One thing I can’t get enough of are comic book conventions. I started attending eight years ago and haven’t looked back. If you’ve never been (and are at all interested in comics) I encourage you to check out at least one if it’s within a reasonable distance. I promise, you won’t experience anything like it as they have an energy all their own.
This passed weekend Wizard World delivered their comic convention to Toronto, Canada. It was an inaugural event here in Canada but there were no shortage of attendees. While the list of guests was not as huge as I would have liked, there were some interesting names. Firefly’s Jewel Staite, Battlestar Galactica’s Kandyse McClure and Luciana Carro, Buck Roger’s Gil Gerard and Erin Gray, and Caprica’s own Magda Apanowicz.
A couple very notable appearances were made by Bob Clark, The legendary Gorn Captain from Star Trek and a personal favorite Doug Jones, best known for his portrayal of The Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Jones, well known for his very articulate portrayal of movement in the roles he takes on also played Abe Sapien in both Hellboy movies.
Wrestling through the wall of fans I didn’t have a lot of time with Jones but did manage to ask him how he came to take on such a specialized type of acting.Jones said it all started with a commercial he did for McDonald’s in 1986. Portraying the “Mac Tonight” character, the role lead to 27 more commercials and as he put it, “One job lead to another.”
Producers became acquainted with his work and before long the roles steadily came in. Quite a humble beginning for an amazing actor. Oh, and did I mention I got a hug from Jones after expressing my sincere enjoyment of his work. No? Well, I got hugged by The Silver Surfer! What can I say, I’m a fanboy.
Yet, for all the names in attendance one man appeared to dominate the convention. Ghostbuster himself, Ernie Hudson. I don’t remember a single moment when Hudson didn’t have a crowd in front of his booth. It was a clear indicator of just how much Ghostbusters has engrained itself on pop culture. Moreover, when the new film hits screens expect an enormous turnout.
With that, I know why you’re here and it’s not to listen to me wax poetic about actors. If there’s one thing comic conventions are known for it’s the costumes. This particular weekend there was no shortage of them.
Some characters I knew, others I didn’t, and then there were those that I simply needed to snap a picture of for reasons no greater than complete gratuity (you’ll figure out which ones I’m sure). That being the case, let me stop talking and present the guests and cozplayers of Wizard World, Toronto 2010.
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