Fan Expo Vancouver

Fan Expo Vancouver: We Chat With Some Amazing Local Cosplayers!

by Mikaela MaxwellNovember 14, 2017

After Fan Expo Vancouver 2016 I could not wait to see more cosplay at this year’s event. I knew I wanted to get more of an inside scoop on what it’s like to be a cosplayer and what inspires these people to spend so much time, money, and effort on their outfits, so I decided to get in there and ask!

I was super nervous to talk to people, but found out pretty quickly people don’t mind sharing. The thing with cosplayers is they know going into this type of convention that they are going to be stopped every three steps for someone to take a photo, and they’re into it. Heck, I would be too if I had put hours and hours of work into a costume.

Here are a few of the conversations had with cosplayers this year:

Who are you cosplaying as?
I am Jupiter Jones from the movie Jupiter Ascending. It’s a bit of an obscure movie even though it had really big characters in it, Channing Tatum was in it, Mila Kunis is Jupiter Jones.

What got you into Cosplay?
I love Halloween, I love making costumes, I love making things. Dressing up and being able to express myself is a lot of fun.

What was the first Cosplay that you did?
Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

That’s rad, did it take you a really long time?
Not as long as this one. This one took about 150 hours, because each of the gems and flowers is individually glued on.

What is your favourite character that you’ve cosplayed?
Probably this one, it’s been the most fun. Although I did a remake of Rainbow Bright in armour and that was fun, but it was not as fun as this.

What cosplay do you want to do next?
Have you seen the movie The Fifth Element? In it there is a blue alien called the Diva Plavalaguna, I am cosplaying that one in a competition in May.

Cool! Where is the competition?
In Prince George, it’s a huge competition, in its third or fourth year this year. [in Northern BC, Canada] The convention is small, but it’s almost as big as this, if that makes sense. And they do quite a large cosplay completion.

Who are you cosplaying as?
Dva’s mech. from Overwatch.

How long have you been doing cosplay?
I haven’t done very much cosplay, I actually do balloons as a job most of the year.

So is this the first time you’ve made an outfit out of it?
Not the first time!

How long have you been doing this?
Eight years. I started learning at festivals and stuff, then got a little bit more inspired every time.

Why did you choose to do this cosplay?
The voice actress who plays the character, there is a character who drives the mech. [Dva], she was here yesterday. That totally influenced my decision to make the matching mech..

Did you get to meet her?
Yeah, I did, she was really happy. You know, mission accomplished!

What is the next cosplay you want to do?
Oh my gosh. It depends on what comes out. It’s always gonna be something big, like bigger than a person size. One year it was Baymax [from Big Hero Six], on year it was T-Rex. Maybe I’ll bring back the Megazord, it’s been on my to-do list, but it’s a bit ambitious.

Follow on Instagram: @kwlballoons

Who are you cosplaying today?
I am The Doof Warrior of Mad Max: Fury Road.

How long did it take you to put this together?
Including shopping, maybe like eight hours?!

What got you into cosplay?
Isn’t this a question!
I’ve only done it twice, so I wouldn’t say I’m “into it”. It’s something that I can show what inspires me. It shows people what has influenced my life. The first time I did it, it was a little bit strange, people talk to you as if you are the character, not as if you’ve made something. So it’s also like you can so how what has inspired you has also influenced a lot of other people.

That must be great insight into other people’s way of thinking.
Yeah, you can immediately tell: he’s one of mine.

What do you want to do next?
No plans, but I like repurposing things, as opposed to making things from scratch, because I have school and a lot of other things. So this was Halloween things cobbled together, and I think that worked pretty well. So things that can be made from in house materials like clothes and the like, things that are practical.

Follow on Instagram: @takimusic

What are you cosplaying as today?
Taako from The Adventure Zone

What inspired you to do this cosplay?
I just recently got into McElroy content, the guys who make this show, and they are really great. It’s a really inclusive show, it’s super funny, and the character is really relatable and hilarious.

What character do you want to do next?
Oh gosh that’s hard, probably Korra from Legend of Korra.

What got you into cosplay?
This is my first convention ever! It’s just more of seeing a lot of stuff online, and seeing a lot of creators and people who are really experienced with cosplay, and wanting to get to that level.

How long did this one take you to put together?
Over the course of a couple of months just pieces here and there. Not a lot of intensive labour, just mostly going to thrift stores and finding clothes. Over all probably about ten hours.

What is your favourite part of Fan Expo so far?
All the costumes, I love seeing all the people dressed in their costumes and meeting people who recognize my costume and things like that. It’s really rewarding.

Follow on Instagram: @jamiekusack

What are you cosplaying as today?
I’m dressed as Ho-Oh from Pokémon.

What inspired you to do this cosplay?
You know it was kind of a last minute thing, I didn’t think I was going to come this year, but I really wanted to and I had a lot of red fabric, so I just kind of made it!

How long did it take you to put together?
I think the top took me about two days maybe, and the rest I just kind of added to it from stuff I already owned.

Have you done cosplay before?
This is my first time in public, but I do have other that I have done.

What do you want to do next?
I don’t know, I was thinking with my sister to do a pairs cosplay. Either Link and Navi, or Magicarp and Gyarados.

What’s been your favourite thing at Fan Expo so far?
I didn’t get here until a little while ago, but I just love the atmosphere. The community is always so welcoming.

Follow on Instagram: @chelo.cm

Who are you cosplaying today?
Azura, from Fire Emblem Fates.

