Tucson Comic-Con has embraced the “geek” culture for 16 years.
It’s continuing that mission from Friday, Aug. 29, to Sunday, Aug. 31, at the Tucson Convention Center.
Tucson Comic-Con offers photo ops with comic book artists and celebrities from TV and film; panels; scavenger hunts; child and adult costume contests; an art zone with free classes; over 200 vendors and artisans selling pop-culture themed items and an area for retro arcade, board, ESports and role-playing games.
The convention gives back locally by donating to nonprofit organizations. A silent auction will benefit Youth on Their Own and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
At 9 a.m. Saturday, “Little Heroes” allows children with health challenges to experience the convention before it opens to the public.
Tucson Comic-Con co-owner Brian Pulido, also the founder and publisher of Coffin Comics, said although the event has grown, the staff is focused on the guest experience.
“Tucson Comic-Con is more than just an assemblage of high-profile celebrities and comic book guests,” Pulido said.
“It’s a massive pop-cultural community event, and we simply are reflecting what people are interested in. I think a lot of people are interested in cosplay. I think a lot of people like to use Tucson Comic-Con as a means to catch up and hang out with friends and family. There certainly is no end to the things that could be done at Tucson Comic-Con, but I do think it’s a place for people to meet.”
To accommodate its growth, Tucson Comic-Con will utilize the entire convention center.
The venue will feature spaces for downtime, including inclusive quiet and family zones. Pulido said they will have more seating areas as well.
Other events include a daily scavenger hunt where guests need to complete 15 out of 100 tasks.
Each year, nonprofit costume groups curate fully rendered scenes for guest immersion and photo ops. Last year, they created “Star Wars,” “Ghostbusters,” “Resident Evil” and “Star Trek” scenes.
Panels will feature celebrity guests and on educational topics. Panel rooms will also offer activities such as trivia, dance parties and group games.
Among this year’s celebrity guests will be four actors who appeared in the 1990 film “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Michelan Sisti, Josh Pais, David Forman and Leif Tilden.
This is the second time the four original actors have appeared together.
Kevin Eastman, co-creator of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” will also be at the event.
“The celebration was planned when we learned that we could have co-creator Kevin Eastman come to Tucson,” Pulido said.
“We thought that was a great opportunity to bring as many elements together as we could. We then decided to bring in the cast members from the first movie, along with the suits and even the Turtle Van….There’s going to be some unique photo opportunities. For example, all four Turtle actors, all four Turtle suits, the van and co-creator Kevin Eastman all in one photo opportunity.”
The convention will also have official photo ops for other celebrity guests.
Puppeteer David Barclay, best known for his work in the “Star Wars” franchise, will bring a Yoda puppet with him.
Fans will also have a chance to meet Erik Estrada from “CHiPS,” Red Power Ranger Steve Cardenas; Kevin Foree from “Dawn of the Dead,” “The Lords of Salem” and “The Devil’s Rejects;” voice actress Amber Lee Connors from “Genshin Impact” and the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” video game series;” wrestler Sgt. Slaughter and Christine Elise from “Beverly Hills, 90210” and the “Child’s Play” and “Chucky” series.
The event will spotlight notable comic book artists such as Bill Morrison (“The Simpsons” and “Futurama), Chris Bachalo (“X-Men” and “Spider-Man”), Brian Haberlin (“Spawn” and Witchblade”), Whilce Portacio (“The Punisher,” “X-Factor” and “Spawn”) and Eric Powell (“Godzilla” and “Did You Hear What Eddie Gein Done?”).
Pulido said the convention spotlights new and emerging comic book artists.
“We like to highlight community artists from the Tucson and Arizona area,” Pulido said.
“We like to cycle different creators, since there’s such a breadth of talent in Arizona and the Southwest. Additionally, we like to bring in talent who have never attended a comic book convention in Arizona.”
The “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” appearance geared toward ’90s kids.
Michelan Sisti, who played Michelangelo in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze,” started doing conventions about eight to 10 years ago.
“The best part of being a Turtle is meeting the fans and hearing their stories… Some people have been in traumatic situations, and they took lessons and ideals of hope from the Turtles,” Sisti said.
He said portraying a Ninja Turtle was very physically taxing because of the suits they wore.
