Thoughts & Things

Forest City Comic-Con 2017

For the third year in a row, I have attended Forest City Comic-Con in London, Ontario. It's a fairly decent sized convention, especially given that it is outside of the Greater Toronto Area, and especially given that it is not the city's largest annual comic-con (that would be London Comic-Con). For the third year in a row, I have had an absolute blast, despite how physically draining they can be for me.

The three guests I was most excited about were Amber Nash (the voice of Pam Poovey in Archer), Billy Boyd (Pippin in Lord of the Rings), and Jeff Lemire (comic writer and artist, best known for works such as Sweet Tooth, Descender, and Essex County). Amber Nash was absolutely hilarious, with numerous stories to tell as she drank a glass of wine. Billy Boyd is a childhood crush of mine, so it was quite the novelty to see him in person; as well, he was charmingly hilarious, and was served "second breakfast" by the convention. Jeff Lemire's panel was much more low key, but he answered all of the questions well, and he later signed my copy of Descender (addressed to Eliza-Bot, as it is a comic with robots).

My favourite part of any and every gathering of nerds, is talking to other nerds, and being able to support lesser known projects. I have talked, on more than one occasion, about how much I enjoy supporting lesser known writers and artists (for example, "Supporting the Underdog Books"  or "Supporting Local Talent" ), and conventions are one of the best places to do this. Small local vendors are selling their products (usually with good deals on), independent artists and writers are there to represent and sell their work, and there always seems to be a little something for everybody. I was able to find comics and art that I might never have found on my own, and buy it for an affordable price, all while interacting with the creators of those projects. I was able to see friendly faces that I recognised from previous conventions, such as artists and writers that I had bought books or art from before. It's an amazing way to connect with creators, find something new and amazing, and get some good deals along with it. It's also something to consider for any writers or artists who might be considering making an appearance at conventions as a creator. For some of us, that is among the best part of the day.

Although I ended up having to leave earlier than I wanted to for health reasons (and I had really been hoping to see the 404s improv comedy group again, but had to leave before their show), I had an absolutely wonderful time. It feels so good to connect with like-minded people, discover new books and art, see a few famous faces, and come home with some new swag. If you've ever wondered if a comic-con is for you, I personally can't recommend them enough.