Is Comiccon the new Missed Connections?

Photo by Susan Moss

At its best, it feels like a dreamy alt-Disneyland — at its worst, a claustrophobic mushroom bender gone horribly awry. Still, thousands of comic, fantasy, sci-fi and costume enthusiasts crammed into the Palais des congrès for Montreal Comiccon 2013, to rub shoulders with genre stars and let their geek flags fly.

According to most of the devoted three-day-passers I talked to, this year’s highlight was Game of Thrones khal Jason Momoa — not, as one might assume, for his mighty, impeccably oiled biceps, but because he was intelligent, gracious and hysterically funny during his talk on Saturday.

While the biggest line-ups were for the sci-fi superstars and video game trials, many seemed content to snap a selfie with pretty much anyone in a costume. It’s the only festival in town that’s entirely family friendly, yet populated by violent-looking monsters and legions of nearly naked babes decked out in body art and painted panties.

Anyhow, here’s what the kids had to say about Comiccon this year.

What’s the best thing you’ve seen at Comiccon this weekend?

“I saw a guy completely covered in grass yesterday. And I think a lot of it was real grass.”
– Alison/Green Arrow, Crossover Comics

“Wonder Woman. She’s hot.”
– Caleb, 8

“I met Spiderman!”
– Jason/Batman, 6, pointing to a paunchy dude packin’ serious plums in a very DIY Spidey suit

“Steampunk hot girl.”
– Chris

“Oooh, gosh. Probably the ninjas with all the hand-forged swords and hand-made weapons; they were really awesome. They really know their stuff. The guy’s first and foremost a martial artist.”
– Ethan and Caitlin

“I’ve been tabling so I haven’t seen much, but I really like Kenneth P. Rein’s ‘slaughterhouse starlets,’ actresses like Emma Watson, Emma Stone as murderous pin-ups.”
– Connor, Kill Shakespeare

“That Jessica Rabbit chick. Oh, man.”
– Davide

“You know what? When I was up there, I was attacking this guy, and I was the smarter mind, and I attacked him with his own weapon, and he used the other girl’s weapon, but I was the strongest. And I DEFEATED HIM.”
– Tyler/Thor, 5

“C’est pas mal toé.”
– “La Chacalle,” L’Hotel 54 haunted house demon 

Whoa! Tell me about your costume!

“I’ve been piecing it together over two years. I’ve worn it at Halloween with pieces missing, but now all I’m missing is a full-fledged Proton pack.”
– Edie/Ghostbuster

“I haven’t been working on it that long, the last week or so. I bought dye, but then it wouldn’t take to the bra, so I had to go out and buy fabric dye, but I couldn’t find the right colours. I had to use acrylics.”
– Priya/Poison Ivy

ER: Wow, your costume’s amazing. How long have you been working on that?
Iron Man: Oh, a few hours [clearly a massive understatement -ER]. The base is all made of fibreglass.
ER: But how do you get IN there?
IM: That’s a secret I can never tell you.
– Iron Man ■

Photos by Susan Moss.

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