Pow! Boom! Bam! Holy Gaming Convention! Batman was in Southern Illinois!

On Jan. 12, the Mt. Vernon Jaycees and the Magic Dragon hosted a gaming convention at the Mt. Vernon Ramada Inn, featuring Adam West (Batman) and Frank Gorshin (The Riddler) from the original TV series. It was 30 years to the day that the first episode of Batman aired.

The show, which ran from 1966-1969, was designed to be a spoof on the comic book character who had the dark and mysterious qualities the new Batman movies bring out.

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West said he fell on the floor laughing when he first read the script. He said he turned down a five-picture deal in Europe to do the series.

Six months after the series was canceled, I thought I had made a mistake, West said.

He said he realized he is a part of pop culture, since the 30-year-old show still influences thousands of people.

I was fortunate enough to be a part of a classic show, West said. We were lucky as performers to create characters that have lasted.

Both Gorshin and West have accepted the typecasting that comes with playing such timeless characters. They both said it was an honor to play characters that have influenced so many people over several generations.

People spot me and say, Hey, it’s the Joker,’ Gorshin said.

Gorshin said he was excited when he got the part because he loved the Batman comics as a kid. He never thought he would get the chance to wear the question marks as he tried to outwit the dynamic duo.

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The convention which hosted Gorshin and West also provided other activities, including a gaming convention for Magic The Gathering players, wrestlers, collectibles, artists and magicians.

The tournament was held by Brett Bersche and Brad Benjamin, area game masters for Magic The Gathering.

The role playing game uses cards to create a fantasy adventure. Each card represents worlds, creatures, armies, spells and other elements of the fantasy gaming world. The player is a wizard in control of a force whose size is determined by the amount of cards the player uses. The object of the game is to destroy the other wizards.

The tournament offered games for veteran players who had some of the older, more powerful cards, and for new players who did not have some of the better cards.

Bersche said card games such as Magic are catching on because they are so mobile. The games only take a few minutes, seldom lasting more than half an hour.

The convention was more than just a gaming tournament. Various vendors had an opportunity to display their merchandise. There were comic books, sci-fi toys of all shapes and sizes and posters of celebrities.