Ten years ago Ken Murphy hosted a comic con to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his comic book shop.

Now he's celebrating 10 years of that same comic con.

"To celebrate the 10 years of being in comic book sales business I wanted to have my first event, my first show, if you will, my first convention with the hopes that we would grow that convention to be a regionally recognized event, drawing from as far as Nashville, St. Louis, Springfield -- in all directions," Murphy said.

Murphy said as an event organizer he wants to see a growth between 10 and 20 percent every year.

He achieved what he originally set out to do. He had a turnout of 450 people back in 2006, and just last year numbers totalled around 1,700 attendees.

This year's Cape Comic Con will be held April 17 through 19 at the Osage Centre.

According to Murphy, the key factor to pulling together a successful comic con is finding the perfect venue.

He said the Osage Centre's large showroom makes for an ideal spot for his event. The seven additional meeting rooms help create separate spaces for gaming and panel discussions. Its location on the corner of Lexington and North Kingshighway promises traffic flow and makes it a noticeable and recognized spot.

"Good location, good parking, good visibility that can accommodate as many people as you'd like to have at your show," Murphy said.

While its roots are there, comic cons aren't strictly dedicated to comics anymore. Murphy said events cater to interests in everything from pro wrestling to video games to local filmmaking to cosplay.

Besides the standard setup of a convention, Murphy has a few special additions for his 10th year.

Marvel comics artist Greg Land came in to specifically design an exclusive comic book cover for the event, for starters. "The Avengers: Ultron Forever" variant cover depicts Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and the Hulk battling Ultron underneath Cape Girardeau's distinguishable Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge.

Murphy said Land will be at the convention April 18 as a guest of the show and to represent Marvel Comics.

Murphy said the area's first "Mortal Kombat X" tournament in the state of Missouri is scheduled for the Cape Comic Con. The two corresponded well -- Murphy's 10th show and "Mortal Kombat X's" 10th game release.

He added that a "Magic: The Gathering" qualifying tournament will also take place.

An independent film made by Christopher Bower, a producer out of Paducah, Kentucky, will be screened at the comic con as well. "The Dooms Chapel Horror" will be shown at 4 p.m. April 18 following the costume contest.

Southeast Missouri State University student and local author Breanna Bright will have a table to promote her novel "In the End."

This will be her first year behind a table, but she said she's attended comic cons in the past.

Bright said she likes the communal feeling Cape Girardeau's convention offers compared to one held in a larger city. It's easy to get drowned out or passed up in a crowd elsewhere.

"I think it's kind of a nice thing to have a smaller town convention as opposed to having to go to St. Louis," Bright said. "Those things can get so crowded and messy. It is nice to have the smaller one and you get the support of the local community."

Murphy pointed out that support was evident in the steady growth of attendance at the Cape Comic Con.

"We feel like this community and the surrounding communities -- Carbondale, Paducah, Sikeston, up to Perryville -- we feel like our show reasonably can grow, easily, to 5,000 plus," Murphy said.

It's his favorite part of the job.

"The relationships you build with all people involved, from just the fans that come out and spend their money that want a good day of entertainment to the professional writers and artists that you get to know and get to know their families and you have them in as guests to the vendors who actually do this to support themselves and their families, this is what they do for a living," Murphy said. "Local advertisers, our local community that we partner with, just creating the event for this community and growing the event for this community, something everyone can be proud of, is the most rewarding thing I've ever done."

Murphy said he's seen some university following in the past, but he'd like to continue to see more.

For Murphy, first and foremost, it's about providing the best entertainment. It's supposed to be fun.

"You come out and you get to meet people that have the same interests as you and you get to see all the businesses that cater to your interests," Bright said. "... You get to see local artists and just get out and meet people and have a good time."

The Cape Comic Con will be open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. April 17, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 18 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 19.

General admission is $5 April 17 and 19 and $10 April 18. A weekend pass can be purchased for $15.

A post show costume party will also be held at Port Cape Girardeau starting at 8 p.m. April 18.