TORONTO - This weekend, Torontonians are likely to spot popular characters like Superman, Darth Vader and Wonder Woman traversing the downtown core en route to Comicon.
For the uninitiated, the crowds, costumes and energy can seem overwhelming, but fans of the event say the “beautiful chaos" is exactly what keeps them returning time and time again.
Upwards of 35,000 lovers of comics, sci-fi, anime and gaming are expected to pass through a packed Metro Toronto Convention Centre between Friday and Sunday.
As is tradition, a large portion of guests attend the event in cosplay, the practice of dressing up as a favourite character or pop culture figure. For many, their cosplay takes months of preparation, a scrappy attitude and sometimes, thousands of dollars.
Fans at Comicon can attend celebrity Q&As and score photo ops and autographs from a diverse lineup of renowned personalities. Familiar stars at this year’s event include Jared Padalecki from Supernatural, Karl Urban and Antony Starr from The Boys and Manny Jacinto from The Acolyte.
Aside from shopping for figurines, fan art and a wide assortment of collector’s items, folks at Comicon can also enjoy gaming booths, cosplay competitions, comic book sketch duels and anime-themed parties.
Cosplay incorporates ‘many different skills’
Max Priest and Cross Osborne, a romantic couple and self-proclaimed “proud nerds,” attended their fourth straight Comicon this weekend.
Priest, an avid figurine collector, was dressed as the “crazier version” of Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony.
They told TorontoToday they woke up at 6 a.m. and spent more than four hours getting into costume. Their makeup took nearly three hours, and their costume was hand-painted and included handcrafted charm pieces.
Osborne’s costume, meanwhile, was designed to compliment their partner’s look with several colourful pieces, including a rainbow tie.
“I love this community,” Priest said. “All my friends are cosplayers, so this weekend is just a really good time. Since the pandemic, peoples’ interest in cosplay seemed to just take off — it’s great.”
Just a few steps away, TorontoToday also spoke to Kate Neretlis, who was dressed as Fearne Calloway from the professional Dungeon and Dragons roleplay group Critical Role.
Neretlis attended the event with friend Selena Presutti-Taylor, who was dressed as Mimikyu from Pokémon.
The pair plans to attend all three days of Comicon.
Together, they spent days preparing for Friday. Neretlis devoted five hours alone to her wig, styling, crimping, brushing and curling the hairpiece to perfection.
But even those efforts didn’t compare to the 17 hours Presutti-Taylor spent crafting and detailing her cape to meet the beady-eyed, rag-like characteristics of her favourite mini Pokémon character.
For Presutti-Taylor and others, much of the appeal of Comicon is about community.
“You meet people who share your fandoms with you — so you want to look your best,” Presutti-Taylor said. “From hairstyling and makeup to sewing and acting, cosplay has so many different skills. You deserve to be able to show it off in a place where people will appreciate it.”
“It’s really nice getting recognized,” Neretlis added. “I’m dressed up as such an online thing, so there aren’t many people outside of here who would know what I’m going as. But here, I get recognized a lot, and it makes me feel happy.”
Making new connections at Comicon
Neretlis and Presutti-Taylor had just made new friends when TorontoToday caught up with the group on Friday.
Attendees CJ Johnson, who cosplayed Raven from Teen Titans, and Alessia Oppedisano, who recreated Vex'ahlia from Vox Machina, were both starstruck by Neretlis’ Critical Role costume and “had to come say hi.”
“That’s what it’s all about,” Johnson said. “It’s hard to describe what a convention like this can do for people who love such similar things. It’s a beautiful weekend of communicating with other people who mesh really well with you.”
Oppedisano, 22, fondly remembers attending her first Comicon in Toronto more than ten years ago. As a young and curious attendee, she recalled being in awe of all the creative costumes and giant props.
Now, she’s the one getting dressed up and mingling with the little ones.
“It’s really full circle,” Oppedisano said. “You get to be part of something that inspires the younger kids and the next generation. It feels like I’m a kid all over again.”
“It doesn’t matter if you’re the thousandth Spiderman in here — someone wants a photo with you,” Johnson added. “There’s always going to be a kid who really wants to say hello and get to know you. They think you’re the coolest person in the world.”
Someone all too familiar with brightening children’s days is the “Monarch Batman,” a Friday cosplayer who elected not to disclose his real name.
Several kids smiled and waved to the man dressed as a Western version of Batman during his interview with TorontoToday.
“I love taking photos with kids,” he said. “As long as everybody’s smiling and having a great time, then Comicon will always be worth it.”
The Monarch Batman’s costume was a project two months in the making. His mask was made from paper mâché, while his armour was constructed from EVA foam, plastic lids and containers. His grappling hook — a fan-favourite feature — was also homemade, he said.
Cosplayers can’t attend just one day
Batman’s friend and former co-worker, who preferred to go by “Lone Wolf Cosplayer,” has been attending Fan Expos and Comicon gatherings across southern Ontario since 2015.
The pop culture enthusiast on Friday cosplayed as Joel Miller from the video game franchise The Last of Us. Since the second season of the hit HBO show is set to be released in April, he said he felt the timing was appropriate.
The Lone Wolf Cosplayer made his holster out of real leather, while his guns and machete were custom 3D-printed. He even made the arrows himself.
But his take on the post-apocalyptic character represented just one-third of his costume design efforts, as he’ll be attending all three days of Comicon to cosplay as three completely different characters.
“I do all sorts of characters — both heroic and antagonistic,” he said. “The positive attention you get gives you a rush. All day, I’ve had people complimenting me on this costume since they’re fans of the game and the show. It’s a satisfying feeling to bring some contentment to someone else’s day.”
Today, Lone Wolf Cosplayer is returning to the convention centre as Billy Butcher from The Boys. He’s looking forward to meeting and taking photos with Karl Urban, the actor who plays the supervillain.
Attendees like Neretlis, who will also have multiple costume changes, don’t want to miss a second of this weekend’s action.
“If you try to go for just one day, you’re cramming in all your time,” she said. “Friday is a great day for shopping since we know nothing is sold out and it’s not as busy. The costumes get even more elevated on Saturday, so there’s always something new to see and do.”
Toronto Comicon is on at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre until 8 p.m. on Saturday and returns on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
General admission tickets are $39 after 4 p.m. today and $34 on Sunday.