Same Great Cosplay, New Venue for Forest City Comicon
By Dan Brown No, that’s not me in the photo above – it’s another bald, middle-aged white nerd. The guy in the sawtooth Charlie Brown shirt is Ian Tyson. Like me, he’s a huge fan of pop culture, including such superheroes as Superman – Tyson has already seen this summer’s movie about the Man of Steel five times! Tyson is also. one of the key organizers for Forest City Comicon. If you attend the annual celebration of all things geeky this Sunday, you’ll likely see him hosting panel discussions. The timing for F3C this year – two days after Halloween – is no accident, he tells me via Facebook message. “It’s one of the reasons we chose this particular weekend at (Best Western Lamplighter Inn), with the notion being this Halloween, keep your costume on,” he explained. “I think Halloween has turned into more than just a day. It’s a whole weekend. So why not continue the celebration right into Sunday?” Forest City Comicon has always had a thriving cosplay scene. Tyson isn’t sure the exact reason. “We have a lot of great connections with our board to the cosplay community and that may certainly play a part in it. (The con) draws out really great creators and artists and people who just make incredible costumes,” he added, noting the afternoon cosplay contest attracts “everybody from the masterful ones to the little kids that are trying it out for the first time.” One outfit that stands out in his memory is from 2017, when one attendee dressed up as DC’s Hawkgirl. “She stood on stage and extended the (retractable) wings to their full span, which was significant!” Tyson recalled. “It was really incredible.” Tyson has been involved with every Forest City Comicon since it launched in 2014 at Centennial Hall. With the shift to the Lamplighter, this Sunday will be the first F3C to be held outside of downtown London. “The event features special guests, costumes, artists, exhibitors, board games, video-game tournaments, panel presentations, and more,” Tourism London boasts of the one-day show. “We’re very excited at the prospects of what’s gonna happen this year at the Lamplighter. I think the vibe will be lighter and more fun. It’s warm. It feels like summertime in there, and it’s just a great space,” Tyson said. “I think that we truly have something for everyone, and have put a really great show together this year.” Something that has been a staple of past editions of Forest City Comicon is to bring in not only actors, but also celebrity guests other than those with familiar faces. Sure, there have been performers like 2017’s Billy Boyd, who played Pippin the Hobbit in the Lord of the Rings movies. But also part of the meat-and-potatoes for Forest City Comicon have been the talented individuals who fill out the crew and cast of motion pictures and TV franchises, like voice actor Billy West, who came to London in 2016. This Sunday will see a visit by David Barclay, the puppeteer who helped bring Star Wars characters such as Yoda the Jedi Master and Jabba the Hutt to life. Barclay is also known for “all things Muppet,” Tyson says. Oh yeah, and Cocaine Bear is coming, too! That would be Alan Henry, the motion-capture artist who played the titular coked-out beast two years ago. He’s also played King Kong, as well as characters in the Marvel, DC, Avatar, Lord of the Rings, and Minecraft universes. “From our experience doing these cons, motion-capture actors are fantastic guests that have great stories,” Tyson said, adding mo-cap performers “have stories to tell. They have been on the sets of these big things that we love, major projects, and been there doing the heavy lifting.” “Plus, what I have found is they all very much seem to be fans of the work they are doing. They are into it and they love meeting fans of that work, too. It makes for great back-and-forth interactions. They are just good people and are a lot of fun.” You will also see me at Forest City Comicon on Sunday. But don’t worry, folks, I won’t feed the Cocaine Bear! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Read Local, Shop Local, Attend Local Cons
By Dan Brown I’ll be honest with you: I don’t know how the Trump tariffs are going to affect the price of comics, if at all. But if you’re looking for ways to put your comic-book dollars back into the local economy, be it Southwestern Ontario or Canada, here are a few ideas for how to do so. For starters, you can patronize local comics stores like L.A. Mood, which employs Londoners and supports the local pop-culture ecosystem by hosting events like Godzilla Day. The Forest City has always been blessed with more than its share of places where you can pick up your favourite comic titles, and the same goes for all of Southwestern Ontario. Here’s a fun road trip idea for when the warm weather arrives: Make it your goal to visit all the comic stores in this corner of Canada, which will mean travelling to such communities as Sarnia, Windsor, Chatham, Kitchener, and Guelph. I did so a few summers back and it was a blast! Along the same lines, when convention season starts back up, you don’t need to go all the way to San Diego (or even Toronto) to hang out with other comic enthusiasts.London has cons aplenty, including Forest City Comicon – which this year moves to a new date (November 2) and venue (the Lamplighter Inn). Other shows to keep in mind include the Chatham Kent Expo, which happens April 26 and 27. I realize bigger cons get bigger names. That doesn’t necessarily make for a better