What inspired you to do this cosplay?
Ever since I first played the game I immediately fell in love with the character. I really loved the dress that she wore in the cutscene in conquest, where she tries to break some sort of curse, I thought that was really cool.

How long did it take you to put this together?
It took me a while, I had a bit of time issues with the cosplay, getting the wig was the easy bit though.

Have you done cosplay before?
I have, last year was my first time cosplaying. Last year I cosplayed Princess Zelda, from the Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

What is your next project?
I’ve got a lot of ideas in my head right now, I just don’t know which one to pick. I’m thinking about Ruby, Black Butler, Sword Art Online.

Follow on Facebook: Paige Dempsey

What are you Cosplaying as today?
Logan, from Wolverine.

What inspired you to do this cosplay?
The 2013 movie The Wolverine, started doing it then, just for Halloween. Then the last two years Comic Cons.

Have you done cosplay before?
Just on Halloween, then I found out there was such a thing as comic cons. Then I was like whaaat, I can do this every weekend if I can find a con somewhere around the world?

How many have you been too?
San Diego the last three years, Tokyo comiket, Singapore, Manila, one in Malaysia, Salt Lake City, one in Columbia, one in Mexico City, and a few other ones.

Do you have other cosplays that you wear?
This is a one trick pony.

Is there any other cosplay you would like to do in the future?
Yes, I really want to do Hector from Westworld.

Follow on Instagram: @CanadianWolverine

What are you dressed as today?
I am Princess Peach from the Mario series.

What inspired you to do this outfit?
I don’t have that many really girlie costumes, so I wanted to do something different, bright and fun. And she certainly is.

What inspired you to start doing cosplay?
I have been into anime and stuff since a young age and played video games growing up, and then it was a natural progression, I eventually found cosplay. I’ve always been creative and liked to sew.

How long have you been doing cosplay?
I want to say since I was 15, and I am 20 now, so about 5 years.

What cosplay do you want to do next?
I want to do Ashelin from the Jak and Daxter series.

Follow on Instagram: @spiralintohorror

What are you dressed as today?
I am dressed as Sweetums from The Muppets.

How long did it take you to put this together?
I started working on it about three months ago, but it was about 3 weeks total work time I would say.

What inspired you to do this as your cosplay?
I’ve always been a massive Jim Henson fan, so I’ve always wanted to do some kind of costume of his. Then I didn’t really want to do a hand puppet, so Sweetums was always my favourite really big crazy character, and I finally got to the point in my cosplay-ability where I was like yeah I could probably make that!

How long have you been doing cosplay?
About three years now?

Is this your favourite cosplay you have done so far?
I don’t know, I did Babar last year, which was really great. So I really liked Babar as well, but this one is much more comfortable, just really warm.

What is the next cosplay you want to do?
I’ve been thinking about doing Ludo from Labyrinth, maybe. But I am gonna coast on this one for a while, for Emerald City Comic Con. I just need to modify it and put some fans in the head.

Follow on Instagram: @jeff_porter_creative

What are you cosplaying as today?
Link, from Legend of Zelda.

What inspired you to be Link?
I just like it because he is a cool character.

What do you want to do as your next cosplay?
Deadpool!

Is this the first time you’ve cosplayed?
No, last year I was Harry Potter, which was a pretty cool costume.

Have you been to other Conventions with your cosplays?
No, only this one.

Follow ‘Link’s’ Dad on Instagram: @glasscannon.ca

What are you cosplaying as today?
I am Loki of Asgard.

What inspired you to do this cosplay?
I am so mischievous, just like Loki is, so he is like a part of me, he’s like a part of my soul. I absolutely love him.

How long did it take you to do this?
This is not even completed yet, it’s still in progress, but this has been how many months now? We’ve been working on it for about three or four months. And I still have to create some armour pieces to finish it off.

Are you going to take it to other Cons?
Oh definitely.

Where are you heading to next?
Probably Capitol City Comic Con, which will be in Victoria in March. And then after that not sure yet.

Have you done cosplay before?
Yes, I am from Toronto, so I have done these at Fan Expo Toronto. I have also gone as Tank girl, Pikachu, and Darth Talon.

What’s your favourite one so far?
Loki, I feel I can play Loki more than I can play some of the other ones.

Do you have an cosplay you would like to do in the future?
I’d like to actually do a Mystique, cause I do a lot of FX make-up and stuff like that, and I think I couls pull off something really cool.

Follow on Facebook: Gynnie Vi (aka Ginger Vicious, Burlesque persona)

Can you tell me what you are cosplaying as?
Chappie.

What inspired you to do this cosplay?
Chappie is my absolute favourite person in the world. Chappie is consciousness. Chappie is alive.

How long did it take you to make?
Three months.

Is this your first cosplay?
This is my second big one. I did a Xenomorph from the Aliens movie.

What is your next project?
I have no idea.

Are you going to get to wear this a few more times?
Probably. I think I am going to go to Victoria in March, or maybe Animerevo in August.

Follow on Instagram: @wartoast_cosplay

Here’s Some Of The Coolest Cosplay From This Year’s Fan Expo Vancouver!

by Mikaela MaxwellNovember 14, 2017

We had so much fun at this year’s Fan Expo Vancouver.

From a long-anticipated Skyrim VR demo, to some amazing panels and performances, this year’s Fan Expo Vancouver was a treasure trove of great memories. We saw a ton of people, spent too much money, and laughed harder than we had in as long as we can remember (read all about my experience here).

I had the opportunity to interview a myriad of cool cosplayers, so be sure to look out for another cosplay-focussed piece in the coming days. There were simply too, too many incredible cosplay artists roaming the show floor (and surrounding area), however, so here’s a look at some of the very best cosplay outfits that Fan Expo Vancouver attendees had to offer!

