August 29, 2019

The annual Golden Triangle Comic-Con celebrating comic, geek and pop culture returns Sept. 14-15 to a new location at East Mississippi Community College’s Communiversity, located at 7003 S. Frontage Road.

“There will be a plethora of nerd stuff to do,” EMCC Information System Technology Director Brandon Sesser said.

The family-friendly event has been expanded to two days this year and will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 14, and from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 15. General admission is $12 for children ages 7-12 and $20 for those 13 and older. Admission for students, first responders and the military is $15 with ID.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.gtcomiccon.com and will also be available at the door. Check online for ticket pricing for dinner with former Marvel editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco or comic artist and writer Mariano Nicieza, whose company has published works by legendary comic book author Stan Lee and actor William Shatner.

Nicieza will also review works by artists looking to break into the comic industry. Attendees can schedule a portfolio review the day of the convention.

On Sept. 14, a panel of judges will pick the best costume during a contest for those participating in cosplay, in which people dress up as a character from a movie, book, cartoon or video game.

Special guest appearances are planned by cosplay artists Puns4Days, Eclectic Cosplay and the Yellow Hammer Avengers.

A wide range of activities for gamers will be available, including “Magic: The Gathering” and Star Wars X-Wing tournaments. Those who wish to compete in the tournaments are encouraged to register online. There will be a Super Smash Bros. tournament and a fun area for children hosted by Magic City Con. Last Page will present a dungeon crawl and Tupelo Game Days will bring their collection of board games. Open gaming will also be available.

Huntsville, Ala.-based Rocket City Arcade will bring old-school arcade games and EMCC’s IST department will demonstrate the latest trends in virtual reality and augmented reality.

There will be food for purchase provided by the EMCC Lion Hills Center and EMCC Culinary Arts department and vendors from throughout the region will be on hand with a variety of products from comic books and cosplay costumes to games and arts and crafts.

EMCC is the presenting sponsor for the event. Co-sponsors include Akioboy, Rocket City Arcade and Kingpin Fabrication. This is the fourth year for the event and the third with EMCC as a sponsor. Last year’s Comic-Con attracted more than 1,000 people from Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

“The event continues to grow each year,” Sesser said. “We will have a lot of gamers from Birmingham, Tupelo and Jackson bringing their gaming equipment with them.”

Last year, the event was held at the Trotter Convention Center in Columbus. This will be the first large event at EMCC’s Communiversity, which opened to students Aug. 19 and is dedicated to training students for careers in advanced manufacturing.

Some instructors will be on hand to talk about their various programs and panel discussions covering a variety of topics are planned.

For more information about the event, visit www.gtcomiccon.com.