Canada’s capital honoured all things geeky for the fifth year in a row at Ottawa Comic-Con from May 13-15, at the Ernst and Young Centre near the Ottawa International Airport.
The annual convention, known by attendees as Comic-con, is a three-day event that celebrates certain elements of pop culture like comics, video games, science fiction, fantasy, and horror.
The convention boasted record attendance with 42,000 self-proclaimed geeks who came to see celebrities, dress up as their favourite characters, attend panels, shop, and experience the atmosphere of the city’s geekiest.
“There was an open air of acceptance around the place, where people could embrace their hobbies publicly,” said John Cole, a Carleton University student who attended the convention. “For me personally, I keep a lot of my hobbies behind closed doors, but it was nice to see a big community event like this happen.”
“It’s a great niche market,” said Lori White, an exhibitor at one of the booths at the convention. She displayed some of her artwork as well as home-made magnets and bookmarks, many of which catered to specific shows or other forms of entertainment. She said Comic-con is a great place to sell her work and connect with local buyers.
Shopping is a big part of the convention. Throughout the weekend, the complex was packed with colourful characters making their way through a maze of booths and tables selling pop culture merchandise or displaying artwork for visitors to appreciate.
Kristian Kelly, a third-year journalism student at Carleton University said this was her first time attending Comic-con.
“I wanted to experience it. I’ve never been to a Con before. The atmosphere is welcoming and less judging, where you can geek out in a sense, dress up and have fun,” Kelly said.
One of things fans could experience at the convention were the various seminars and lectures held over the three days in the meeting rooms. These talks covered topics like how to effectively cosplay, the importance of diversity in media and maintaining a safe space at Comic-con.
Guests at the convention included Sean Astin, who was Samwise Gamgee in Lord of the Rings, Billy Dee Williams, who played Lando Calrissian from the Star Wars franchise, Kevin Eastman, who wrote the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, and Tom Payne, who was Paul ‘Jesus’ Monroe in The Walking Dead. Fans had the chance to lineup for autographs and photos and attend panels where audience members could ask the celebrities anything they wanted.
At one of these panels, a young fan asked actors Caity Lotz and Arthur Darvill from DC’s Legends of Tomorrow: “Uh, prom? But if not Caity, then Arthur?” Darvill agreed to go, but only if he got to wear a pretty dress.
Overall, Cole said many seemed content with the way Ottawa’s Comic-con played out.
“Of the Con itself, I really don’t have many complaints, everything seemed well organized and I never felt crowded,” said Cole.
However, Kelly said the convention did not go without its minor problems.
“Parking. Parking was bad,” Kelly said.
Both Cole and Kelly said they plan to attend Comic-con again next year.
“It’s a gathering of people who are very enthusiastic about things,” Kelly said. “Not necessarily geeks in the conventional sense of the word, but people who are passionate.”