Harley Quinn – aliferouxs, Joker – mxrningstar

50’s Leia – kerri_lowe, Snow White – Eleighapie

Eileen The Crow – spearhead_solaire

Ursula – marcrovich

Wood Elf – tiramisuterror

Ariel and Snow White – dc_sisters_cosplay, Assassin’s Creed – lullabyedespise, tribalbob41
Cyber Rin – Mahoumelon, Cruella Deville – Shaylakeelymay

Judge Dredd – ctmonks, The Countess – anigma-ashley

Enchanted Princess Kingdom

Leia Staked Jaba The Hutt – amyleeradigan

Carrhunger

The Boss – laurenbamlett

Pikachu – Michael Wang

Left Sharks – vodkablitz, twizzleys, kaitienicholas

But wait, there’s more! I had the opportunity to ask some really cool cosplayers some questions about their work. From an amazing Chappy, to Dva’s mech (made of balloons), to a Jupiter Jones dress that took over 150 hours to make, it’s all pretty incredible. Look for that piece in the next few days!

Fan Expo Vancouver: 15 Minutes With ‘Skyrim VR’ Was More Than Enough To Sell Me On It

by Derek KraneveldtNovember 10, 2017

Somehow, I missed out on Skyrim for years.

The game first launched for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC six years ago this week. I remember bringing the game home from my local Blockbuster Video shortly after its release and enjoying the hell out of the introduction, my first dragon sighting, and escaping through the Helgen dungeon.

Then, the world opened up, I was immediately overwhelmed, and I almost immediately lost interest.

Years passed, and in 2016 Bethesda released the Skyrim: Special Edition for PS4 and Xbox One. I decided to give the game another chance, and this time around I was immediately hooked. I’ve still only put a paltry 40 or so hours into this version of the game (which is a lot for me), but for weeks after launch I was enthralled with this world, and nearly everything in it.

Earlier this year, Bethesda put me in a bit of a predicament. See, while others online are making memes and talking about how Bethesda is ‘beating a dead horse’ by releasing Skyrim again, I was busy trying to decide which version of the game I wanted to buy next (I’ve only purchased the game once in the past six years, which is apparently far fewer copies than everyone else).

Did I want Skyrim for the Nintendo Switch, complete with Zelda gear, in a format that I could play while at home or while on the go? Or did I want to return to the world of Skyrim in Virtual Reality… and only in Virtual Reality?

Today at Fan Expo Vancouver (which Sony sponsors, and thus has a hearty sized booth at) I finally had the opportunity to try out Skyrim VR just days before its launch next week, and just days before I needed to come to a decision, as Skyrim for both Nintendo Switch and PlayStation VR launch on the same day.

Before I talk about the game – a couple of quick notes (and oddities) about the experience at the PlayStation booth. I was a little surprised that the company wasn’t showing off the about-to-launch, more streamlined version of the PlayStation VR headset. The new version supports HDR passthrough (a feature sorely lacking from the original headset), better, thinner cabling, a new (and smarter) location for the headhone jack, and a much more comfortable looking headset with cabling build right into the device. Speaking of headsets, the strangest part of the entire experience was that, well, there weren’t any. Sony was showing off a rich, beloved, and familiar title on a beyond-immersive new platform (to an audience that likely has largely not experienced VR before), but half of the immersion (the audio) was missing. I think that there were a couple of small speakers somewhere behind me, but they were nigh-inaudible amidst the loud convention atmosphere.

You begin the demo en route to Bleak Falls Barrow… I guess that Bethesda decided freaking people out with a giant-ass Frostbite Spider could be a great introduction to VR (and just how much more terrifying things can be in VR). You begin with a bunch of gear (sword, shield, bow, a few spells, etc) so that you can spend your short time in Skyrim walking around and fighting instead of needing to collect loot.

Within the first moment, I realized just how brilliant an idea it was to bring Skyrim to VR, and especially to Playstation VR. As a PSVR owner, it doesn’t take long to realize that most of the games or experiences (aside from a few exceptions like Resident Evil VII) on the platform look and feel stylistically simpler, and in many cases simply don’t feel as deep as a typical gaming experience would.

With Skyrim VR, you’re pretty much just playing Skyrim… in VR. It’s an older game, and by today’s standards while it has some excellent art design, it looks pretty freaking dated. This makes it a perfect fit for PlayStation VR, as the PS4 seems to run the game swimmingly. The game looked no worse (or better) than Skyrim: Special Edition did last year, and it appears to run extremely smoothly, even with several characters in action and particle based weather effects (like snow) all over the screen.

I do have to say, it feels pretty magical to be able to freely look around this world. I found that while on my way to Bleak Falls Barrow a multitude of things were catching my eye, from different plants to grazing animals, to the surprisingly immersive change in weather effects (you almost expect to feel cold when you notice the first flakes of snow), to the always incredible vistas of the world around you. I found myself actually taking the time to see it, rather than just running by it. I’m sure it’s a feeling that won’t last, but at first it feels pretty incredible.

At no point during my 15-minute stint with the game did I feel any motion sickness (though at times running down stairs did make my stomach drop). Movement felt smooth and natural, and by default the game incorporates the ‘pie chart’ turning method that has become popular with other first person VR games (turning the right stick will jump your character about 30 degrees in the relative direction). While using the DualShock 4 controller (the only option available at the booth, unfortunately) aiming ranged weapons felt natural, as in this version of the game you’ll simply move your head to move the crosshairs.

