Sweet Mother of NERD, FANEXPO HANGOVER

Apologies for the late response to last weekend's epic nerdgasm that was FanExpo 2010. I do believe I am still regaining composure and crawling back down from the untold highs of fan-girling in a convention setting.

Serious.

I have spent the last week gorging myself on new anime series, classic science fiction titles, and stunning graphic novels in an effort to wean myself back onto the real world. I've stabilized enough to dedicate these fingers to the task of re-telling the tales of this pilgrimage, the first foray into the Major Convention Circuit.

And so, we begin in the golden hours of a Sunday morning on the hushed roads of Suburbia...

***

FanExpo, GO!

• Hit the road before 8 AM with a complete survival kit at hand. Sunscreen for the lines: Check. Clever specs: Check. Wads of cash for nerd-related purchases: Oh, sweet double check. I am never loose with my wallet, but, well, these were unchartered territories, kids.
• Arrived chez Advocate for 8:20 AM. Her River Song costume was abandoned last minute (on account of our late night at BuskerFest the night before). Never fear - her tried and true Rose Tyler costume fulfilled her cosplay requirement for the day. Seems the Sonic Screwdriver helped us manage the lines at FanExpo, too, as all Time Lord gear tends to.
• Hopped on the GO Train and made quick work with our navigation skills. We followed quick snatches of Star Wars conversations and neon-coloured cosplayers to Ground Zero: The Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

(Thank goodness the Advocate's lil' Sister advised us of the back entrance. Note: This is NOT the back entrance.)

• Stood outside in line for.... wait for it........ 2 hours. Realized the advantages of pre-order tickets, RE: Waiting in a shorter line for less time. Yes, we were the serfs who bought tickets at the door. This will not be repeated next year. Did I mention it was well over 30C on Aug. 29th?
• Charged inside where we waited for about another hour. The Gods of Long Lines smiled upon us as a Cash Express booth opened before us, placing The Advocate and I at the front of a huge swell of eager, over-heated conventioneers. Spotted a baby Wolverine and baby Iron Man while standing there -- baby Iron Man had the pose down and everything. He has been trained well.
• Experienced a false start to the day. Tickets were sold, then promptly stopped. The serfs were waiting on approval from the fire department. Egads. It is dangerous to toy with a crowd full of cosplayers who do, in fact, have replica weapons on hand. I'm just sayin'.
• I think The Advocate will agree with me when I describe the overload our entrance induced. The press of our people, the stalls crowded with all forms of merchandise, the literal tower of clever, sometimes ironic, pop culture t-shirts luring us with their bright colours -- it far exceeded our experience of Wizard World in March. And we had been inside for all of twelve seconds at that point.
• Met up with The Advocate's sister and another friend -- or, rather, we met up with Minnie Mouse and Sailor Jupiter, to be more accurate. I know, I hang out with all the celebrities at these events.

AND THEN THE BLUR BEGAN. The crowd outside caught up with us in about half an hour and the floors were flooded with staggering numbers of fellow geeks. I heard the first-hand accounts of Saturday's nightmare from Minnie and Jupiter -- the two-person entrance policies, the line-ups for escalators, the general inability to move across the convention floor. Sunday was another test of claustrophobia, but, despite the ruckus, there were still great times to be had and great finds to be made.

(The infamous "Fan Shuffle" was in effect for the afternoon.)

We prowled around the autograph area and - lo - we caught sight of the ever-gorgeous Felicia Day herself. And, I can vouch for the fact that she is even more stunning in real life. I know, I didn't think it was possible either, but, it is, my dears. It still boggles my mind that she is a gamer nerd on top of being an avid reader of current fantasy and sci fi fiction. *Amorous sigh*

Minnie and Jupiter found us a secret spot to eat our lunch in relative peace (we were hanging out with the folks in line to meet William Shatner. Organizers hid them all behind a huge curtain. Serious.) Turned out this was also the spot where the celebrities passed after their signings --> Summer Glau walked within mere inches of our group. I mean, we had to shift our weary legs for her to pass, we were that close. It was more than a little surreal.

Alas, I was out of the area when The Advocate and Minnie had their encounter with Spike (aka. James Marsters). I returned and knew what had passed before a word was even uttered -- their eyes were sparking with that "OHMYGOD, SOMETHINGAMAZINGJUSTHAPPENED ANDYOU'RECRAZYBECAUSEYOUMISSEDIT" energy that only girls can muster. I am told he grinned and said "Hello there" to the sisters. I love it when convention dreams come true, especially when pretty people are involved.

In terms of merchandise, I did quite well for myself.

