Quite the collection of comic characters

COEUR d'ALENE - A horde of heroes converged at the Coeur d'Alene Public Library on Saturday for Coeur d'Con, the first comic convention in Kootenai County's history.

The normally quiet hallways bustled with activity as fans came to meet local artists, attend informative panels, and play games. Many also came to strut their stuff by dressing up - "cosplaying" - as their favorite characters from "Adventure Time," "Doctor Who," "Attack on Titan," "Guardians of the Galaxy" and more.

Cosplay was one of the most popular reasons to attend the convention for fans like Kaylee Privett, who came in costume as a character from the anime series "Fullmetal Alchemist."

"I just love seeing what other people have done," she said. "This is actually my first convention. It's awesome so far."

Providing an accessible con experience for fans like Privett was important for the library staff members who organized Coeur d'Con.

"If you're new to large conventions, sometimes admission prices can be prohibitive," said Laura Jenkins, the library's young adult coordinator, explaining why the convention was free to the public and exhibitors.

"It also gives artists who might not want to pay $300 for a table at a big show the chance to exhibit their work and get their name out there," she said. "We really wanted to provide that space for artists."

Post Falls-based artist Matt Brazee, who draws the book "Sprocket the Comic Cat," appreciated the opportunity to promote his work in a smaller venue.

"With the explosion of comics culture over the last few years, most conventions are so expensive that it's starting to turn out the smaller, self-published people," he said. "Hopefully events like this, which are more focused on kids and families, become a more common thing so that we can get exposure more easily."

Another creator, Jamari Lawson of Coeur d'Alene, was exhibiting for the first time as he promoted his web comic "Shino," a sci-fi action story.

"The con is really amazing, it has a real cool energy to it," he said. "I've been waiting for Coeur d'Alene to do something like this for awhile."

Coeur d'Con's secret origin came from the library's participation in the nationwide Collaborative Summer Learning Program, which sets yearly themes for libraries to use. This year's theme was superheroes, using comics and graphic novels to promote multimodal literacy - combining images with text to stimulate learning in different parts of the brain.

With the superhero theme, library staff became interested in producing their own convention. Other libraries popularized mini-cons elsewhere in the country, and with that example, the staff decided to try it in Coeur d'Alene.

Word of mouth spread, and the event drew fans of all ages from all over Kootenai County.

"I was glad to see families with younger kids here," Jenkins said. "Parents are raising their kids to think of comics as a good source of entertainment and education and as legitimate literature."

There is already hope that Coeur d'Con will return next year and potentially become an annual event.

"Every conversation I've had with people has been like, 'This is your first year, but this is going to become an annual thing, right?'" Jenkins said. "I would love to see this event keep growing, and depending on the response we get, it's definitely something that could continue in the future."