The UI itself definitely had a couple of oddities. First, status bars like health and stamina are at the bottom of your screen and typically out of view unless you physically look down. I imagine it’s a means to keep as much information out of your viewing area as possible so you can absorb more of the world around you, and while simply walking around the lack of distraction was certainly welcome. During combat, however, this becomes annoying as hell, as you actually need to look away from your current enemy to see if you’re really in any sort of danger. Second, when information (text) does appear on screen, unlike on a traditional display where you can simply glance your eyes towards it without turning your head, the text in the game (like pretty much any PlayStation VR title, is only really clear if you’re looking right at it. This isn’t really an issue, per-se, but it can be pretty jarring at times.

Again, this is freaking Skyrim. If you loved it six years ago, discovered it later, or bought it again last year, this is Bethesda’s brilliant, immersive, spend-your-whole-life-in-this-world fantasy RPG. I was enthralled with this demo, and this is before I ever got to explore any of the giant cities, before I got to see a single dragon, before I even got to talk to the arrow in the knee guy, I did nothing. It was 15 short minutes, but that was more than enough time to have me ready to hand in my $80 come Friday morning.

Yeah, I still have some questions. I don’t want to play the game with a DualShock. The PlayStation Move controllers bring another new dimension to the title, and it’s the only way that I want to experience this game. The 1:1 swordplay, two-handed archery, aiming a spell from each hand in two different directions – these are all things that I haven’t experienced in VR yet, and they’re all things that sound freaking awesome. At the same time, how does one go about efficiently moving around this giant world that was never built with VR in mind while holding two glowing wands that don’t have any analog sticks on them.

I guess only time will tell. In any case, I can’t wait to jump back into Skyrim when it hits PlayStation VR on November 17th.

A First Timer’s Cosplay Experience: Fan Expo Vancouver 2014

by Derek KraneveldtMay 19, 2014

Cosplaying is something that I’ve always had an interest in, and I’m beginning to think that I’d like to take that interest even further. I put together a costume for this year’s Fan Expo Vancouver (check out my awesome experience at the Expo here) and was actually quite proud of my work. It was suggested that I share with you my experiences with making my first costume and just the act of cosplaying as well, so here we go!

I had decided (and had this decided for quite awhile before knowing I was going to a convention) that I would dress up as San from the Studio Ghibli film Princess Mononoke. Studio Ghibli films have always held a big ol’ spot in my heart as My Neighbour Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service were two of my favourite movies growing up. I would sometimes catch glimpses of Princess Mononoke when my older brother was watching, but I found it too scary back then and had a hard time getting through the whole thing. Okkoto (the white boar god) really freaked me out! Anyways, when I was older I watched Princess Mononoke myself and thought it was so awesome. I loved how it reflected our world and showed how destructive it really is against our beautiful forests and the animals that live there. The movie made me want to be like San, to live for the animals and to protect them from nasty humans. So, basically, I wanted my first cosplay to be something I related to and also just really liked the look of! I also thought it’d be a pretty simple costume to make (ha).

Making the costume was…interesting. I didn’t really have any sewing skills whatsoever. I mean, I could sew pieces of fabric together but it never looked nice and I lose motivation very quickly if I feel like I’m failing at something, however, I was determined to cosplay at the upcoming Fan Expo, so I went for it anyways.

I didn’t think I could sew up my own dress at this point so I decided to go to the thrift store in hopes to find a navy blue dress that could easily be altered to look like San’s. I did end up finding one, but it ended up being the most uncomfortable article of clothing I had ever put on, therefore it just wouldn’t work. Thankfully I realized I had a long navy dress sitting in a bag of hand-me-down clothes in my closet. The dress being a little on the large side, made tailoring it to fit my body a lot of “fun”. In the end it all worked out and was also super comfortable! The white over shirt/apron that goes over the blue dress was just a plain white t-shirt I found at the thrift store and cut the living daylights out of!

The necklace was difficult but a fun challenge to take on. The white “teeth”(I believe they are) I made with air dry clay, then used some wooden beads I found at Michaels, put them on a long piece of ribbon, and yay I had the necklace! One tooth broke at one point so I had to make another one, I didn’t enjoy that much.

The armbands and headband I just made with buttons I picked out at Fabricland and with the same ribbon I used for the necklace. I decided to just tie the arm bands on in the end cause I didn’t take the time to figure out a better way to keep them on, which was kind of irritating in the end because they kept slipping down my arm, but you live and you learn, right?

My hair was already a fairly dark brown which was nice, but a little longer than I would have liked, I just really didn’t want to cut it again ‘cause I’m trying to grow it out! I also really don’t enjoy wearing wigs, so I didn’t bother with that.

For the face makeup, I used a dark red lipstick, which ended up being a really stupid idea since it doesn’t really dry, it just sits there on your face, just waiting for you to smudge it all over and make you look like a fool. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that before, just please don’t judge me.

The earrings I had at first were some blue dyed wooden hoops that I painted white but the dye was so intense it came through the white paint and made it just a light blue, also the paint was crap and had clumps in it…it just didn’t really work out, soooo I was super excited when I found an earring set at Michaels with the circular shiny shell style stuff I was looking for in the first place.

Then finally my boots. These I felt like were one of the most important components of the costume. My first attempt was ridiculous and was rather embarrassing. I attempted to make boots out of plastic, crappy, fake leather fabric. I don’t even want to get into that they looked so dumb. Anyways, I was super super lucky to find a pair of boots, again at the thrift shop, that were pretty well perfect (and fit perfectly too)! I was so excited and when I got home and altered them, they looked even better. At that point I felt a lot more confident and was eager to walk into Fan Expo in my costume! I was really quite proud of my work.

