The Paul Meek Library at UT Martin hosted their first-ever comic convention, “CoMeek-Con,” to celebrate the expansion of graphic novels.
CoMeek-Con happened on Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on the library’s second floor. This event was organized by Alpha Psi Omega, the Japanese Anime Research Society and the League of Striving Artists. They all collaborated to create activities to do as well as encourage students, faculty and administration to show up in costume for a costume contest.
First walking onto the floor, there was a stand full of popcorn to enjoy, and a desk provided light refreshments and desserts. The desserts consisted of brownies, cheesecake and cookies that lots of people indulged in and enjoyed. Next, there was an art mural for people to take pictures near, or even color if they would like to. To the left side of the art mural, there was a comic panel for people to interact with by drawing one panel to create a whole wacky storyboard.
CoMeek-Con also provided a photo booth with props created by the Japanese Anime Research Society and League of Striving Artists for people to take pictures of their amazing cosplay or just for memories.
After that, there were tables set up with different types of board games to do as a recreational activity or coloring sheets of anime characters for those who wanted to sit down and relax.
Throughout the day people could join in two Kahoot quizzes over fictional characters in which people gathered around a TV and competed for first-place prizes. For both rounds, the first-place winners won one free admission to Angry Axe.
There was also an activity that was called “UTMprov,” which was a game of improv consisting of volunteers improvising with different situations. The first game was “World’s Worst,” which used a noun to fill in the blank —- so “babysitter” would be World’s Worst Babysitter. The next game was a guessing game where the volunteers had to answer a series of questions for a “job,” like superman or the tooth fairy, and eventually guess what job was on the board.
The day concluded with a costume contest with a series of winners who either won soap from Buff City Soap or a decorative mask trophy.
Lauren Davis, president of the Japanese Anime Research Society, said that CoMeek-Con should happen again next year since there was such a good turnout for the event and everyone seemed to enjoy the activities.
