Saying the Supanova Comic Con & Gaming Expo is a little more than a nerd and geek fest is pulling far too short a straw for the event; rather, it is one rich with amazing artists and cosplayers (one and the same usually), TV and film stars, authors and exhibitors from all over the world. It is, quite simply put, ‘The Pop Culture Hub’.
This year I picked up my event guide, threw on my ‘The Iris’ shirt and got my first gig covering the event as a Media guest in Sydney this year and it was grand.
Having been to Supanova for the last five years, it’s fair to say the event has endured some serious teething issues, such as crowd control in super star lines for autographs and photos, too many booths squeezed together under one roof and the general floor plan being a bit of a mess.
But for its 2017 event – where expanded its branding to the longer “Supanova Comic Con & Gaming Expo” – it seems the event has come out the other side. Putting it bluntly, I’ve been blown away. Even with the massive announcement that Chris Hemsworth would make an appearance (sadly only on the Sunday and I covered Saturday), the lines stayed strong and the Supanova volunteers were fantastic. Whoever was running the show this year really needs to be applauded.
My Saturday coverage of the event consisted of wandering through the huge variety of stalls including local and international artists full of fan art and comics/graphic novels, figurines and statues, toy and prop weapons from fan favourite films and Anime. A highlight for me was seeing Frew Publications promoting The Phantom comics and the launch of their first major change in 80 years, the series Kid Phantom.
New independent films were being showcased such as Project Eden: Vol 1 with Stargate SG-1 star Cliff Simon and critically acclaimed Australian TV series Cleverman with star Hunter Paige- Lochard and some more of the cast and crew a part of a panel I sadly had to miss due to conflicting events. This is one of many reasons to try to attend more than one day – trying to do everything and see everyone in one day is impossible.
The stars I followed on Saturday the most were Steven Yuen (The Walking Dead), showcasing a panel in the afternoon promoting his new film Okja (airing on Netflix June 28th) and of course talking about behind the scenes and his demise in The Walking Dead TV series. Christopher Judge (Stargate SG-1) keeping hush about his character of Kratos for the new PlayStation 4 title God of War and lending us some of his amazing toilet humour during the behind the scenes talk about Stargate SG-1. Voice actor Jennifer Hale made an appearance and spoke boldly about the ‘2017 Voice Actor Strike’ and giving a tough nod towards some actors that were offensively replaced during this time.
In-between panels I went and met with the above stars and some others for photos or autographs such as Colin Donnell (Arrow and Chicago Med), Julie Benz (TV’s Buffy and Dexter) and the incredibly popular Dean Cain and Terri Hatcher (TV’s old school Lois and Clark). Some even sneaking in a photo with the fan favourite Thomas Wilson (Biff Tannen in Back to the Future).
The now local event mascot John Jarett (Mick Taylor in Wolf Creek) attended again this year and was creepy and wonderful all the same. I could go on, they really outdid themselves this year. The line up of stars and the arrangement of placing it under two domes to ease crowds and congestion was a fantastic move and I cannot wait to see how Sydney fares again next year. Next up is Supanova Perth and I am sure it will be just as eventful for the fans and the guest stars. Now to start saving my money for next year’s line up!
Supanova Pop Culture Expo Sydney was held Friday 16th to Sunday 18th June at the Sydney Showgrounds.
Want more? Perth’s Supanova will be held Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th June at the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre. Brisbane will be held Friday 10th to Sunday 12th November at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre. And Adelaide will get their event from Friday 17th to Sunday 19th November at the Adelaide Showground.
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