Imagining alternate realities at Montreal Comiccon 2018
This year Montreal Comiccon celebrated its 10th year anniversary of hosting fantastic to geeky activities for fans of pop culture. Tens of thousands of comic-nerds, sci-fi fans and collectors buzzed around Montreal’s Palais des Congrès July 6-8.
Some lined up for one-on-one time with their favourite stars, artists or authors. Others marveled at the colourful array of toys and collectables on offer.
Val Kilmer, Chuck Norris, Pamela Anderson, Jason Momoa, David Duchovny were the guests of honour, with names like Amanda Tapping, Adrian Paul, Pom Klementieff, and Sonequa Martin-Green attending panels and signings as well.
Attendees could take in about 200 activities and panel discussions on their favourite pop culture topic: Harry Potter, Pokémon central, the world of Steampunk, Star Trek: Discovery universe, and even open-mic Japanese karaoke!
Probably the most exciting to witness was the live-action medieval combat. Men and women from the Patriots, a Quebec City group that specializes in period armour fights and 14th century historical re-enactment, dressed in full-body armour and battled for 45-second periods – which is plenty if you’re carrying what feels like a small person on your back.
Raphael Santos, 7, attending with his family from Chateauguay, said that he loves superheroes. His favourite by far was Iron Man: “Because of his armour.” His parents said that attending Comiccon encourages him to read.
On the convention floor and along the artist’s alley, attendees had the chance to speak with passionate writers and illustrators. Some featured web comics, such as Ponto, by Tania Mignacca, were created in Montreal. It’s the story of an orange-and-white pylon that decides to move to the big city. A more horror-centered children series, Song of the Dead, has its readers follow necromancers and spirits across fantasy kingdoms.
Rebellious teens fighting real demons and monsters are chock-a-plenty in Shattered Starlight, a comic by Nicole Chartrand. More metaphorical demons come to light in Our War, by Luke Henderson. For sci-fi lovers, Homeward, by Francis McNamee and Laurence Sea Dionne, is a galactic adventure comic for youth.
For young adults, the hottest books on the convention floor spanned gaming to sci-fi fantasy. The Violet Fox series and the Sparkstone saga by Clare C. Marshall; The Gamer series by Pierre-Yves Villeneuve; and horror novels L’assaut du Mal by Sylvain Bouffard, have grown in popularity.
Sloane, 6, came to Comiccon with her mother, Lindsay Visitor, from Wemindji. There’s no bad age to start loving horror for Sloane, who was hoping to see Pennywise, Jason or Freddy Krueger over the weekend.
Sloane found her way into her mother’s comic and movie collection at a young age and has loved animation ever since: “My favourite comic is Kiss!”
A love for pop culture is strong is her family, as this was Lindsay’s fifth year attending
Comiccon. “Always VIP!” she laughed. She would borrow comics from her uncle or read Archie Comics, since there weren’t many places to buy comics in Wemindji.
As for cosplayers, fans decked out in their best costume showcased their best and most ingenious outfits throughout the weekend.
The popular masquerade ball hosted over 100 talented cosplayers, who walked the runway in front of judges to compete in various categories.
Best in show overall was cosplayer Peekaboo with “Glitter Jessica Rabbit”. Her advice for those interested in cosplaying is to just have fun: “To me it means you’re investing your own time and your own money, and it’s your body wearing it and you should feel comfortable and enjoy it as much as you possibly can.”