The Moody Comics & Anime Club hosted its first Tiger Con, April 14-15, 2018, in Valdosta, Ga.

Tiger Con was a convention, open to Moody residents and the local community, geared toward giving pop culture enthusiasts a chance to dress and role play as their favorite movie, TV show or comic characters.

“I think when (people) get a chance to really express their inner spirit and become these characters that they love, I think they have a wonderful time; it’s a great release for them,” said Richard Epcar, voice actor, who’s known for portraying Raiden in the video series Mortal Kombat.

“The people who come here want to involve themselves into something they really appreciate, and there’s nothing really negative or destructive about it,” Epcar continued. “I think it’s great for morale, and it’s something positive for (people) to look forward to.”

The convention exceeded the club’s expectations, bringing in more than 300 attendees. The event included a costume contest, an anime themed café, pop-culture artist panels along with shopping vendors and a guest appearance of veteran voice actor Richard Epcar.

What started off as a club of three people two years ago, has now evolved into accomplishing a feat never seen at Moody with the curating of a convention.

“It started with a bunch of (Airmen) just wanting to get together who had similar interests and have fun,” said Staff Sgt. William Hannay, 723d Aircraft Maintenance Squadron weapons team chief and founder of the Comics & Anime Club. “Seeing everyone from all these different backgrounds, be it non-military and military, come together and work so hard on this convention, actually expanding it, getting the local high school and VSU involved, it was all amazing.”

Hannay explained how this convention did a spectacular job in bolstering the relations with the community.

“It was great to show that we’re not just here to take up space and make noise, but that we want to help contribute to the community,” Hannay said. “When we’re stationed here this is our home, and we want to make this a place we can have fun and enjoy; we want (the local community) to come out and enjoy the same things.”

Though this was the first year for Tiger Con, Hannay expressed how he hopes the club will plan to hold the event annually.

“We didn’t do this to make money, and we want to keep it that way, too,” Hannay said. “We’re doing this as something fun and entertaining and to make a potential legacy for ourselves, and have our name known for something. The big goal was to make sure everyone had fun, that they enjoyed it and that they want to do it again.”