January’s virtual MoComCon 2021 drew over 1,000 attendees to our virtual celebration of all things comics, graphic novels. and fandoms. We’re proud to announce the winners of this year’s art and essay contests. Thank you to all who entered and participated, helping to make this year’s MoComConline a success!
Art Contest Winners
Children
Winners
Honorable Mention
Teens
Winners
Honorable Mention
Adults
Winners
Honorable Mention
Cosplay Contest Winners
Children
Teens
Adults
Essay Contest Winners
First Place
“Ode to Pua”
Who said pigs can’t be charming and inspiring? I completely adore a pig named Pua from the Disney movie Moana. Pua is a small piglet with soft white fur, cute light gray spots, black hooves with tiny little toes, and a pink circle-shaped snout. His cute, innocent big brown eyes ask you silently to rub his soft rosy belly. He is extremely cute, and I am the ultimate fan of him.
As all ultimate fans do, I collect all kinds of Pua souvenirs, from big collectibles like stuffed animals, pillows, to small articles like necklaces and erasers. Sometimes, I make my own Pua collections from clay and other materials! My computer background in Pua theme is also created by myself.
In the movie, Moana, Pua is a loyal and brave character, but he isn’t given that much spotlight. I want to give him a brand-new life, so I wrote many adventurous mini stories where Pua is the leading character! Sure, I changed a few things, but my inspiration all came from the adorable little piggy from Moana. In my stories, I depict Pua as a young pig who stands up for the common good, a young adventurer without the cape! One of the stories I wrote about Pua going to the “Cloud City” to save a friend from danger. I took all the attributes of Pua from the movie, such as Pua’s loyalty, determination, and bravery, and created a series of exciting short stories. When I read my stories to my little sister, she always giggles and wants more.
I talk about when Pua stayed with Moana, and all those crazy yet heart-touching stories about Pua in my own fantasies, like saving friends and defeating the evil pigs in the “pig-a-planet”. I make up tales of Pua and her brother (one of my own characters!) did, and the adventures they went on. My sister now loves Pua as much as I do. My friends all start liking this cute little pig and always ask me when the next adventure story will be available for reading.!
My passion for Pua brings me stronger connections with my friends who share the same fondness for this cute little creature. I became more willing to share my feelings with family and friends, and I am never shy again to speak in front of the public about my own stories. My desire of sharing Pua with the world inspired me to create artworks and to write stories about him. Perhaps one day I’ll compose a piece of music about him, called “Ode to Pua”.
2nd Place
“Ultimate Reading Fan”
You guys wanted to know why I was the ULTIMATE FAN, so I am going to tell you why I am the ULTIMATE FAN! I didn’t know how much I enjoyed reading until one day when I was in the library and my friend suggested I read The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. At that moment I knew I was the ULTIMATE FAN. I have read the entire series, but my most favorite one would have to be “Wrecking Ball”. I like Wrecking Ball best because it has parts in the story that people will relate to like when Greg Hefley was moving away from his home his best friend Rowley Jefferson was sad and so was Greg Hefley.
So first, I just love how the story is told in first person by the main character Greg Hefley. It just really shows us how Greg Hefley is thinking. I would find the story less interesting if it was told by a narrator. Another reason why I am the ULTIMATE FAN is because I have read all 16 Diary of a Wimpy kid books and personally I think if you want to be an ULTIMATE FAN of a certain book series, you have to at least read more than 4 of the books in the series. In addition, I am super excited to start reading the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book “The Deep End”!!!.
Also, Diary of a Wimpy Kid made a life changing impact on my life. Sometimes I ask people if they can relate to the situations I am in, but they could not connect to me at all. But when I read Diary of a Wimpy Kid I laughed and started to say to myself “wow I can relate to all of the stuff in this book. I didn’t think other people thought this way but I guess they did”. So before I felt like no one understands me, but after reading this I felt like the author understood me.That’s why I will always be a fan of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
My last reason I am the ULTIMATE FAN is because it inspired me to be a better friend, to be closer to my family, and it inspired me to read more. That’s why today I am 11 years old with a 9th grade reading level and I love to read. And these books definitely had an impact on my life. When I first started to read the book, I started to read bigger words and I started to read faster. My parents and my teachers were impressed. That’s why I love Diary of a Wimpy Kid and how it made a big impact on my life.
THAT IS WHY I AM THE ULTIMATE FAN OF DIARY OF A WIMPY KID!
3rd Place
“Magical Whatever After“
My first reason that I am an ultimate fan is that it has a portal in it. At 12:00 am when they knock on the mirror 3 times, it turns into a portal that leads them into fairy tales. They go into fairy tales so that they can free the fairy in their mirror, Maryrose.
My second reason why I am a number 1 fan is because It has lots of dialogue. The author uses dialogue to show the reader what the characters are thinking. She also shows the reader the characters’ interests, for example, Abby wants to be a lawyer when she is older.
My last reason is that throughout the story Abby and Jonah fracture the fairy tale by accident, (sometimes on purpose to give the story a happy ending).
The Whatever After books have made an impact in my life because it makes me make time in my day to read. The Whatever After series is about a pair of siblings, Abby and Jonah, who go into fairy tales. They go in fairy tales to free the fairy in their mirror, Maryrose.
I am the #1 fan because I do not mind re-reading Sarah’s books over and over again. No matter how many times I read it, I am always interested. Another reason that I am an ultimate fan is because I really like how she expresses the characters feelings.
I am a big fan of the Whatever After books, they are fun to read and they make pictures in your mind.
Thanks to everyone who took the time to enter our MoComCon 2021 Art, Essay & Cosplay contest! We hope to see you back at MoComCon 2022!