Wizard World Toronto Comic Con, 2010

When someone asks me, “There’s a convention going on, are you up for it?” I automatically snap to attention. “Who, What, Where, When, Why and How do I get there?” These are usually the questions I ask within about a millionth of a second. When a new convention was announced this year and I heard it was being held by Wizard World, publishers of Wizard Magazine, I thought, now that is something new. The inaugural Wizard World Comic Con was held over the weekend here in Toronto. Artists, developers, comics, celebrities and videogames, it had everything a comic convention should have and a little something more.

 

 

Fan Expo and Anime North are the two biggest comic book conventions held in Toronto. Wizard World is a new venue for independent artists and companies to show off their products to the public. There’s always a high level of stress at events like these, but as I sat watching a friend school someone in a Pokémon playing card tournament, I relished in the relaxed atmosphere. There was something different about the venue. The Direct Energy Centre down at the Exhibition Place gave an open feeling to the event. The crowds were relaxed, local artists sketched for fans, the celebrities joked around with their fans and retailers were always willing to cut you a deal.

 

 

“We can create this forum for them to meet the fans in the local market and get some momentum for what they are working on,” said Gareb Shamus, CEO of Wizard World. "We have a lot of independent guys who are just starting out and want some exposure,” said Shamus. “We have so much access to movie, television, movie, toy and comic book world so this is a great opportunity for us to show this market our access and have fun in the world we play in.” In the Artist Alley there were over 100 independent and local artists showcasing their illustrations and talents to both the local and international market. Local artists like Mark Williams, cosplaying as the Blue Trident and Co-founder of The Heroes of the World, and local businesses like A&C Games came out in full force for this event. Between watching the Mario Bros in a wrestling match, and shaking hands with Deadpool, something certainly clicked about the event.

 

 

“We have a lot of fans in Toronto, and throughout Canada.” said Shamus. “So for us this is the first time we can meet our fans in the local market, even our fans for two decades now.” I had a chance to sit down with CEO Gareb Shamus for an interview to talk about Comics, Conventions, Characters and next year.

 

 

Gareb Shamus: We’ve been publishing Wizard for almost twenty years now. We have magazines in forty countries, in ten different languages and we have our website and our newsletter Geeksheet Daily. So between all of that, we have millions of fans all over the world. We had so many in Canada for literally two decades that, for us, to bring this audience the world that we work in, so we can bring the creators, we can bring the dealers, we can do the costume contests, things you can’t do in print, things that you can’t do online, we can do in a live format. You can’t get somebody’s autograph online, you know meet them shake their hand and take their picture, so we can do that that in a live format.

 

 

GS: Absolutely, so not only is the comic community strong, but I like to call it the character of the community. Today, most people hear about the characters not through comic books, it’s now through the movie, the television and the toys, so now there are a lot of touch points throughout a lot of different media. When I say to somebody Iron Man, what’s your first thought? Not the comic book, it’s Robert Downey Junior. And when I say Star Trek, it’s William Shatner but it’s also J.J. Abrams. There’s so many different thoughts that come into your mind, so if I said those types of characters to you twenty years ago you would say Peter Parker, or Mary Jane, but now it’s Tobey Maguire. That’s really where that association with the characters has come from so many different places. So that’s why we have to appeal to popular culture.

 

GS: So many people that grew up as comic fans are now controlling other media. I grew up as a comic fan, I have a magazine, I have an online site, I have news letters and I have events, so we are doing a lot to transform the events into more than just what they can get from a comic book. Then you have guys like Joss Whedon, J.J. Abrams, Kevin Smith, Bryan Singer and David Goyer, who all grew up on comic books who are having massive impacts in the media world and on the characters, but not in the media world. So you’re seeing all of that happen because it’s generational the next generation is taking over, putting their mark on these characters in all different kinds of media.

 

LFT: How much influence have videogames had?

 

GS: Tremendous, I think videogames were the first media that broke through what I would consider the age barrier. It had to be over a decade ago where people would get to a certain age and then they’d stop collecting actions figures, they stop reading comic books. ‘I’ve got a girlfriend, I’m married, I’m leaving the house, I can’t afford it, I’m going to stop playing videogames.’ Then Grand Theft Auto comes around and you go, ‘There’s no way I’m missing this game, so I’m not throwing out my system, I don’t care what my girlfriend says, I’m playing this game.’ So it stopped people from stopping. Then the flood gates opened. Movies, television, games, toys, comic books, everything that could have been for someone getting older, and now we’re at the point where you’re never going to stop. It’s doesn’t matter how old you get you’re going to keep being a fan of these media.

 

 

GS: It has been tremendous. When you think about putting on events, especially a first year event, it either works or it doesn’t work. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work forever. If it works, it works forever. There’s no grey when you’re starting an event. The show worked, it was very successful, people has a great time, the retailers we had did unbelievable, the celebrities did great, the Artist Alley guys had a great time, so when you break into the criteria it works forever. Now, we have a whole year now to go to a lot of other companies and say, ‘Look here a case study. We did this with Microsoft, we did this with Disney, we did this with Saw, and we did with Space Channel.’ And now when they know it’s going to happen they can pre plan, so that really becomes an anchor for companies that want to either launch products or talk about it or announce things. With having a company like us it’s not just the show because we own the magazine, we own the website, we own the newsletters; we can do a lot to promote something that’s coming out.

 

***

 

The Wizard World Comic Con is set to return next year bigger and better. It's a new forum for publishers, retailers, local artists, businesses and talent, and it made for an awesome time. "First year, you do what you have to do to get the show going and it was such a huge success," said Shamus. "We’ll definitely be here next year with a show that’s going to have a lot more to it." The Who, What, Where, When and Why were all answered, and I’ll definitely be going back to reprise my role as the guy who looks suspiciously like Wolverine. The next Wizard World Con is set for April 16 to 18 at the Anaheim Convention Center.

 

Be sure to check out the Level Forty Two gallery below. Photos courtesy of Andrew O'Mara.