COMICCON TURNS 5
Capital nerds gather for annual celebration of geekdom
With the doors about to open at the E&Y Centre in Ottawa’s south end, the organizers behind the annual Ottawa Comiccon are getting a little giddy.
The event, which turns five years old this year, was initially created as a test to see if an exhibition showcasing elements of comic book, science fiction and TV pop culture would be able to draw crowds and expand year after year.
With more than 40,000 guests expected to attend this year’s convention, a star-studded list of guests, an itinerary jammed full of events and panels, it’s hard to see the annual showcase of nerd and geek culture as anything other than a smashing success.
When it comes to all things comic and pop culture-related, event spokesman Jason Rockman says there’s no better place to be this weekend.
“In terms of the guest list, we have a wide range of guests that will please everybody no matter what kind of geek you are,” he said. “It’s a very well-run show. It’s a popular event. We hope to get more than 40,000 (people).”
This year’s guest list includes stars from film, TV and comic book fame.
Returning guests who’ve attended the show in the past, such as Lou Ferrigno (famous for playing the Incredible Hulk in the 1970s TV series), Sean Astin (from The Goonies and The Lord of the Rings), and Manu Bennett (Azog King of the Orcs in The Hobbit trilogy and Cirxus on the TV show Spartacus), join newcomers including John Rys-Davies, who is most famous for playing Gimli in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but will also be remembered by older fans for his roles in the original Indiana Jones trilogy.
Other celebrity attendees at this weekend-long event include Eliza Dushku, of Dollhouse and Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame; Tia Carrere, from Wayne’s World and the Tomb Raider TV series; Caity Lotz, who plays White Canary on the TV show Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow; Carl Weathers, who is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films; and Billy Dee Williams, whose roles include playing Lando Calrissian in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Visitors to the show will have the opportunity to see the celebrity guests and listen to them talk about their experiences on set, while weaving their way through kilometres of displays and shops, which will include various memorabilia and film props as well as replicas. Also making appearances this weekend will be the DeLorean Time Machine from Back to the Future, the 1967 Chevrolet Impala from the Supernatural TV series, and ECTO -1 of Ghostbusters fame.
The show has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 2012, when organizers surprised themselves by opening the then two-day show to find lines of people snaking around the building waiting to get in. That year, more than 20,000 people lined up in the blazing hot sun for a chance to get access to the inaugural event and see what it was all about. The momentum carried into Year 2, when the show doubled its guest list and added space to bring in another 10,000 people. It has continued to expand to satiate the demand of Ottawa pop-culture fans.
According to Benjamin Woo, assistant professor of communication studies at Carleton University, the ability for fans of various TV shows, movies and comic books to gather, mingle with celebrities and talk to one another is one of the key reasons that Comiccon has seen such success. Prior to the event, there were few venues to encourage this type of socializing. Now there are spinoff events — such as the Ottawa Geek Market — that help keep the community keep active all year long.
“There is a desire for audiences to connect with the media they love,” Woo said. “The way these conventions have grown is by adding new audiences and new fans. We call it a Comiccon, but it obviously is not. There are other kinds of media. Fans of television shows and video games, you’re seeing professional wrestlers, the ability to keep roping in adjacent media fans has allowed it to grow as large and mainstream as it has become.”