Every year there are hundreds of Cons in North America, they range from minor to massive. Their guests include celebrities from all genres and their attendees range from the initiates to the enthusiasts. I have had the pleasure of attending Canada Fan Expo now for 3 years straight, and it has continued to impress each time.
For those that don’t know Fan Expo is Canada’s version of San Diego Comic Con. Founded in 1995 as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo by Hobby Star Marketing Inc, it was purchased in 2013 by Informa Canada Inc. On average the Expo has 125,000 attendees over a four day weekend. The Expo is held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre which has over 750,000 square feet of space that is thoroughly filled for the event. Touchwood Public Relations handles the media including yours truly. My experiences with them have been wonderful so far.
Fan Expo is considered by some to be the 3rd largest gathering in North America. It has brought a who’s who of comic creators including some legendary names including the one and only Stan Lee. This year celebrates his final appearance at any Con in Canada, it is an event I will not miss, even if I have to pay huge money to see him.
Since Fan Expo is so big and Comics Bulletin has only a few writers based out of Canada I’ve decided to begin a build up to the event. While the even won’t happen until September 1-4, I feel that some of the names already attributed to the event deserve some recognition.
As of April 5th, 2016 the following celebrities will be attending.
Stan Lee – Legendary Creator – Adored by many Stan Lee is the Co-Creator of Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and hundreds of others. In my opinion the Father of Marvel comics and the single greatest creator in comic history. Only his co-creator Jack Kirby holds a place in history as important as Stans and the two helped to influence every single generation of creators since.
Eldon Henson – Foggy Nelson – Daredevil – An actor that is best known for his current role as Foggy Nelson on the Netflix series Daredevil, Eldon also starred in the beloved Might Ducks Trilogy. He was announced the same day as his Daredevil co-stars.
Jon Bernthal – Frank Castle/Punisher – Daredevil – Jon Bernthal is an American actor best known for his role as Shane Walsh on the AMC series The Walking Dead, he has recently brought the Punisher to life on Daredevil. If you haven’t seen him he portrayed the vigilante so well it was frightening at times.
Charlie Cox – Matt Murdock/Daredevil – Daredevil – An English born actor, Charlie is best known for his role as Daredevil. He brings life to the character, making the show a must watch and binge worthy.
Frank Miller – Writer/Creator/Artist & Film Director – One of the few comic creators that has crossed over into almost every genre of entertainment, Frank Miller is the writer responsible for what is considered one the greatest Batman story ever told The Dark Knight. He also helped to bring the age of grittiness into comics. Wolverine, Daredevil and many others would not be the characters they are without his writing. He’s bringing with him his team of co-creators on his recent Dark Knight III: The Master Race series.
Kevin Smith/Jason Mewes – Writer/Actor/Pod Casters – If you haven’t watched any of Kevin Smith’s View Askew Movies you have been missing out on some fun. Playing the duo of Jay & Silent Bob over a series of 6 movies and at least one cameo, Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith are two of the funniest friends I have ever seen. They will be on stage with their Jay and Silent Bob Get Old show. It should be entertaining.
Jack Gleeson – Actor – Game of Thrones – Jack Gleeson is by far the most hated character on HBO’s Game of Thrones. So much so that fans applauded when he died. The talent to make millions of people hate your character to that level is nothing but amazing. Hopefully fans will applaud him for his efforts.
John Cusack – Actor – John Cusack is an actor, producer and screenwriter. Cusack is beloved for his early work from the 1980’s, most notably the films “Better Off Dead” and “Say Anything”. He has long been one of the best underated actors in Hollywood and so far was my biggest surprise attendee for Fan Expo.
The Companions – Billie Piper, Alex Kingston, Michelle Gomez and Freeman Agyeman – For all you Whovians four of the Doctors companions will be attending. It should be a great event and a great panel.
Christopher Lloyd – Actor – Best known as Doc Brown from the Back to the Future Trilogy, Christopher Lloyd is an American icon. Winner of three Emmy’s Lloyd is a great addition to the Expo. Hopefully they get a DeLorean for photo ops.
John Barrowman – Actor/Singer – Just announced on April 5th Barrowman is best known for his time on Doctor Who as Captain Jack Harkness a character so popular he got his own show. He currently spends his time on the CW series Arrow. Recently I discovered he also has a music cd. After listening to it I can say that the man has a great set of pipes.
Jewel Staite and Alan Tudyk – Firefly – Stars of one of the most respected television shows in history that ever ran a single season, these two should need little introduction. Firefly revolutionized modern sci-fi yet would never get the credit that it deserved, neither did either of these two actors.
As if all the names before weren’t enough, recently Fan Expo announced a Star Trek 50th Anniversary panel, starring Kate Mulgrew, Brent Spiner, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, and William Shatner. My inner geek exploded when this was announced as I’ve always been a fan.
Last but not least they announced Sigourney Weaver an Oscar nominated actress and the star behind 4 Alien Movies, 2 Ghostbusters, and a main character in the biggest box office movie in history Avatar. I was totally amazed Fan Expo got her, and I’m happy beyond belief I might get to meet her in person.
As of right now this is the list. Since we are only 4 months away I’m certain even more names will be added to it. It’s hard to imagine how many more great guests the Expo might get. If the current rosters quality is the yard stick that Expo’s are being held to I can only cross my fingers that this year will be the biggest show yet.