The Haul:

• The first Torchwood tee of the collection. Alas, the smallest size for women's tees were medium. But, "medium" seems to be a rather generous description. Either it will be tailored soon or it will become a night shirt. Bah, I wish these companies would realize girls DO want to purchase apparel at these events. Men's XXL is no longer the standard, people.
• Shin's Vivian Westwood necklace/lighter from Nana. This is now the most embarrassing, yet awesome, possession I own. It is a replica of an item featured in the greatest shoujo manga series of all time. And it is MINE. *Cackles hopelessly*

• The first three volumes of Camilla d'Errico's Tanpopo series. I did not anticipate finding the artist herself with a premium booth at FanExpo, but I was thrilled to stumble across her work there. She is best known for her gorgeous, steampunkish Helmet Girls, but her portfolio has expanded quite a bit in the last few years. Regular readers might recall I first stumbled across her work back in May at TCAF (she did a cover for Cloudscape Comic's Exploded View Vol. 4). Her new series, Tanpopo, follows the adventures of a mysterious girl who makes a pact with the Devil in order to escape the analytical mind in favour of human emotion. Each installment is built around a famous poem drawing Tanpopo further down her path to potential enlightenment. It is gorgeous, as promised. AND, I got each volume autographed with an additional quick sketch in the back of Vol. 3 by Ms. d'Errico herself. *Grin*

***

*Dizzy with remembrance*

It's still such a swirl of wondrous geekery and general niche-based consumerism. It is staggering to see how massive FanExpo has become over the last decade. I know this was the first FanExpo I attended, but, I do know the marketing forces unleashed for 2010 are unrivaled by previous years. It was made quite obvious that even the organizers had not anticipated how far-reaching their advertisement campaign would be. President and CEO, Aman Gupta, even issued an official apology to 2010 attendees for the lines, the problematic floor layout, and the general inconvenience experienced on Saturday in particular. For 2011, the entire South Metro Toronto Convention Centre has been booked, so, here's hoping the event will be more streamlined.

Regardless, the nerds will be there.

And I will be among them.

... Probably sporting that necklace from Nana because I am a blight on all humanity....

** Edit (09/06/10): For those unfamiliar with the Convention Centre layout, here's an overview of the two buildings. FanExpo 2010 was in the North Building (dark blue); in 2011, it will be in the South Building (bluish-grey). Yeah. That's a whole lot of growth in one year.

Wizard World Toronto Comic Con

I cannot fathom a photo making me look nerdier/gayer than this one and I love it.

PEOPLE. OH MY GOODNESS -- I FOUND MY PEOPLE ON SATURDAY. Or, well, one important group of people, I should amend that. I would have loved to find a flock of queer women running around dressed as anime characters, BUT -- finding the Direct Energy Centre filled to the rafters with fellow nerds was an enriching, life-affirming experience.

This weekend was the official launch to a string of spring/summer festivals celebrating all that are comics, manga, sci fi, horror, gaming, and other such desirable pursuits. It was the inaugural Wizard World convention here in Canada and Toronto responded with great enthusiasm and even more cosplay. The Advocate and I were champing at the bit to cross the threshold into that magical Universe and were pleased with the outcome. It was also my first ever comic con and, yes, I have been converted to its wonder.

In typical Moffatt fashion, I must resort to point form notes as I have much ground to cover:

• 11:30 AM: Rendezvous avec The Advocate and The Bruce for a pre-game lunch chez Liberty Village Market and Cafe. I got lost at first, which is to be expected. But, once found, I was in for a delicious lunch. Veggie wrap with an odd drink concoction (aloe and mangosteen...?) The drink was chewy. It had aloe gel in it. Yet, oddly, it was satisfying.
• Note: The Advocate and The Bruce traded in their usual identities for some cosplay characters. The duo went as Rose Tyler from Doctor Who and Arthur Dent from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, respectively. I travelled with celebrities -- serious, we got stopped for lots of photos once we were on Con grounds. I was the mild-mannered queer in the crowd.
• Where to start? We headed for the indie comics and the artist tables. It was low-key and filled with up and coming talent. Artists sold their work and were commissioned on the spot for new pieces. Definitely a trip to see them all working and getting the chance to hear them talk about their projects.
• Next up: Vendors. There were A LOT. Our trio didn't spend a whole lot of time with the mainstream comics, but you best believe I meandered around the manga. We found cute plushies of Luna from Sailor Moon and I found Nana 2 (the film) on DVD (!!) -- I'm not sure if it had English subs or not, so I steered clear. However, the vendor selling it has a store around my house so I will be stopping in soon.
• Cosplayers: No convention is complete without 'em. There were some impressive costumes there. We found Wolverine, some of the classic characters from X-Men, the cast of Hellboy, numerous Storm Troopers, Jedi knights, Battlestar Galactica soldiers, a few Batmans, a few Jokers, Ghostbusters -- EPIC. Aww, and there was a kid dressed in a Captain America costume who was too adorable.
• Found a raffle for some Steampunk swag and you best bet I entered it. It was a monogoggle attached to a leather flyer's cap. SO COOL. MUST HAVE. Please, send all those good luck vibes my way. Serious, now.
• Autograph tables: Umm.... we were all rather confused with the "celebrities." There was "So-and-So" from America's Next Top Model, "Such-and-Such" from So, You Think You Can Dance, "What's-Their-Faces" from Survivor, and other reality show commoners. And there were random pin-up girls who looked rather... false. In all aspects. And wrestlers, equally false in all their aspects. Weird.
• REAL celebrities: I got a touch star-struck when we passed Doug Jones' booth. I mean, it's Doug Jones of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth fame. And it's true, he's exceedingly thin in real life. And Ernie Hudson from the original Ghostbusters! (Hence all the folks running around dressed as Ghostbusters). His booth had a constant swell of fans around it, but it was still cool to see him from afar.
• Jewel Staite from Firefly -- I got to see The Bruce "fan-boy" in person. Ah, it's such an experience to see someone "fan out" in front of their idol. We all look the same when it happens and it still remains refreshing and humbling.
• Discovered The Bruce could cosplay as Ianto Jones from Torchwood with no issues. Serious, the two could be brothers.
• The Advocate stopped for a photo with one other fan who dressed as the Tenth Doctor... and we got sucked into an awkward, fifteen-minute conversation with said gentleman. It was the only awkward moment of the day, though, so not bad.
• I "fan-girled" when we arrived at the sword selection -- um, can we say replica swords from Bleach?! I saw Ichigo's bankai zanpakutō. And I even saw Kenpachi's katana. Mmm hmm. And as odd as that information might sound to most, I know of one reader who will understand everything I just typed.
• Met up with The Advocate's lil' sister and her boyfriend for a spell -- she dressed as Carmen San Diego, he dressed as Clark Kent mid-transformation to Superman. Again, we were stopped for photos every few metres.
• THE NERDIEST PHOTO EVER was taken at this event. Picture it: A Jedi knight took the photo of Arthur Dent and Rose Tyler having a light saber fight as Batman watched on in the background. I KID YOU NOT. This photo exists and I feel life is richer because of it.
• T-shirts: What the heck, t-shirt vendor guy. Girls like to purchase shirts from Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Battlestar Galactica. What's up with the men's medium shirts and larger only policy? It is archaic and does not reflect the current demographic of convention visitors. He tried to tell The Advocate and I that it was the gents who put down the cash, anyway, and that girls were only interested in these shirts because their boyfriends introduced it to them. As The Advocate stated, "Hey, I was the one who forced him [The Bruce] to watch Doctor Who. I was the influence." Not to mention I stumbled into anime on my own accord -- and I'm queer to boot! Whatev, t-shirt guy.
• On the upside, The Bruce found some sweet patches for his jacket -- a Viper decal from Battlestar Galactica and... I am spacing on the last one. I know it refers to another flight-related logo... from another series... ahh, can't recall it...
• The Advocate and I did some some sweet swag from Sick on Sin -- I got a cute rocket t-shirt and The Advocate got a pair of unmentionables with the Devil Cupcake on 'em.
• I somehow convinced The Advocate and The Bruce to watch wrestling. I thought there was going to be a match between Light vs. L (from Death Note) at 5 PM. There was. It just happened on Friday while we were there on the Saturday. Alas. We caught one match and, hmm. Well. It was.... hmm. It would have been far better had the opponents been dressed as anime figures or gaming characters. Ha, though, it was amusing that The Advocate's heckles for the guys to kiss did happen (partially). No make-outs, though. Still, wrestling is quite the homoerotic event.
• Note: I can't remember at what time the fire alarm was pulled, but, geeze -- talk about a buzz kill. Vendors had to jump ship and hope no one would make off with their merchandise. On the upside, we got to see a bunch of cosplayers we hadn't seen in the building as each one was forced to file out.
• Brainstormed what we could do for a group cosplay. Ideas included the casts of: Torchwood, Dead Like Me, Buffy, Battlestar Galactica (though, I think we might have to all cross dress for that one to work).... I think I am missing some. Argh, brain, you are failing me tonight.
• Once we were all overwhelmed with the might of the Comic Con, we shuffled our way to Brazen Head Irish Pub for some delicious pub fare to cap the night. Oh, veggie burger with hummus and a side of fresh cut fries. *Brain melts at the recollection* The companions savoured some classic Irish stew and meat pies. Serious, it was quite upscale establishment in there, despite the door people kept opening that chilled our group to the core. (Serious, it was cold out).
• I missed the 6:48 PM GO Train, so we hung out at The Advocate's office and drew on whiteboards until the next train arrived. I know I can't draw well, but I still love Hemoglobin the Hobgoblin (a character I created back in high school).

WOW. I know I am missing out on small details and other odd occurrences from the Con, but I was so saturated I could barely take it all in. Serious, I am so glad I went. As I said earlier, this is the first of event of numerous ones coming up this year. We've still got Anime North in May and The Toronto Comic Arts Festival and FanExpo in August among other conventions. And that's not including the literary festivals I shall attend in 2010.

I feel tired just reading all that. I need to look into volunteer opportunities for this locations. I mean, to get in there for free and perhaps mingle with the vendors and artists? Not a bad deal, if you ask me.

Thank you for your patience with this post (to those non-nerds out there). And for the nerds, this is just the tip of the iceberg. You best prepare for more updates in the coming months.