Saluki Con, SIU’s annual pop culture convention, is set to return to SIU this weekend, bringing fans of comics, gaming, sci-fi and anime together for two days of panels, vendors and cosplay.
The convention, hosted at the SIU Student Center on Feb. 10-11, will feature special guests, gaming tournaments and a cosplay contest. Attendees can browse artist booths, shop for collectibles and participate in interactive workshops.
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Nathan Bonner, co-chair of the Saluki Con Committee, said, “It started in 2017 with Eclipse Con. It was decided that the university should put on a comic con in relation to the other festivities going on during the 2017 eclipse.”
Given the event’s success, the committee decided to establish it as an annual tradition.
“We renamed it Saluki Con because eclipses are very expensive to have every year, so we could only afford two. We continued on until last year, when we had the second Eclipse Con, and now we are kind of moving beyond that with Saluki Con again,” Bonner said.
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This year’s guest lineup includes voice actors, comic book artists and industry professionals. Among them is Sean Astin, best known for his roles in “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Goonies.”
“Sean Astin is obviously our headliner, as he’s our special Saturday night speaker,” Bonner said. “He’ll only be speaking at Trike Auditorium at 5, and he won’t be on the con floor, but we do have other guests who will be on the con floor on Saturday and Sunday.”
Other notable guests include EG Daily, the voice of Tommy from “Rugrats” and Buttercup from “Powerpuff Girls,” as well as Dan Payne, known for roles in “Watchmen,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Stargate” and several Hallmark movies. WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart and comic creator Kyle Starks, who has worked on the “Rick and Morty” comics, will also be in attendance.
Regional artists such as Zach Atkinson, a comic artist and colorist for “Devil’s Due” and “Dynamite,” and Carbondale native Brad Moore, a death metal cover artist, will also be present.
In addition to celebrity appearances, Saluki Con offers a variety of panels covering topics such as character design, storytelling in video games and the latest trends in anime. Gaming enthusiasts can compete in tabletop and video game tournaments, while families can enjoy kid-friendly activities and crafts.
The cosplay contest is also a highlight of the event, inviting attendees to showcase their costumes for a chance to win prizes. Contestants will be judged on craftsmanship, creativity and presentation.
Jeffrey Punske, an associate professor in the School of Languages, Linguistics, and a member of the Saluki Con Committee, said, “We have our costume contest, we have a competitive D&D contest. We have open gaming and play-to-win, where folks can play games, get their names added to a raffle, and at the end of the event, they can win games.”
One of the special panels this year will feature Chris Stantis, an assistant professor of biological anthropology at SIU.
“She’s going to be giving a talk about the type of archaeology that I think will be of high interest to folks that are into role-playing games or that kind of media,” Punske said. “She’ll be discussing some of her favorite and least favorite archaeologists from different media sources.”
Punske also highlighted SIU’s historical involvement in gaming.
“SIU has a long history of being involved in the development of role-playing games and tabletop games. Throughout the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, it was a hotbed for these games when they were much more underground,” he said. “Rumor is that the first place D&D was played outside of Lake Geneva, where it was developed, was on the campus of SIU. The first video game that had players go up in levels was developed by SIU students.”
Bonner added that Saluki Con continues to evolve each year.
“We always try to mix it up a little bit and come up with fresh new ideas each time…we always try to have at least some new workshops or panels that we’ve not had before,” he said.
Tickets for Saluki Con are available online and at the door, with discounts for students and children. For more information, including a full schedule of events, visit https://salukicon.siu.edu/
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