The Buffalo Penguin

Come to Chestnut Ridge in Orchard Park August 17th for the KMR/KIA memorial roadmarch.
Please come out and support this important charity that donates money yo families of fallen firefighters, law enforcement and military personnel.
Your WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers will be there as well as the legendary Mario Kart (weather permitting). Pictures are always free and yes, you can take a picture in the Mario Kart.
The Buffalo Penguin will be on the campaign trail in Metropolis that day.

July 27th, come on out yo the Hamburg Palace theater to see the premiere of the Hernan Caraballo film "Ivan Shade". I appear in it and was crew.

You Buffalo Penguin will be at Flower City Con 2024, September 13th-15th, with WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers, Shredder's Army and the famous Mario Kart. The biggest star that weekend is John Barrowman, from
Dr. Who, Torchwood, Arrow and the Flash.

SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY. Joe Dee's toy show has been moved from Saturday to Sunday due to a scheduling conflict at the firehall.

Please come out on August 17th in Chestnut Ridge in Orchard Park for the KIA Memorial Roadmarch "KMR"m with the WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers. Rumor has it that Mario and the Mario Kart will be there, along with MANY veterans, police officers and firefighters will be part of the march.
KIA supports fallen military service members, police and firefighters. They made a sizable donation to the family of Jason Arno, the firefighter who died in the line of duty in Buffalo last year.

Come on out to the 4th annual Superhero Food drive. The WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers will be there with other superheroes and Buffalo's Best Batman.

Come see the WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers at Joe Dee's Comic book and Toy show. Tons of toys, comics, artists and Superheroes. See you at the show!

Even Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown is endorsing your Buffalo Penguin for President in 2024.

Thank you to Joe Dee for the tip that WBEN was talking about Halloween and the host was looking for a costume. I got to talk about costuming, cosplay and a shameless plug for WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers. Plus Joe got a plug for his show. Thank you!@

WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers are now co-hosts of the SipShopSupport PUNT event. It is a huge honor to be asked. Please come out and support this very important fund raiser.

This Saturday, WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers and I will be at Mammy's at 3860 E. Main street, Burt, NY. From 2-4.
They are having a special cookout with hot dogs snd hamburhers and they specialize in British cuisine. Going to try bangers and mash for the first time.
Mommy's is donating a portion of every combo meal to us, in turn, we are donating every penny to our friends at Snuggled In Love. They will be on site for the giant check presentation from us and Mammys.
Please come out and help support Mammys and Snuggled in Love.
Hope to see you there!!

As of today, the Buffalo Penguin and WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers are part of the West Seneca Chamber of commerce. I am committed to giving back to the community.

Come see your Buffalo Penguin and the WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers March 12th at Joe Dee's Comic book and Toy show. We will be giving away movies for every donation collected for Variety club that will be turned over to the front desk at the end of the day.

Look who made the front cover of the West Seneca Bee.

Buffalo is a family. Please pray for Bills player Damar Hamlin. He collapsed on the field during MNF. They did CPR for over 9 minutes before the ambulance, on the field took him away.
God bless Damar Hamlin and please Lord, don't take this 25 year old soul.

Your Buffalo Penguin would like to either you all a Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all my fans and their families. God bless you all!!

This weekend, your Buffalo Penguin will be at Astronomicon in Rochester, ny with the WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I have 5 panels and am a judge for the cosplay contest. Hope to see you there!

Your Buffalo Penguin was at Flower City Con in Rochester, NY this past weekend. Here are some of the pictures from FC3 including yours truly.
I will be back at Flower City Con in 2023 with and Shredder's Army.
Till then, stay safe and keep checking here for future appearances.

Your Buffalo Penguin flew into Niagara Falls for an appearance today.

WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers at Niagara Falls school renaming. School went from Niagara Street school to Bloneva Bonds Primary school. Bloneva Bonds was the first African-American woman elected to the Niagara Falls school board.
We had a great time and saw so many kids.
Featuring: the Buffalo Penguin, Mary Marvel (Shazam), King Shark, Dum Dum Dugan, kid Loki ans little Merida.

