“Comiccon” comes to Ottawa May 12-13
Logo of the Ottawa Comicon
For the initiated, the word “comiccon” needs no explaining. For others, think comic book + convention. Yes, geeks and geek-fans. It’s almost time to shimmy into your favorite tights or attach those Vulcan ears, Ottawa gets its first such expo, May 12-13. The line-up includes many famous names and artists who’ve made significant contributions to the art form.
According to the Ottawa Citizen:
Support for Ottawa’s first “Con” has been overwhelming, humbling and phenomenal, says David Newman, vice-president of creative development for Ottawa Comiccon. The 500 VIP tickets giving fans front-of-the-line access to the stars and early entry to the convention sold out within a week.
Newman says the idea to host a Con in Ottawa came from all the Ottawa fans his team had spotted at other Cons in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, and even the world’s largest annual Comiccon in San Diego.
That, and the buzz surrounding Ottawa this year from the NHL All-Star game to the Juno Awards.
“We thought, let’s enter the fray. Let’s throw our hats in there,” says Newman. People from Montreal, Halifax, Newfoundland and New York will travel here for the event. Newman says with the success of this year’s plans, Ottawa can expect the Con to become an annual draw.
The guest list is well, it seems a tad fluid, shall we say? Last week it included Sir Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard). Apparently he can’t come after all. But, wait! Now the top draw will be William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), on Saturday only. Others billed as being there include John de Lancie (“Q”), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Brent Spiner (Lieutenant Commander Data), Cassandra Peterson (Elvira), the DeLorean Time Machine from “Back to the Future” and many, many more. It’s probably best to check back to verify the latest developments.
I grew up on the original Star Trek series, but just couldn’t keep up with the explosion of Star Trek everything that followed. After becoming a parent there was only enough spare time for a little bit of reading or TV – but not both. (Books won.)
I’ve never been this close to a comicon before, so it’s semi-tempting to sample the experience, at least once. On the other hand, I thought Bill Shatner said it very well in a famous Saturday Night Live skit …“Get a life!”. (Bonus: Here’s Shatner talking about what it’s like to work on SNL.)
Coincidentally, I recently finished watching the first (and only) season of Joss Whedon’s “Firefly” after months of waiting for that DVD set via the Ottawa Public Library’s reservation system. Adam Baldwin, who played Jayne Cobb in that series, is also scheduled for the Ottawa comicon. If you’ve never seen “Firefly” or the related movie “Serenity“, I recommend both.
Would you ever go to a fan event like this? If so, what character or actor would you most like to see?
Tags: 2012 Ottawa Comiccon, canada, comic books, Firefly, Star Terk
Star Trek: The Next Generation (or Star Trek:TNG as it is often referred to) was an excellent series, especially in its early years. If you only watched the original Star Trek series and never saw TNG, you really missed something.
Fortunately, it is available on DVD.
I would probably never go to an event like this but, if I did, Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc) would certainly be a top draw for me.
Good thing it’s too late for us to get to Ottawa, or my 15 yo would be dragging us there this weekend! Next year, I’m sure we’ll be going.
The attraction of Comicons go way beyond Star Trek and comic book heroes – the hot things these days are webcomics that blend crazy characters and situations with some pretty good storytelling. And then there is fanfic (fan fiction), taking the webcomic characters and spinning out new situations for them. Also, roleplaying – playing a character’s role in an online chat.
BTW, we just watched the Firefly series in our house. It was OK, but not nearly as good as Dr. Who or Sherlock. I really did not like the movie.