By G-Funk and Hedge
Conventions are, as we all well know, a staple of the geek lifestyle in this modern age. From San Diego Comic Con and New York Comic Con, to MCM London, Armageddon, Oz Comic Con and Supanova. High points on the geek calendar, every year sees new guests, new events, new attractions and new cosplay.
We have our usual cosplay roundups of course but we also wanted to talk a little bit about our experiences at Supanova Perth 2013. This was the second official convention for staff writer Hedge and House Overlord G-Funk, the first having been Oz Comic Con back in March. Taking place at a very different venue, Supanova boasted guests like Princess Leia herself Carrie Fisher, Margot Kidder of Lois Lane fame, Karl Urban (who I was pleased to discover thinks DREDD is as good as I think it is), the “Weasley Twins” Oliver and James Phelps, as well as geek deity Alan Tudyk and many, many more with comics guests from Australia and the international community.
The crowds were insane and according to Supanova co-founder Tim McEwan it was quite possibly the second-largest ever. Having been on that floor up there, I can believe it. The lines for both the Phelps boys and Karl Urban were immense, and placed side-by-side. Constrained at the sides this lead to one excited mass of convention-goers. Similarly the lines for Alan Tudyk and Torchwood’s Kai Own and Eve Myles seemed to grow and grow throughout the day, with only brief lulls for lunch, a panel or two and the obligatory cosplay contest.
Sadly my duties harassing cosplayers for photos meant I didn’t take in a single panel this time round, although I did get to meet some of the great celebrity guests and do my usual rounds of the comic artists alley:
Guests included:
DC Comics’ new poster boy as the man behind Earth 2, and creator of the truly excellent The Deep and Injustice comics Tom Taylor. With Nicola Scott on art, Earth 2 is going to be huge. The Aussies are taking over.
Comics king and personal hero of Funk, Chris Claremont, who we spent probably about twenty minutes just chatting to while he signed stuff for us.
Writer and artist Tristan Jones, known for Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the upcoming Sebastian Hawks: Creature Hunter.
The super talented, and all round nice guy Justin Randall who’s indie horror series Changing Ways has won international acclaim, and rightly so. He also did work on Silent Hill and 30 Days of Night.
Local artist Emily K. Smith who draws freaking amazing stuff and charged way less for prints than she could.
International super-artists Mark Brooks (photo credit to Luke Caporn and Kat Howard, much thanks guys)
George Perez (photo credit to Luke Caporn and Kat Howard, much thanks guys)
and Alex Saviuk! (photo credit to Luke Caporn and Kat Howard, much thanks guys)
We visited these and more. Got Hershey’s chocolate off Amy Wong voice actor Lauren Tom who is just as excitable and friendly as expected. I was devastated to learn I missed her panel, where she taught the attendees how to swear in Chinese, Futurama-style. Met the lovely Clare Kramer – best known as Buffy villain Glory – and had some things signed by James and Oliver Phelps, Karl Urban, Alan Tudyk, Kai Owen and Eve Myles. There were crowds galore for the knights of Merlin, and plenty of people excited to get a personal hello from Carrie Fisher, Margot Kidder and The Hoff himself.
I had my own brief Hoff moment when I needed to slip by a tall man in a collared shirt to get to the media room. Slipped between him and the wall. Touched his shoulder lightly just to let this person know I was there, with a quick “S’cuse me mate, sorry” and turned back only to discover I’d been embracing the shoulder of none other than David Hasselhoff.
As always, the exhibitors were filled to the brim with awesome merch. We visited the guys from Perth-based publisher Gestalt Comics (publishers of Changing Ways, The Deep and Torn amongst many other excellent works) a couple times, bought plenty of pretty shiny things and stood in long, long lines for food. Seriously. Long lines for food.
Daniel Falconer, production designer from WETA was nice enough to chat to us and sign our copies of The Lord of the Rings Bluray Trilogy Extended Edition Could This Name Get Longer? We bumped into The Hoff on a balcony, and chatted to the guys from Fruitless Pursuits.
But it was one event above all that truly made this a spectacular weekend. Day two of the convention, 2PM. Funk and myself and the amazing Alan Tudyk, star of screen and stage and known as Wash from Firefly, Alpha in Dollhouse, and King Candy from the recent hit Wreck-it Ralph. We spent a good while chatting to him about everything from Firefly to his early career and it was, without a doubt, a personal highpoint not only from the weekend but my life in general.
Truly a great weekend. Can’t wait for the next one.
What about you guys? Perth or beyond, what has your best convention experience been? Let us know in the comments and stick around over the coming days for more Supanova related articles.
