So just what happens at the Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Expo in Sydney?

Supanova Comic-Con & Gaming is back for another round of panel heavy indulgence with our favourite screen and gaming stars and amazing fan-made Cosplay, artists and merchandise stalls and some intense gaming for young and old at heart.

Some of my favourite people of the day and my interactions are pictured below, as it stands, I cannot wait to see what we get next year in Sydney, it was an absolute blast at this year’s Supanova.

Saturday the 16th June was probably one of the quieter days for super-star fan question panels, but I made up for it by sinking head over heels into some amazing stalls, fantastic human beings and incredible looking promotional stalls and merchandise stands.

There is a hell of a lot to fit into a con like Supanova,  but having two halls to make your way through sure makes a huge difference to a few years ago when everything was crammed into one big dome. This year I was able to walk around and breath a little better, stalls were well placed in the huge Olympic Park Dome along with the Supa-Star autograph and photo booths.

Then there was the Artist Alley, which consisted of some of the best artists from Australia and around the world selling their work. One of my favourites this year was Mark Raats, LucasFilm artist and a local artist at that, whose amazing work has featured on many a poster including the recent promotional new Solo film art he had placed in Melbourne’s CBD!

In The Cosplay Theatre, all those wonderfully incredible costume designers were able to show off their hard work and passion, and in the Film-Ink Theatre most of the stars panels were held, leaving plenty of leg-room for stalls and stars to shine back in the Dome.

Talking about stalls, this year had a huge boost in major companies such as Nintendo (demoing the Nintendo Switch), Bethesda (Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset and Fallout 76) and even Universal, who set up a huge section of the Dome to promote the anticipated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom with VR headsets for people to sit down and be chased by a T-Rex or witness the birth of a baby dino.

It was by far one of the best weekends I have ever experienced at the event, proving the event really does I mprove as the years go by. The stars this year included plenty of personal favourites: Stephen Amell (Arrow), Finn Jones (Iron Fist & Game of Thrones), video-game veterans actors Nolan North & Troy Baker (Uncharted & The Last of Us, Retro Replay), Nolan North’s rising star son Cooper North (Upcoming film The Great Race and cameos in Young Sheldon & Fresh Off The Boat) whontagged along as well and was an absolute pleasure to meet.

Then let’s not forget The Flash‘s Carlos Valdes and Constantine himself Matt RyanRichard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of The Third Kind), Kathleen Turner (Who Frames Roger Rabbit, Romancing The Stone) and the one and only Chuck Norris (Walker: Texas Ranger).

There is something for everyone in the geek and nerd realms at the Nova, gaming competitions are becoming bigger with the inclusion of the E-Sports League and other major outlets setting up their gaming rigs to show off and live Wrestling, because why not? A huge thank you to all the Volunteers this year, every single one of you did an amazing job, I am not sure how you do it!

Only a few negatives this year, the lack of room to move around the wrestling ring once the wrestling actually started, having it far too close to the wall made getting to a panel or a photo session an absolute nightmare if you wanted to avoid walking around the entire dome. On a more personal opinion, I really hope we see the inclusion of digital photo options next year, certain other Cons have introduced it and the ability to not have to walk around with your precious prints and have them destroyed by the crowds would be awesome.

Check out the other photos of the weekend’s events here by our photographer Nathan Atkins.

Until then, the con continues at Perth this coming weekend on the 22nd-24th June at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. Go to the official Supanova page for more details. 

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