There is more to Princess Mononoke’s apparel, such as the big white fur cape, the mask, and the ears, but I didn’t like how the white fur fabric I bought looked in the end, and I was having a hard time making the mask. (I was also having a hard time motivating myself to paint and be artful)

In any case, I had so much fun wearing it all day on the 2nd day of Fan Expo. I had a few people ask for pictures, and I had pictures taken with fellow Princess Mononoke cosplayers and lots of wonderful compliments too! It was cool to see other peoples renditions and how they went about making certain parts of the costume. Most people had the white fur cape and the mask, and some even had the dagger or spear. I was really wishing I had made those parts to the costume after that, but I guess it was also more comfortable without them!

I’m now slowly getting into sewing and am eager to increase my skills to make better costumes in the future! I think cosplaying is a really fun hobby, and I can’t wait to do it again!

Fan Expo Vancouver was also my first convention EVER! You can take a look at my recap here!

A First Timer’s Convention Experience: Fan Expo Vancouver 2014

by Derek KraneveldtMay 1, 2014

This is the awesome story of my first convention adventure at this year’s Fan Expo Vancouver! Yay, more Pop! figures!

So, since this was my first expo or convention ever, I was pretty ecstatic for the whole experience. I’d heard tales of (my boyfriend) Derek’s many experiences at other conventions like San Diego Comic-Con, Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo, and Emerald City Comic-Con and I was obviously pretty envious! I decided I really wanted to attend one of these functions for myself and possibly even cosplay if I could gather up enough courage. Thankfully, Derek looked up some conventions that were close by and came up with Fan Expo Vancouver, which was very convenient since it was just a ferry ride away and rather affordable. I was super excited at this point, but also frustrated since it was about 3 months away (I’m not the most patient person in the world and I enjoy doing fun things so yeah, frustration) but this also gave me more time to get a costume together.

Thankfully, I got my costume all finished in time and I felt like I actually did a pretty good job. I was really quite proud of what I came up with (and very rarely have I been proud of something I made), so I was pretty confident and excited to wear my costume at the expo.

Since Derek and I live on an island, we had to take a ferry over to Vancouver, which I personally find quite peaceful, beautiful, relaxing and lovely (and long and annoying). Mostly, I was just excited to be heading out on an adventure with my boyfriend. The weather was wonderful the first day and I was just praying that it would stay that way throughout the weekend…it wasn’t quite as nice the following days, but it didn’t ruin any fun, that’s for sure. After the ferry, both Derek and I were rushing out of the harbour to get onto our bus that would take us pretty much right up to our hotel. Thanks to Derek’s horrible travelling skills we got a little lost and walked a couple extra blocks than we would’ve had to otherwise, but eventually we arrived at the hotel. We were a little early to check in, but we were able to leave our bags so that we could go out and explore some of Vancouver’s many restaurants. Some delicious, fresh Ramen noodles was our first meal there, and after that we had some time to check out the mall and get another good, long walk in. You see, I’m kind of lazy and don’t get much exercise these days, so this, for me, was pretty rough. Derek however, runs all the time and is just super cool like that so he had a fine time. We got back to the hotel and checked in. It wasn’t amazing, we had to climb pretty well about eleven floors to get to our room, (the elevator was out of service) though, that meant a cheaper stay for us, plus the room was actually very nice and cozy. Also, being on the top floor, we had an awesome view of downtown Vancouver.

We were nearing Fan Expo floor opening, and I was already trying to imagine what it would be like. All the people dressed up, the super awesome celebrities, and (hopefully) all the cool Pop! figures, and Totoro things and Minecraft things and… yeah, I was into buying things, that’s for sure.

So, we arrived. The Convention Centre was beautiful. It was clean and gigantic. It had some wonderful tile work, and interesting wood art hanging from the crazy high ceilings. Now that I think of it, I should’ve taken pictures! Damn. Anyways, it was a sweet building, and to me, fit perfectly for a convention. Once we got down to the show floor entrance area, Derek headed over to the special Press table to get his pass, while I headed down to get my super fresh Fan Expo shirt, bag with the Assassins Creed guy on it, lanyard and wristband. I was pretty pumped at this point, but decided to wait a half hour so that I could walk into the expo with Derek for my first experience. (since I got the premium pass I could go in 2 hours earlier, but we got to the convention centre a little later so that I wouldn’t have to wait so long for Derek to be allowed in).

Then, we were in. The first thing I could smell was the wonderful little mini donut stand, that sat right there at the entrance just drawing you in with that lovely donuty smell… but I wasn’t really all that interested in food at that point. I could already see a few of the booths. From what I could see, they were covered in merchandise. So much colour and busyness, it drew me right in. I was ready to spend lots of dough right then and there! Derek was smart though and suggested that we take a look at all the booths first, keeping in mind the things you wanted the most and to watch the pricing, because you could literally find a toy at one booth that seemed a pretty decent price, only to find the same one at another booth for much cheaper. I saw a Sailor Mercury figurine for fifty-something at one of the first booths I saw, but then saw the exact same one for about forty-something. That’s probably the first big lesson about conventions that stuck with me.

