By Lee Chaney, Kaleb Guzman, and James Cochran
The 2025 Mag Comic Expo was a brilliant display of local talent and creativity, featuring artists and cosplayers alike. Held on Saturday, April 5, this year marked the expo’s fourth annual run, complete with several activities and vendors for the ultimate con experience.
Vendors began loading in on Friday, where the public came to browse before any official events began, and a speech honoring alumni Grant and Jasmine Mitchel of Nirvana Comics was held on campus that evening in preparation for an action-packed Saturday. Imaginary Gardens was invited to set up a booth at the entrance, greeting newcomers as they walked in with pop-culture trivia, a comic strip contest, and an exquisite corpse game.
Over 60 vendors lined the campus’s halls and populated the sidewalk outside the building to display handmade crafts, art, clothing, and figurines ; several vendors had entire rooms filled with comic books for sale.
For those that got tired of browsing, the expo hosted a game room in the library, complete with board games and arcade consoles to play with. Several local game shops had their own booths there as well, including Kraken Bay Games displaying a live demo of their new adventure role playing game. For card game lovers, a Magic: The Gathering tournament was held by Level Up Games.
Music lovers were treated to some fun as well, with several performances to look forward to throughout the day. Official events kicked off shortly after doors opened with instrumental renditions of pop-culture music by Robyn James Ensembles. Next on stage was Rus Harper and the Knoxville Freaks with their History of Punk show, followed by Poet Laureate Black Atticus, and finishing with Mal-Nombre’s high-energy funkadelic set.Â
While all performances and activities were stunning, the pinnacle of the expo’s events was undoubtedly the cosplay contest. Creatives from all over came to compete, some making their own costumes. Iron Man made a stunning appearance alongside other recognizable favorites like Woody from Toy Story and Hatsune Miku.
For those that still hadn’t had enough, an afterparty was held downtown at Central Cinema with showings of classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) media. Attendees crammed into the sold-out theatre for a pizza party along with the classic 1990 live action film and episodes of the 1987 animated series. The party was rounded out with TMNT-themed trivia and several TMNT comic books to browse thanks to Nirvana Comics.
With a wide variety of games, live music, and an impressive collection of memorabilia, there’s something for everyone to enjoy at every Mag Comic Expo. This year’s event is sure to leave lasting memories as it brought in people from all walks of life to celebrate shared interests and nostalgia. It’s not just a one-time experience, but a must-attend for years to come.
