For lovers of comics and everything cosplay, teachers James Morrison and Stephen Schaffter created PearlCon, an interactive graphic novel themed festival.

PearlCon makes its comeback for the third consecutive year on May 12 with new additions and improvements. Morrison and Schaffter used this past year to tie together the event with a costume museum and a car show alongside many booths and shows.

Some unsuccessful original features won’t return but old favorites will be included. Cosplay will be emphasized this year as the theme and students and guests are invited to dress up as their favorite characters.

“Comic con is designed to show off how cool our school is and allow our kids to have a really fun time,” Schaffter said.

Most schools have a significant activity they host once a year for their students. PearlCon was born when Morrison and Schaffter decided Daniel Pearl Magnet High School needed an annual event that represented its students and accentuate the school’s identity and spirit. A cosplay convention was the closest thing to represent the comic book fans.

“We did it because our school was small and we couldn’t compete with major schools,” Morrison said. “But one thing we have here is a lot of fun, loving nerds.”

Learning from past complications, Morrison and Schaffter committed to using the whole school year working behind the scenes to set up this upcoming convention, even organizing the first car show in PearlCon history.

“We put the first comic con together in three months,” Morrison said. “That’s a big no-no. You’re not supposed to do that. It was very successful so last time we used about five months and this time we’ve used the whole school year.”

This year’s event is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“Everyone, whether they want to admit it or not, is a bit nerdy,” Morrison said.