Local Superheroes to the Rescue!
WNY Superheroes & Cosplayers Visit Sick Children
By Meri Cairns

Looking for ways to brighten the day for a child in distress? WNY Superheroes and Cosplayers (WNYSAC) (Cosplayers - dressing up in a costume to portray a character) is a group of 33 entertainers, and nearly 60 costumed characters, which volunteer their time to make children—and sometimes adults—smile in spite of their circumstances. Yep, these guys (and gals) entertain children in need free of charge simply because they enjoy doing it.
“There are people who care, are happy to help and don't want your money,” says Mark J. Mendola, WNYSAC's founder. “We're here for people in the WNY area. We'll come to your charity event, help sell raffle tickets, sign autographs, meet and greet people for free. It's a joy to help out the community.” Due to pandemic restrictions, the cosplayers often entertain outdoors or at fundraisers, telethons, birthday parties for kids in need or who are sick. They have gathered outside of nursing homes and hospitals to sing to the residents who watched them from inside. Some charities they have served include the Variety Club, Joe Dee's Toy Show, KMR (honoring public servants killed in the line of duty), YMCA, Alzheimer's Association, Man-Up, Into-Darkness (su***de prevention), Snuggled in Love (helping kids with cancer), Trunk-or-Treat events, Springville Art Crawl, Music is Art, and the Superhero Food Drive with Buffalo's Best Batman.
It all started in 1983 when Mendola's sister Dawn was suffering through her chemotherapy at Roswell Park. Mendola discovered a natural painkiller the hospital could not prescribe: Gilbert Perreault. The former captain of the Sabres came to Roswell, visited Dawn for two hours, and gave her an autographed photo.
Her eyes lit up as though she were in heaven, Mendola remembers, and she couldn't stop smiling or talking about it for days. “Gil Perreault came to talk to me!” she happily reminded all who would listen.
Mendola never forgot the impact this simple visit had had on his sister's health and wellbeing. In 2015, when he retired, he knew what he was going to do with this new chapter in his life. “I said, this is what I want to do: visit kids and make kids happy. If I make a kid smile and not be in pain for a while, that makes me feel 30 years younger.”
Mendola, who has been acting for 30 years, became interested in cosplay. The idea, he says, is to either create an original character or be a parody of a popularized character, your own interpretation of Batman, for example. Cosplaying is beneficial to the actors themselves. Creating one's own costume and superhero character boosts creativity, helps build communication and relationship skills, and can even help people deal with mental health issues.
But children in need benefit the most from their interactions with cosplayers. On Superhero Night 1, the Buffalo Bisons invited cosplayers to put on a show for kids right after a game. Mendola portrayed a lesser-known character called “The Shadow.” A little four-year-old girl with Down's Syndrome spotted the unusual looking fellow, ran up to him and gave him a big hug. “I love you!” she proclaimed.
“My heart melted,” said Mendola, and he was hooked. Another child who inspires him is TJ Ackley ( ), a 14-year-old boy who is fighting cancer for the third time in his short life and who met Mendola at a fundraiser.
Making costumes and creating characters is a passion for Mendola. So far, he has portrayed seven characters, including Mr. Freeze, who took six months to develop. A fan of the original Batman TV series, Mendola often portrays the Buffalo Penguin. A villain, Penguin is also mayor of Gotham City, so Mendola tells kids, “Vote for me!” Most popular with kids is Mendola's Mario who hangs out with Luigi (portrayed by Tony Provolone). Other characters he portrays include Manthing, The Skipper (from Gilligan's Island), Red Skull, and Captain Obe.
If you'd like to send these superheroes to a child or a charity in need you may contact them at [email protected].
Want to donate? Too bad. They will not take your money. However, you can make a donation in their name, WNYSAC, to the Variety Club, a charity that helps sick children.