Otaku is the Japanese word for someone so fascinated or otherwise obsessed with movies, television shows and video games that they know things few others know. Then they take Halloween to a whole-new level through the art of cosplay.

PAC Con Palouse returns as the major comic convention in the area this Saturday for its second year. Jake Mackessy, owner of PAC Con and the Mercenary Art studio in Idaho, said what he tries to do is pick a venue, vendors, and artists that look like things he’s seen on a larger scale, but fit the city.

“I’ve been doing convention tours for quite some time,” Mackessy said. “I got a lot of great relationships doing the show in Spokane.”

Another PAC Con was held in Spokane in October and featured guests such as William Shatner and Stan Lee, said Jon Carson, executive director of promotions for Inland Northwest Broadcasting. Carson helped Mackessy with advertising and promotional work for PAC Con.

Some of the celebrities scheduled to appear at PAC Con Palouse include Clare Kramer from the TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and Chuck Huber, a voice actor from “Dragon Ball Z” and other programs. Also appearing is Tom Cook, an animator whose work stretches from the “Smurfs” to “Scooby-Doo.”

“About 90 percent of people go up to him and say ‘You illustrated my childhood,’” Carson said.

Mackessy said the day of the con will look similar to the one last year. There will be panel rooms and gaming rooms to play video games and there is a show floor divided in half between artists from around the U.S. and Mexico, and vendors who will sell accessories and collectibles among other things.

Among the vendors and guest speakers there will be a costume contest. Cosplay, a term referring to dress-up that has become professional over the years, is a common image one would imagine with comic conventions.

“What is really cool about the comic con experience … (is that) it’s really a place for people to be whatever they want,” Mackessy said.

Mackessy said he’s seen interesting costumes ranging from a Resident Evil character to a young kid dressed as an old video game system. The costume contest this year will be split between youth and adult categories. While he likes the handmade stuff, there are no restrictions to the costumes, Mackessy said.

The most memorable costume Carson has seen was three different elementary school children dressed up as Dr. Who.

“Everything about these conventions are about the experience,” Carson said. “(It’s a) visual stimulation that’s unlike anything else.”

This visual stimulation included the decorations and the range of costumes, from Star Wars to Disney princesses and everything in between. As someone who was never a comic book person, Carson said his perception of a comic con was completely different to what he actually saw.

Mackessy said this is the sort of thing he gets to do every weekend, as he represents artists through Mercenary Art. He does it because it’s something he enjoys and his favorite part is seeing the different costumes. Planning for this year’s convention started right after last year’s show ended, he said.

“Last year we only had 60 days to put on the show,” Mackessy said. “This year the quality of vendors and guests is far exceeding what we had last year.”

Some of the paneling sessions include speakers talking about industry-level aspects like animation, creative sketching, inking and starting a comic book series, Carson said. It’s an approachable way that’s not intimidating for aspiring artists to have that one-on-one interaction with professionals.

“(We have) industry leaders and highly sought-after artists sitting down in a room … and taking questions and you can learn as much as you want,” Carson said.

PAC Con will take place at the SEL Event Center in Pullman from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. The costume contest will be from 5-7 p.m. Ticket information can be found on their website at http://pacific-conventions.com/