Atomicon is back on Saturday, August 30! Celebrate the best of comics, costumes, crafts, and games. 

Costume Contest and Parade 

• Photos session and costume contest entry 9:30 - 10:00 am Arrive early to enter the costume contest! Have your Polaroid photo taken in front of the library entrance in your costume. While you're here, enjoy coffee, cold drinks, and light breakfast snacks while we admire each other's outfits and snap photos.  

• Categories: Ten prizes will be announced and awarded at the Costume Walk, two in each of five categories:  

  • Individual costume age 10 and under 

  • Individual costume age 11+

  • Group costume mixed ages  

  • Group costume 10 and under 

  • Group costume 11+ 

• Voting 10:30 am - 3:00 pm All costume entry photos will be displayed in the library lobby. Pick up voting stickers from the information table. All Atomicon visitors may vote once. 
• Costume Walk 4:00 Join us in the lower rotunda to celebrate all costumes during the parade. Contest winners will be announced at this time. Even if you didn't enter the contest, you're welcome to join the parade and show off your costume!    

Adult & Teen activities, upper floor of Mesa Public Library:

• Tabletop Games 10:00–1:00 and 2:00-5:00  Sign up for the limited spaces: Dungeons & Dragons at 10:15am, Dungeons & Dragons at 1:00pm.
• How Do I Comic  11:30–12:30  A fast-paced, hands-on look at what makes a comic different from any other art form. Bram Meehan guides you to start thinking about how comics work and how to approach making your own. All supplies are provided. Best for ages 10 to 100, but all are welcome.
• Kickstarter: A Hero’s Journey (workshop)  2:30–3:30  Learn from experienced Kickstarters about how to launch your games, books, or any product using the Kickstarter platform. The team at Only Then Studios has launched multiple products to great success and are sharing their knowledge [and encouragement!] in a workshop to help get you up and running to share your creativity with the world! Whether you’re just thinking of ideas or are ready to launch, this workshop will introduce key aspects of campaign design, product prototyping, and advertising. Bonus Stick around after the workshop to explore some of Only Then Studios' games in an informal discussion about component design and manufacturing from 3:30 - 4:00 pm.
• Lego Competition  10:30 am, noon, 2:00 pm, and 3:30 pm   Race against time to complete Lego builds using Comic-Con-inspired prompts.  Each 1-hour session will have individual contestants complete a 10-minute, 15-minute, and 20-minute free build. Each session accommodates 12 participants on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants can compete in several sessions, but priority will be given to new builders. To preserve the experience for participants, seats for the Lego competition are reserved for adult and teen contestants. Younger Atomicon participants can get their Lego fix in the designated Lego room on the lower floor. 

Low sensory activities, main (middle floor) of Mesa Public Library:

• Sensory Friendly Zone 10:00 am–5:00 pm The Mesa Public Library will provide a designated sensory friendly zone for patrons to relax and reset. Located on the middle floor, Room H and the area near the periodicals will serve as our sensory friendly zone.  Self-led sensory friendly activities will support an environment established to support sensory needs and recharge from the main events.  Self-led sensory friendly activities and supports available include coloring, sensory fidgets, noise-canceling headphones, and light-dimming features.

Kids of all ages, lower floor and Zone of Mesa Public Library:

• Activities and Crafts 10:00 am–1:00 pm On the lower level in youth services, at the bottom of the stairs in the Dino Den, play a game of Pick a Pop. You might win a one-of-a kind prize! Cosplay Kingdom is in The Zone, where all ages are welcome to make masks, vambraces , and beaded bracelets, visit Sarah’s Airbrush Facepainting, or practice your leather crafting skills with Atomic City Quilts. 

• Turn right at the bottom of the stairs to learn about HeroClix from the American Gamers Academy in the teen graphic novel section.  JJAB is in the coloring area signing kids up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, while the Olions and STEAM Lab are nearby creating an intersection of art and science. 

• At the youth services desk, pick up a copy of the kid scavenger hunt or the slightly harder one to challenge older kids and adults. Look for the kid-friendly LEGO bricks play area on the lower level all day too! 

• Illusions Art Gallery, just past the lower level rotunda, is where you’ll find space to draw or create with LEGO bricks. 

• Show off your costume by posing at one of our photo backdrops spread out all around the entire lower level, including the rotunda. Post your photos to Instagram using the hashtag #LAAtomicon25.  Walk through the Disco Room out The Zone back door and see what the Society for Creative Anachronism is doing with their swords in the outdoor area. 

• Caricature Artists 1:00–2:30 pm  In the lower level rotunda, caricature artists will draw you in comic style. Pop down anytime in the morning to add your name to the sign-up list. 

• Workshops 2:00 pm–4:00 pm Crafting continues! Look for the Olions improv session. 

Vendor Hall 10:00 am - 5:00 pm Co-hosted with the Los Alamos Arts Council in historic Fuller Lodge, the Atomicon Vendor Hall is where you'll find art from comics to jewelry, games to stickers.

2025 vendors include 

Desert Owl Sewing  

Marissa_Creatures 

Sumrow - Art & Illustration  

LilFlowerWitchArts 

Jazdia's Jewels 

RTS ILLUSTRATION 

Latrans Art 

INDY!inc. Comix 

Roybal Ranch Signage 

Riclys Collectibles 

Caldera Hat Co  

American Gamers Academy (AGA) 

Byrds Eye View Comics 

Pot of Snails 

7000 BC 

Simply Looks Twice

Outdoor area between Mesa Public Library and Senior Center:

• Demonstrations by the Society for Creative Anachronism, cotton candy, and drinks while they last. Sword fighting, period correct costumes, and knowledgeable cosplayers from the Shire of Bryngolau can be found outdoors in this shady triangle between buildings.

Step Up Gallery 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

• Visit the Step Up Gallery on the upper floor of the library to take in the art exhibit "Truth, Justice, and Freedom of Expression." The show was created to coincide with Atomicon (Artomicon if you will) and showcases visual storytelling from fine arts to comics. New Mexico is home to great artists working in the fields of graphic novels, political cartoons, sci-fi, and fantasy art. The show is open through September 11. 

Check back for all the specific details of the day's events.