It’s time to pack up your brown coats and put away your favourite bow tie and fez combo. This year’s Ottawa ComicCon has come and gone.
The fourth annual event, which was held in the EY Centre, attracted nearly 40,000 fans over the course of three days.
With the star-studded lineup of Billie Piper, Jonathan Frakes, Wil Wheaton, Sean Maher, Billy Boyd and many more, there was something for everyone.
Besides photo ops and autographs, the guest stars also took part in a variety of panels and Q&A sessions. Billy Boyd serenaded his fans with “The Last Goodbye” from The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies.
If you didn’t want to wait in line to get the good seats to these events (I waited just over an hour for Boyd, which was completely worth it), then you could wander aimlessly around the showroom floor.
Filled with geeky wares, old comics, and oodles of original and fan art, there was no shortage of interesting goods to buy.
However, one of the best parts of any Con is seeing people in cosplay as your favourite heroes or baddies. Besides the life-sized Groot, Chewbacca, and Toothless wandering the floor, there was also a plethora of Links and Marios and other Nintendo characters.
People of all ages and fandoms came together to celebrate geek culture. Kristie Jones, a guest, said she has her father to thank for her interest in geek culture.
“When I was little and my mom was out of town, he used to take that as an opportunity to show us part of a Star Wars movie, or Lord of the Rings, or Indiana Jones. He brought me into this kind of culture from the get-go, and it managed to stick with me as I got older. It’s nice to be able to take him back into the world that he introduced me to in the first place,” Jones said.
Adam Gibeault, who has been going to Ottawa ComicCon for the last four years, said the growth of the event has been incredible. He said his first time at Ottawa ComicCon was a magical experience and he urges everyone to go.
“Come for the experience. If you’ve never been, go at least once, just for a day, to take it all in,” Gibeault said.
If Halloween is one of your favourite holidays, then Ottawa ComicCon is the place for you.
Jessica Woloszyn recently started entering cosplay competitions. This year she dressed as Rosalina from the game Super Smash Bros 4. She gave some advice to aspiring cosplay artists.
“You don’t have to start easy—everyone says that. If you’re going to be dedicated enough to go as hard as you can, just pick something you love—something that after four months of working on, you won’t hate,” Woloszyn said.
Unlike Woloszyn, this was Benoit Chartier’s first large-scale ComicCon event. He was debuting his new novel, Red Nexus. The story takes place in a futuristic Tokyo with protagonist Wen Harkwell battling unseen enemies and advanced technology to save his younger brother.
Chartier said he thinks geek culture is alive and well in Ottawa.
“I’d say we’re breaking into the Geek Age. Things have changed. The rising attendance at events like Ottawa ComicCon are fair proof of that. I can’t wait for next year. I’ve got my table all saved up, and hopefully my new book will be out by then,” Chartier said.
If you missed this year’s event, next year’s Ottawa ComicCon will take place from May 13 to 15.
If you cannot wait that long, check out other geek-themed events such as the Ottawa Geek Market or Pop Expo, which will all take place before next year’s ComicCon.