As we were zigzagging through, dodging people, wings, huge horns, armor, wigs, and weapons, I saw many many things I was eager to purchase (I wanted that little Totoro backpack so badly, I tell ya). I saw some gorgeous artwork done by people I had never heard of before. There’s so much hidden talent, I was amazed! It was really fun to flip through portfolios and just let my eyes wander. I ended up buying a beautiful print of a griffin. I was so excited to get it up on my wall at home and it actually motivated me to get back into drawing and possibly painting.

After exploring the booths rather thoroughly, I had decided we check out a Cosplay Panel to have some sit down time, but also because Cosplay is something I really want to get into. Unfortunately the panel wasn’t all that well organized and most of it was improv, but it was interesting to hear what the panelists had to say about their Cosplaying adventures, on making the costumes, and also wearing them. When the panel was over, it was the end of the first day. Though I was a little sad the first day was already over, I was super excited for the next day, being the longest day, with the most people and cosplayers! I as well was going to be dressing up, as San Princess Mononoke. I felt both nervous and ecstatic at the thought of what the next day could bring.

That night, we went out on the town to find some dinner. After walking up and down Robson Street, like 28 times it felt like, we both finally decided on this cool little Mongolian BBQ restaurant. It was pretty awesome. The chef dude was right at the front window just showing off his fresh cooking skills. The process was pretty neat as well. It was somewhat of a buffet like style. You would get one bowl and you could fill it with your choice of meat, veggies, noodles and a massive selection of sauces, and when you were finished filling it, you would just leave your bowl with your table number underneath it on a little counter by the chef. When he had finished cooking it, one of the waitresses would bring it back up to you. It was a lovely meal, and was actually quite healthy too. I really enjoyed it and was so happy to be out with Derek exploring new foods.

After, we got back up to our hotel room we watched a little South Park and then went to sleep, not too late, to make sure we had enough energy for the next day.

It was saturday! The day I decided I would dress up. I was nervous I’m not gonna lie, yet I was very pleased with my costume and was rather confident in it! Derek didn’t dress up unfortunately, but hey, he’s still super awesome.

We both wanted to have a good breakfast that morning, so we decided on waffles…or something like that anyways. Derek using one of his many cool apps, found a little place nearby called Waffles n’ Berries. There we had two wonderful, pretty much gourmet, Belgian waffles. Probably the best we’d both ever had.

Eventually we made it back to Fan Expo once again. It was pretty chilly on the way there, and unfortunately Princess Mononoke doesn’t really wear a big sweater or jacket of some sort, so I had to suck it up and play the part. I’m sure she doesn’t fear the cold so why would I?

Saturday was definitely the best day. There were so many more Cosplayers and just so many more people altogether which made it a little claustrophobic, but also all the more exciting. Derek and I both went around again to check up on the merchandise, to see what needed buying, hehe. I actually had several people ask to take pictures with me too, even after being there for just an hour! I’m not gonna lie, I was really hoping at least one person would ask for a picture. After a couple hours of looking around together, we decided we should split up for a bit since he wanted to flip through comic boxes and I was busy trying to pick out earrings for pretty well 20 minutes at that point. Apparently we agreed on meeting up again at the mini donuts, but of course I didn’t get the whole message or something so I ended up waiting upstairs (also, Derek’s signal was crap so that didn’t help) We did find each other eventually though and that’s when we decided we would check out the Sailor Moon Salute panel.

Neither of us were quite sure what it was going to be, but I’ve always liked Sailor Moon and thought it’d be interesting to see and nice to sit down and relax for a while. It ended up being pretty fun and quite touching. This very devoted Sailor Moon cosplaying fan who was hosting the solute gave us a little dance he learned from watching many of the Sailor Moon musicals, which I had no idea existed, and sang along to the Japanese lyrics as well! That was a fun way to start off, but then they had this big burly guy step up onto the platform. He talked about this little 7 year old girl named Dawn who was a huge fan of Sailor Moon. He talked about how she had passed away from stage 3 cancer and her only wish was to see the famous Sailor Moon team, which thankfully she did get to meet. It was tough to hear, but it was a beautiful thing that team did for little Dawn. It’s remarkable to see such devoted fans so invested in what they love. Even if it’s just an anime, a show, a book, it can mean so much to them, they found beauty in the little things, it’s quite inspiring. So that was definitely a great thing to see and was a cool experience.

After the panel, we settled for a little more merchandise/comic book hunting until we both found ourselves famished and ready to chow down. That’s when we headed over to a food court that was conveniently placed just across the road from the Convention Centre. Derek saw Fat Burger right away which reminded him of one of his many food adventures during SDCC. while I was aiming towards something more like some good ol’ barbecue pork and noodles! (I love noodles). The food court was so full of Fan Expo goers though, it took an annoyingly long amount of time for Derek to get his burger, I was pretty well finished with my noodles by the time he found me. Once Derek was finished and we were both stocked up on energy, we set back to examine the paraphernalia and books some more and spent the next few hours doing that!

That evening we planned to see the Masquerade, where the cosplayers (who signed up for it) got to show off their hard work. It was impressive to see what people came up with, even some of the younger ones! I managed to get a few videos but with it pretty much at full zoom the quality wasn’t spectacular. Then, when the masquerade portion was finished with, the judges left to go do their deciding and left us with these kind of horrible “singers” who sang renditions of popular/geeky music. Derek and I sat there for probably at least an hour hoping it would soon come to an end, but I decided I had enough (and also felt like I possibly might hurl suddenly) and could care less about the results at that point, I mean, it doesn’t really matter who wins right? It’s the costumes themselves that are fan-tastic!

