Fan Expo is a sprawling miasma of everything pop culture. Walking the corridors and halls of the convention, the weight of what’s in front of you is hard to ignore. From the early days of the Canadian National Comic Book Expo boasting all of 1500 people, to the commercial pop-cultural juggernaut that now expects over 125,000 ticket holders, it’s grown into something quite beyond its humble origins. It’s now a vital showcase for these large corporations to be able to screen their new wares to a captive audience, but surely with a name like Fan Expo there’s a bit more to it than that? It’d be easy to regale you with an account of who was selling what, but that seems like it’d miss the point. Instead, I talked to a bunch of the fans to see what they get out of an event of this scale.
Nick
“Superheroes, sci-fi, that’s always been a part of my life. My dad was a Batman fan when he was a kid and I grew up with him sharing comics, I watched the animated series. I always loved the stuff. My dad, whenever there’s a newborn in the family, he christens them by giving them a Batman plushie.”
Samantha
“It’s given me a lot of confidence. It’s really nice to be able to dress up as a character that you’ve played for years, to be able to take on that character’s persona. I was really lucky, all the people that I was friends with, we all played the same games. We never felt any of the stigmas around gaming or anything like that. It’s always been a great influence and it’s nice to see it going more mainstream now. The fact that people could sit and watch two people play Starcraft for 2 hours yesterday, that was pretty awesome to see.”
Paul
“As you can see, my costume is a combination between music and comics and that’s two things I love. So just expressing that through my costume and seeing reactions, it makes me feel really good.”
Sarah
“The costume took nearly 3 weeks to make. A lot of staying up until 2 in the morning. We won a few Halloween contests in our home town and thought we’d come to Toronto. I love seeing everyone’s beautiful costumes. We’re signed up for speed dating and for the masquerade. It’s great, it’s awesome.”
Chiara and Matthew
“I’ve never dressed up. I did it because I wanted to surprise him. I knew he’d love it.”
“Yeah. I run into people all the time who I’ve met at previous conventions and it’s like friends getting back together.”
Elizabeth and Maggie
“She introduced me to ‘all of this’ [laughs].”
“I just kind of… fell into it. Everyone’s so nice here and you just feel like you belong. You don’t feel like a weirdo [laughs]. I came for Stan Lee.”
“Look at the twinkles in her eyes.”
“Man oh man.”
Janelle
“I’m an occupational therapist, so often because I’m a fan of a lot of different things, I can bring it up in different conversations. Everyone’s a nerd with something, you’re a nerd about fashion or a certain book or whatever. You know that passion and you can bring that into your work and into conversations. Being a therapist it brings people into being able to do stuff.”
Tony
“I’ve kind of transitioned over time. So it’s gone from comic books to movies to board games to video games. I still love the old classics. Been interested nonstop really. I also love travelling, do photography, mountain biking and other activities but still a nerd at heart.”
Beth and Tom
“I’m over 50. I watched the original series of Star Trek on my mom and dad’s black and white TV in 1955, so pretty much I’d say I’ve been into it all my life. Beth here started when we first met.”
“I got roped in, and what I love about it is the accepting nature of everyone who’s here. So it doesn’t matter what you look like, whether you fit your costume perfectly, whether you’re old or young. Everyone is just cheering for you and excited for you and excited for themselves to be in such a cool place of like-mindedness.”
Christian
When I was a kid I was a Spider Man fan, Power Rangers, Transformers, all that stuff. I’m a 90s kid, so I grew up watching all that stuff. As of recently I’ve reached out through Facebook and stuff to people who take pictures with me. I guess I’ve been connecting with some people.
Leelando
“I’m a really big nerd, specifically a comic nerd and a professional cosplayer. So I go to a lot of the conventions and I get to travel a lot with all my costumes. I get to enjoy new communities and meet new people in the con circuit, which is nice. I have some great friends I’ve met in San Diego and LA that I still keep in contact with. They’re just really awesome people.”
Amethyst
“With all of this stuff, I just kind of took off. My sister got more into other things and I was the one who got into gaming and comics and all the geeky stuff. It’s who I was in high school and it’s still who I was in college and now I’m 24 and still doing the same thing. It’s about community a lot of the time, ‘cause you’ll be sitting at your computer by yourself enjoying this stuff and guaranteed there are like 17,000 other people doing exactly the same thing but you’re not talking about it. So come here and talk about it and enjoy it together is kind of the idea behind it.”