experience, though. For example, almost every DC or Marvel panel I’ve attended at Fan Expo in previous years can be summed up in one sentence: “Our company has such cool stories coming out soon, but if we told you the details it would spoil them.” The difference at a smaller event is the friendlier vibe, which is much warmer. There is no substitute for meeting comic fans or cosplayers in your own backyard! And what’s that, you say you also want to read local at this moment in our country’s history? It’s easy to make that happen by throwing your support behind specific creators and publishers. There are guys like Byron’s Derek Laufman, the graphic novelist responsible for Bot 9, RuinWorld, and Crimson Fall. Fans can buy his books and art directly from his website. Laufman also has a Patreon page, which offers exclusive first looks at the projects he is working on. Other Forest City creators to check out include Diana Tamblyn, A Jaye and Alison Williams, Scott MacDougall and D.S. Barrick (who publish under the banner of River Donkey Adventures), Sam Maggs, and don’t forget Bryan Lee O’Malley. Among the cartoonists with connections to the wider Southwestern Ontario scene are Jeff Lemire, Seth, Scott Chantler, and Joe Ollmann. Or perhaps you want to support Canadian publishing houses. Done. There’s always Drawn & Quarterly in Montreal, the East Coast’s Conundrum Press, and Chapterhouse Comics (the publisher of Captain Canuck). They all do compelling work. If you don’t like my ideas and you need more suggestions, just consult with the staff at your comic-store or the nearest librarian. When it comes to comics, and pop culture in general, our dominion punches way above its weight. So if you have any other suggestions of other creators to support, or different ways to keep your pop-culture dollars circulating close to home, I would love to hear all about them in the comment box below! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 32 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.
Forest City Comicon Celebrates a Decade of Nerdiness
By Dan Brown Where will you be this Sunday? I’ll be at London’s Centennial Hall among the many fans who have helped make Forest City Comicon the long-running local success that it is. Such a smash, in fact, that June 16 marks 10 years since the first edition of FCC was held. In that time, it has seen visits by a hobbit, an X-Man, a Ninja Turtle, a vampire, and both Pinky and the Brain. And I’m just talking about the celebrity guests! The real treat for me is savouring the vibe that’s created when the members of different fandoms come together to share the love they feel for a particular comic, movie, TV show, anime or video game. You might think fitting all those many pop-culture enthusiasts into one place would set off sparks, but it’s the opposite. The atmosphere is peaceful and positive. I really dig it. “What I love about comicons is these are people who are passionate about something,” says Ian Tyson, a host and member of the FCC organizing committee. “That passion makes for a good audience member” at panels, adds Tyson, who – as part of the Just Us League, along with Jeremy Bushell and Brad Bushell – has led panels in the past on topics like debating the merits of Superman movies versus Batman films. Tyson says the assembled fandoms have joined to make a community that has lasted a decade and counting. A highlight for Tyson came in 2017 when he made second breakfast live on stage during a question-and-answer session with Billy Boyd, the actor who played the heroic halfling Pippin in the Lord of the Rings movies. “Our goal starting out was to be an alternative to (Toronto’s) Fan Expo, not to replicate it,” explains organizer Carol Vandenberg. “We hoped to define a London version by focusing on local and more accessible talent.” As far as I can see, mission accomplished. This year features a guest lineup that includes a strong Star Trek presence. Both Sara Mitich and Patrick Kwok-Choon have appeared on the just-concluded Discovery while T.J. Storm is known for his motion-capture performances in such movies as Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Deadpool. “Our goal is to make the biggest one-day show we can, bursting with activities, local talent, emerging celebrities and not-forgotten fan favourites,” Vandenberg says. The cosplay contest at FCC is legendary, and there will also be face-painting, panels, two floors of vendors, a Harry Potter photo booth, food trucks, and a Mario Kart competition. Although it’s taken for granted now, no one knew before 2014 if a fan convention of this size would work in London. Fellow organizer Gord Mood says the show mostly draws fans from its namesake community, but also from towns as far as two hours away. “When I think about the first time I did it, it doesn’t feel that long ago,” Mood reflects. “We know what to do (now), but it’s still a lot of work.” And where a big-city show such as Fan Expo can afford to bring in 20 or 30 celebrity guests, Mood and his crew have to be more strategic about their resources. “I think cons have to be diverse enough to appeal to a large fan base rather than a particular type (of fan),” he says. “Early success led us to try out larger venues and weekend-long shows, but we found that really did not work out for us,” Vandenberg says. “COVID allowed us to go back to basics and perfect our original model.” I’ll see you there! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group. P.S. Forest City Comicon tickets are still available