By that time, another Fan Expo day had come and gone, Derek and I left in search of some food, ‘cause at that time it had actually been quite a while since we had last eaten. Fresh Slice Pizza is where we ended up having dinner. I was still all dressed up and felt kind of awkward, and I could tell Derek wasn’t really enjoying his “fresh” cold pizza, however, it was still quite a memorable moment. And I myself, didn’t really have a problem with the pizza (mine was delicious).

We climbed up our eleven stories once again to settle down and get some of our things packed. We decided we’d take a sea plane back home (a twenty minute ride rather than an hour and a half ferry ride) on the last day to give us more time at the expo and still make it back in time for Easter dinner. It was kind of a bummer, the weekend felt like it flew by and it sucked because I don’t remember the last time I’ve had that much fun. I also didn’t dress up the last day cause I wanted to be super comfortable (and didn’t necessarily want to wear my costume on the plane) because there were still a few more things I wanted to check out at the booths, and I wanted to explore the artist alley a little more thoroughly before leaving. I’m pretty sure I ended up spending more that day than any of the other two haha. In the beginning I didn’t even think there was much more I needed (wanted), but with me, I guess there always is.

The last few hours flew by and before I knew it we were on our super terrifying, turbulence filled sea plane ride back to our wee island. Though I was upset it was all over, I was happy with how it all worked out and definitely happy with all my purchases! (my horse mask in particular, and the last three Adventure Time Pop! Figures I needed for my collection!)

I had the time of my life at Fan Expo and already miss it so much! I was in awe at just how much stuff was there and the amazing art that a lot of artists had to show. There were so many dedicated fans there, such as the man who was really into his Sailor Moon stuff. I appreciate your commitment! And I’d like to thank those people who took photos with me, I just felt really special.

Also, I want to thank my lovely boyfriend, Derek, for encouraging me to dress up and just for making the whole amazing Fan Expo weekend come together! I want to go to so many more now and build up my costume making skills! I’m undoubtably going to go to a convention in the States! I WILL, ONE DAY!

We Had A Blast At Last Weekend’s Fan Expo Vancouver: Here’s Our Recap!

by Derek KraneveldtApril 27, 2014

Last weekend marked a HUGE start to a jam-packed convention season, with WonderCon in Anaheim, Sakuracon in Seattle, and Fan Expo in Vancouver all running concurrently from Friday through Sunday.

As I’ll be heading down to San Diego for Comic-Con in July, another trip across the border wasn’t in the cards for me this month (I’m located on Vancouver Island, Canada, if you weren’t already aware). So, I hopped on a ferry, grabbed a bus, and ended up here: the Vancouver Convention Centre. My ever-growing-in-geekiness girlfriend joined me for this one, as she’s never been to a convention before, and was super interested after hearing my many stories from last year’s SDCC and Stan Lee’s Comikaze. She even cosplayed (which you’ll learn all about in her special guest post which should be up in the next day or two).

I don’t spend much time in Vancouver, so I’d never actually had the pleasure of seeing its convention centre before. The building was absolutely incredible, to the level of possibly being the nicest building that I’ve ever entered. Seriously, check out the photo gallery on the building’s official website, and you’ll see what I mean.

Of course, I wasn’t here for the building. I was here to see what Fan Expo Vancouver’s 162,000 sq. ft of booths, exhibitors, artists, guests, panels, and more had to offer.

There were also a few specific single issues that I planned on hunting down:

1) The very first issue of Y: The Last Man, especially since series artist and Vancouver native Pia Guerra had a table in artist’s alley. – I failed on this front… apparently there wasn’t a single retailer on the show floor that had a copy. Y is my favourite comic book series, and so this is an issue that I’ve wanted for years.

2) The first issue of Vol 1. of Ultimate Comics Spider-Man. Spidey has been my favourite hero since I was a small child, but this is the series that got me really into comics. I’ve always wanted a copy of the first issue, and artist Mark Bagley was also at the convention. Sadly, I failed here too.

3) Saga chapter one. I read the first issue digitally before adding the book to my physical pull list. Of course, at the point chapter one was impossible to find a first print of. I succeeded here, got a great deal on the issue, and it was signed by artist Fiona Staples too.

Tickets for the Expo went on sale a couple of months before the show opened, and for such a well put together event, I was quite impressed with the price of entry. A pass for the entire weekend ran just $69, while a ‘premium’ pass was $99 and included a t-shirt, bag, collectible badge, and lanyard, along with entry through an exclusive entrance (which exited right by the mini-donut stand) and entry two hours before regular ticket holders. Have kids? They got in for free with your ticket purchase. Very cool.

The shirt included with the premium pass.

Once we picked up our tickets, we walked through the premium (and press, apparently) entrance and were welcomed by a spacious, well laid out show floor. The celebrity autograph and photo op area were wide open, meaning that even if you weren’t interested in paying an autograph fee, you could still get a glimpse of any of the many celebrities in attendance. Those lines got very long, very fast, which meant that there was plenty of room to peruse through the 98+ exhibitor booths (and that’s not including artist’s alley). The aisles were wide, and even at the expo’s busiest times (read: the entirety of Saturday), you had room to move, which is more than you could expect from SDCC and Comikaze. I loved this aspect, as there was never a moment of Fan Expo that wasn’t calm, relaxed, and fun (or maybe it’s just Canadian), while the other aforementioned cons can be outright confusing and overwhelming at (most) times.

Interested in looking at the layout or seeing what events Fan Expo had to offer? Click here for the official schedule.

