Posts tagged comic con

Toronto ComiCon Fan Appreciation

9 months ago

by Michael in Expression

Another day another comic con. Yep, since I started to go to more comic cons as of late I’ve noticed that they are not only seasonal events; they go on all year round. Clearly I’m a comic con newbie and it shows. So far I’ve never cosplayed, never picked up a deck of Magic cards, and only larped once – and even that time I just did it so my friend and I could have an excuse to bash each other with makeshift weapons without being arrested for it.

When I’m not doing SEO jobs I like to get out as much as possible and take part in whatever activity is clever on that particular day. Sundays are tricky because there usually isn’t a lot going on. Sundays are for golf, Church, football, brunch and not much else. This past Sunday I did brunch and simply because the Toronto ComicCON Fan Appreciation day was still happening on that Sunday I dragged my brunch date there.

I ban you!!

It was held in Hall F in the south building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and, boy, was it ever a journey to get to the actual room where the thing was taking place. Only after passing through the main doors, climbing two flights of stairs, crossing a bridge, descending another flight of stairs and riding 3 escalators downwards did we FINALLY make it to Hall F. Previously I may have given a less than stellar write up of the Wizard World Toronto Comicon 2011 but this event was even less exciting. Looking back the Wizard World con had more to do while Sunday’s comic con was just a trade show. All there was to do there was to buy comics, art (although from some awesome artists), merch and toys. That’s it. I only saw one pair of cosplayers when I was there, who were dressed as forum admins with their “ban hammers.” The rest was pretty lame.

I guess it’s hard to hold a candle to Fan Expo and since this event was free I can’t complain too much but it would have been nice to see a little more going in in general. I’m sure Fan Expo this summer will be out of control so I’ll see you there!

Haven't you heard?

Fan Expo Tragedies

1 year ago

by Michael in My Life

Epic Win

MY first time at Fan Expo was definitely an experience. Look, let’s get things straight here: I may not seem the type but I’m actually a big nerd. If there was a sci-fi, comic and fantasy Jeopardy I think I could throw down pretty soundly. So don’t act too surprised that I was tooling around Fan Expo wearing a Superman t-shirt picking up comics. This is not my first “con” mind you as I’ve been to PAX and the Emerald City Comic Con, but Fan Expo was just unreal. This thing blew anything I’ve been to right out of the water. The artists and companies that attended spared no expense and really transformed the Toronto Convention Centre into a whole other world. The only bad thing was that so many people showed up that the line was massive and the fire marshal was not letting anyone in. Good thing I didn’t have to wait long in the heat.

I got to meet Adam West, Julie Newmar, and Michael Dorn and hang out with the Batmobile, hold Captain America’s shield and chill with my good pal Sean Ward while helping him with his daily vlog. I really enjoy vlogging with Sean and I think after the SafeKidZone and SafeTREC launches I will be sprucing up my youtube channel and doing the vlog equivalent of Gonzo journalism – since Hunter S. Thompson is my hero. Here’s Sean’s coverage of the expo with a cameo by me and @laurenonizzle:

We also got to feast our eyes on some pretty epic cars on the weekend of the expo! One of them may very well become the next NusMobile if things go well. The Batmobile’s ok I guess but its jet turbine engine really guzzles gas. On the other hand the Delorian is efficient on fuel but not very responsible since going back to the future could undo the fabric of time. So I think I may go with the Lexus CT200h that I saw at the Lexus Live event since I can get the batmobileish gadgets and the Delorian fuel consumption without causing damage to my gas budget or the space time continuum. As the Lexus marketing team says: it’s “Thrilling yet responsible.” Check out Seanward.net for our video from the Lexus Live event by clicking right here.

Carol Zara as: Carol Zara

If I could describe Fan Expo 2010 in one word, I would say it was a “nerdgasm.” The last time I used that word I was watching Scott Pilgrim and it was appropriate. I’m sure there were quite a few bloggers hanging around there covering all the artists, celebrities and hot chicks in spandex or Princess Leia bikinis and other various wicked cool things but I wanted to take a different angle. One thing I’ve noticed about all comic cons I’ve been to was that cosplay (dressing up as your favorite fictional character at a convention, for the uninitiated) is a big thing. What’s just as common though is the siginificant number of folks who either half ass their costumes or just can’t pull it off because, let’s face it, the costume doesn’t fit right. Tragic. For the con veterans reading this all you need to think of is that pimply, obese guy with the bad goatee in a Batman cowl and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

I don’t want to come off as a jerk though. At first I was taking candid shots of these people without their knowledge but early on in my photo hunt I realized that they are all too happy to be photographed and are actually pretty swell folks who just love all things nerdy and awesome. I guess my beef is that I tend to be a details Nazi when it comes to Halloween costumes so I get all OCD when I see a costume that completely misses the point of the subject matter it’s emulating. It’s not really a “haha look at those nerds thing” really. Even I have a guilty pleasure in that I download episodes of Naruto Shippuden every week – so these people are, in a way, my brethren. I’ve not yet gotten into cosplay at comic cons, but I do LOVE halloween, so maybe it’s up my alley. Maybe.

Here are the good ones.