“They cast our bodies in plaster,” he said.
“Then they made a mold from that, and they sculpted the Turtles on top of our body casts so that they would fit us skin-tight. The actual skin that we put on was made of a foam-latex combination… Some portions were skinned with a more durable material, like the bottom of our feet, so they wouldn’t tear up so quickly.
“The whole costume altogether weighed about 50 pounds before we began to sweat it up. By the time we finished sweating it up, it weighed about 70 pounds. We had two little, tiny holes underneath the bandanas of the turtle heads that we could see straight ahead. When our mouths were open as we were delivering dialogue, we could sometimes see down toward our feet….There was constant noise from all the Servo motors in the head, which powered the animatronics. So, it was noisy, hot and hard to breathe.”
He said that this harrowing experience brought him and his fellow actors closer together.
Sisti said they were allowed to do stunts up to the point where they didn’t damage the heads of their costumes. Their stunt doubles handled more intense fight choreography.
To prepare for his fight scenes, he spent three months training with a sensei.
Sisti also played animatronic characters in the TV show “Dinosaurs.” It was on this show that he began to do puppetry.
He has been doing puppetry for the last 35 years, often for “The Muppets.”
He knew how to act but had to learn puppetry techniques.
“The most difficult for me was learning hand puppetry. Being the tall stature that I am, I was always at a disadvantage when we were shooting with hand puppets,” Sisti said.
“My puppet was always shorter than everybody else’s, so a lot of times I was standing on apple boxes or wearing built-up shoes.”
Sisti was a Broadway actor for 20 years before venturing into a TV and film career.
He was in shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Raggedy Ann,” “Peter Pan” and “The Robber Bridegroom.” He played the role of Bobby and was Emcee understudy for Joel Grey in a revival of “Cabaret.”
Sisti said skills he had gained as a theater actor helped him with playing a Ninja Turtle so he could develop a character.
Their director, Steve Barron, chose who played each role. Sisti said they were given freedom to develop the characters. For him, the physicality was important to making Michelangelo come alive.
“Often, I would choose a moment and scratch myself, or I would touch my head, something where you saw me touch my body, which helped with the verisimilitude of the reality of my body,” Sisti said.
“We talked about making sure that each one of the guys had a signature piece, a physical move that was strictly his own. No one else would copy that. We worked them in as often as we could.”
Actor Josh Pais portrayed Raphael in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” He said he and the other actors never imagined that the film would have the longevity it has.
“It’s quite a special movie. It just taps into so much. One thing that’s amazing is so many people have come up to me over the years, and they’ve said, ‘You helped me through my childhood, through the difficult times.’ My character, Raphael, known for his angst, frustration, somehow the depiction of that kind of experience helped so many people deal with their own angst in a very positive way,” Pais said.
“The soul of each of us that played our Turtles comes through those costumes. Something happened because of the intensity of the experience. It pushed us to bring all of ourselves into every moment that we were filming.”
He said that Raphael felt like the right character for him from the beginning.
“I grew up in a very dangerous, vibrant, creative neighborhood. As people walked down the street, they had to take up space. They had to show they were badasses as a survival strategy. As I started thinking about Raphael and creating him physically, I thought about taking those elements of my life and integrating it into how he moves physically,” Pais said.
Pais has acted in over 150 film and TV projects, including “Joker,” “Ray Donovan,” “Assassination of a High School President,” “The Dropout” and multiple “Law and Order” episodes.
For his recent film, “Checkout,” he underwent spy training.
Along with acting, Pais has been teaching for 30 years.
On Sept. 30, he will release “Lose Your Mind: The Path to Creative Invincibility.”
“This book teaches, in very simple ways, how to lose your mind, how to get out of listening to all that chatter, so that you can have access to who you are, to your spontaneity, to your aliveness, to your creativity, to your ability to do what you want in the world without being obstructed,” Pais said.
Advanced copies of his book will be available at Tucson Comic-Con. More information about Pais’ book and classes are available at committedimpulse.com.
Tucson Comic-Con
WHEN: 2 to 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29;
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 30;
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 31.
WHERE: Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Avenue, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $17.68
INFO: tucsoncomic-con.com
This article appears in Aug 21-28, 2025.