I spent the majority of the first day following my ecstatic girlfriend while she obsessed over Pop! figures (her newest addiction), studied each and every item at each an every booth (or at least what seemed like it), and excitedly talked to nearly every artist in artist’s alley. It was awesome to see, and reminded me of the perplexed awe that I felt both at my first convention (Emerald City Comic-Con in 2009), and especially last year at my first SDCC.

Once the show floor closed for the night, we walked around Vancouver’s famous Robson street in search of a neat dining experience unlike one that we’d find on Vancouver Island. We ended up at a Mongolian BBQ, which boasted a ridiculously affordable healthy meal that basically had us filling a dish with vegetables, meats and sauces in whatever portions we desired, before the restaurant’s chef cooked it up in front of you. The food was delicious, and more than filling, all for under $10.

The next morning we left our hotel, grabbed some delicious (especially since I’d never had one before) Belgian waffles from a small cafe fittingly titled Waffles N’ Berries, and then headed back to the show floor. Today, we (of course) spent a lot of time on the floor (I did the lion’s share of my book hunting… and failing, today), but also decided to see what Fan Expo’s panels had to offer. Hayley donned the cosplay garb that she’d been working on for the last month (again, look for a guest post about that soon), and it looked great, and a ton of people asked her for photos, so while she was absurdly nervous while dressing up, she was nothing but confident when she arrived.

First we went to a Sailor Moon 20th anniversary panel. This one wasn’t my idea, as I’ve never really read (or watched) anything from the Sailor Moon universe. I’m very glad that I attended it however, as it was one of the best examples of fan community and passion that I’ve ever witnessed. The panel started with the somber announcement of the passing of a 7 year old Sailor Moon superfan named Dawn. Dawn was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer, and one of her final wishes was to be visited by the Sailor Moon team. Here’s the video of the visit:

Post by Anime Evolution.

Dawn passed away just a few weeks before Fan Expo. It was extremely heartbreaking to see the group member, who was a full grown man who looked as though he could easily take me in a fight (not that it would be particularly hard), break into tears and simply find himself too overwhelmed to continue speaking. It brought the entire room to tears, and was truly an inspirational moment of realization of just what fandom and community mean.

The multimedia panel continued with video clips from the multitude of Sailor Moon musicals (which I didn’t know existed, but they actually looked pretty cool), and the little known revelation that a new musical is in the works. Then we were shown some godawful footage from Toon Maker’s version of Sailor Moon. It was an animated/live-action hybrid, and it almost existed, here’s the video:

During the video, the room filled with Sailor Moon fans and cosplayers gasped and laughed at the worst imaginable version of the thing that they loved so much. It was pretty hilarious, but also extremely scary that something so bad nearly existed.

After the panel we grabbed some lunch (FatBurger, naturally) and went back to the show floor. This time we met WolfCop (check out the hilarious trailer here), and then split up for a bit so Hayley could look for more Pop! figures and so I could flip through long boxes. Good fun.

Before the show closed, we headed up to Ballroom A, where the Fan Expo’s first Masquerade was being held. This was essentially a cosplay contest with a hilarious MC, and for the most part it was a fantastic way to see some of the convention’s best costumes. Costumers walked the stage for the better part of 90 minutes (including the opening children’s group, which was ridiculously cute). There were some amazing costumes here, and I wish that I’d had a better camera on me at the time to snap some photos of them. The were just two issues that I had with the Masquerade; first being that a substantial portion of the entrants didn’t show up (why the hell would you sign up if you weren’t planning to make it), and second being that following the final entrant walking the stage, the judges left to talk about who should win… and then they didn’t return for over an hour. We actually left before the judges returned, as the room was reduced to non-performers heading onstage to sing terrible renditions of hit songs.

We were pretty tired that night from a 12+ hour stint at the Convention Centre, so instead of searching from another unique restaurant, we grabbed a few slices of pizza from a nearby Fresh Slice… which was possibly the worst pizza that I’ve ever had in my life. It came out of the ‘hot case’ ice cold, and I’m not overly sure that these doughy pieces of trash were ever blessed by heat.

The third and final day of the expo arrived, and we took it pretty easy this time around. We split up again so Hayley could look at more collectibles and I could yet again flip through longboxes. Being Easter Sunday, the floor wasn’t nearly as busy at this time, so I used the opportunity to go and meet The Walking Dead co-creator and original artist Tony Moore. Being a huge The Walking Dead fan, I obviously love his work, and Tony had for sale a variety of gorgeous TWD and non-TWD prints, and some incredible decked out sketch covers like the one below. I very nearly picked up one of these covers, but it was $600 I thought better put towards my San Diego trip.

I instead picked up a great print (though my first choice was sold out), and also got to grab a quick photo (see below). We chatted about the television series for a few minutes, and essentially agreed on the fact that the show does a lot of things right, but also does a lot of things wrong. He was really nice and approachable, and getting to meet and chat with Tony was probably the highlight of the convention for me.

Aside from looking at a lot of expensive comics that afternoon (I very nearly picked up a 9.9 CGC copy of The Walking Dead #1, but then realized that I just cleared my Visa, and I definitely don’t need to max it out again so soon), we did our rounds a few more times, grabbed some more mini donuts, and checked out more phenomenal cosplay. The show floor closed one last time, so we hopped on a sea plane back to Vancouver Island (which was much bumpier than usual), and went for Easter dinner.

Overall, Fan Expo Vancouver was a stellar and affordable convention, and was an absolutely fan-tastic (ha) time. If you’re anywhere near the west coast of Canada next April, I wouldn’t hesitate to spend my weekend there. I did snap a few cosplay photos (among others) during the weekend, so check those out below, and let us know what you think!