the creative, positive, inspiring and supportive side of cosplay.

Having a love for acting and stunt work, Michael has worked on several Hollywood comic book movie productions. Michael was also an alternate for the 2006 reality show “Who Wants To Be A Superhero” hosted by Stan Lee. Michael has worked on and has been featured in several fan films and productions such as “Flash Fall” by Together Brother Productions and the popular YouTube series “MAN AT ARMS: Reforged”. Michael is a spokesperson for FX latex product, Zombie-Skin. Michael has also created various costumes for World Wrestling Entertainment superstars.

SuperKayce is a international cosplayer, artist, gamer, and all around fan-girl from Indiana!

She began her journey into the convention world in 2009 when she attended her first Superman Celebration in Metropolis Illinois! Her first costume was Supergirl made from dyed clothing, tube socks, and a cut-up bedsheet from Goodwill! Since then she has definitely expanded her knowledge of costume creation as well as the convention scene! As of 2016 Kayce has gone on to create over 100 costumes including Astrid, Belle, Natsu, Robin, MegaMam, Electra, Raven, and many more! She attends around twenty cons per year and has been featured as a guest at more than 30 shows across the United States and Canada! While Kayce has judged and hosted multiple cosplay events, she has also won several of her own awards, been featured in the 2015 issue of Icosplay Magazine, as well as countless podcasts and fan-sites for her creativity and charity work!

As part of her costuming, Kayce uses a majority of her time and effort to participate in many charitable events such Superheroes Fighting Cancer, SOSI, and Superhero Reading day at local libraries! After losing her father in 2012, Kayce has raised nearly $8,000 for Pancreatic Cancer through donating from booth sales solely! She has also worked personally to raise money for Spina Bifida and Needy families sponsored by The United Way Indiana!

A full-time graphic artist with a Bachelors Degree in Video Game Design. She was voted “Best Costumer” by CityPages in 2016, featured on the cover of a local magazine and has been part of the cosplay scene for several years. In her free time she enjoys attending cons, crafting and using her artist powers by participating in game-jams, doing commissions and various side-projects with friends. She has several artistic credits in published board/video games, sells custom art/cosplay at conventions and online!

Streamers

Nester and Natasha, collectively NSquared, have been broadcasting on Twitch for the last 4 years. Joined by their endearingly talkative cat Felix, they broadcast a variety of Nintendo games. They enjoy playing everything from the latest Mario game to the many unique Nindies available and especially Pokémon! In their spare time, they enjoy attending conventions, watching wrestling, and being typical Minnesotans. Both lifelong gamers, they love sharing their passion for everything geeky!

Bri is a fulltime variety streamer and freelance artist. She streams games like Halo, League of Legends, Sea of Thieves, and all types of indies! You’ll also see her streaming art, prop making, cosplay!

Simply started speedrunning Super Mario 64 in 2012, inspired by Siglemic. Simply has grinded the game on and off since then, with a few hurdles along the way. In 2017, he had to take a break from speedrunning due to tendinitis and carpal tunnel. Devastated, he thought he would never play again. He started commentating for Speedgaming. He is now a main commentator and staff member of GSA – Global Speedrun Association – and has been able to recover from his tendinitis (mostly) through rigorous stretching, icing, and strengthening exercises. He continues to work on his hand health and hopes to return to the grind for a world record in Super Mario 64.

Performers

Trevor Gomes (88bitmusic) is a Los Angeles native and a composer, pianist, producer and performer. His discography includes the most comprehensive piano album of Pokemon Red and Blue and the official piano album for the indie hit Celeste. He is perhaps best known for his Twitch channel, 88bitmusic, where he performs viewer requests live. In 2018, he opened the TwitchCon keynote with an hour-long live set comprised of music suggested by the audience. He has performed twice alongside Felicia Day as part of charity fundraisers.