Where do I even begin?
This was certainly a very eventful (and emotional) Comiccon for me. I thought that after last years con season, when I went to more conventions than I ever had before and got more photo ops and autographs than ever before, that this would be a much more laid back convention season for me. And although that may turn out to be the case, Ottawa Comiccon certainly started things off with a bang this year.
CASUAL FRIDAY
Friday was my “casual” day, if you can call it that. I had to work that morning so I showed up a little later to the con dressed as Professor Trelawney from Harry Potter. Wandering around the dealers room, this was time to say hi to friends and do some shopping. I ended up spending most of the con chatting and ended up having a lot of fun getting to know new people and catching up with old friends and favourite vendors. And of course, I continued a convention tradition of mine and bought some bee jewelry from Shameless Envy as a portion of the proceeds go to the Ontario Beekeepers Association.
As far as panels go, I only attended two. My plan was to attend a few more but after nearly falling asleep in both panels (I wake up very early for work – VERY EARLY) I figured I’d call it a day and make sure I was well rested for Saturday. Plus my wig was starting to feel pretty tight and I just wanted to rip it off.
The first panel I managed to see was Fisheye hosted by faustinafate This was an informative panel that reminded me a lot of the academic colloquia I had taken part of at university. The host of this panel analyzed the films of the Creature of theBlack Lagoon franchise compared to Del Torro’s recent success The Shape of Water. For someone who loves old horror films and sea creatures, this panel was definitely a lot of fun.
For those of you keeping an eye on my Facebook and Twitter posts, you may have noticed I’ve been binge watching a lot of Star Trek: TNG, so obviously I went to Brent Spiner’s panel. Mr. Data always has been, and always will be, my favourite Star Trek character. Last time Brent Spiner was at Ottawa Comiccon I saw his panel and got his autograph, so this time I was content to just sit in on another panel. He was funny, and entertaining, and shared some fantastic stories with the fans. This is one guest I am always happy to see at a convention. But be warned, as one fan learned the hard way during the panel, it is fist bumps only for this celeb – no handshakes. Like most of us, he is keen to avoid catching con-plague.
Emotional Saturday
Honestly, I didn’t really do much on Saturday – and yet it was the most eventful day of the con for me. I was a bundle of excitement, and even woke up before my alarm. It was the day I had waited for for a long time – the day I would finally get to meet my favourite actor, Doug Jones.
I cried. And that is an understatement. Doug Jones was so fantastic and kind, and he loved my cosplay (he touched my knit face!). I really admired how he gave a hug to every single fan who came by his booth. My boyfriend, and handler for the day, had stepped off to the side to allow me time with my idol, but Doug Jones insisted on giving him a hug too and having him take part in the selfie. This is a man who truly loves and appreciates his fans, and this makes him even more wonderful. I was so happy that before we even cleared the autograph area I burst into tears. I wasn’t just crying, I was sobbing. Needless to say, I had to have a break in the bathroom and then went to get lunch.
I think what made the whole experience even more emotional is the fact that my full-knit cosplays really take a lot out of me, and Abe was the most challenging cosplay I have ever worn. It is the thickest (i.e. one of the warmest) and has the worst visibility, so I had to have regular mask-off breaks during the day. Especially since, for the rest of the day, I pretty much just had my boyfriend/handler walk me around the dealers room (like any cosplayer, I had to show off my hard work) until it was time for the panels I wanted to see.
Finn Jones was the next celebrity on my list, and I had so much fun at his panel. He was very enthusiastic and seemed like a genuinely nice person. Not only was the panel entertaining, but it was really interesting to find out how serious Finn Jones is about his craft. The way he spoke about his acting career shows that he has put a lot of careful thought into his work. But it was also fantastic to hear how he also approaches his roles as a fan – even though he looks to the script for his character development, he makes sure to read the source material as well.
After Finn Jones’ panel I was hoping to make it to the Crystal Basement show. Even though I was told I would still be able to get into the show late (as there was an overlap between the show and the Finn Jones panel), unfortunately I was not permitted to enter. Crystal Basement was given a much smaller room than usual, so obviously the room filled up to its maximum capacity and there were others like myself who were not able to get in.
Lastly, I went back to see Doug Jones. This time it was for a photo op. Unfortunately, the photo op booth was experiencing delays, so everyone was in line for much longer than originally planned, but the photo op itself was still a wonderful experience. I got another hug from my favourite actor and an awesome photo to commemorate the moment.
Super Sunday
For this day I have to tell my story out of order a little bit.
Boy was my Iron Fist cosplay a lot comfier than my other two cosplays for the weekend. It was perfect for doing some serious running around the con. When I first got there, I was with friends and my boyfriend, and when they noticed there was no line at Finn Jones’ autograph table they talked me into going over to say hi. He asked me all about my cosplay and told me that Krysten Ritter loves knitting and that she would love my cosplay. When he heard that I was getting a photo op with him later, he asked if he could take a pic of me on his phone later on.
But when I showed up to the photo op, and I got my picture taken and the staff was trying to usher me to the next checkpoint to keep the line going, I was still stunned when Finn Jones ACTUALLY made everyone stop what they were doing so that he could get a pic of the two of us on his phone to send to Krysten Ritter. I was so giddy for the rest of the day after that photo op. Two of the defenders have a pic of me on their phones. Wow.
Fin Jones excitement aside, this was still a really good day for me.
The first panel I went to that day was for Karl Urban. I had already seen his panel last time he visited Ottawa, so I knew I was going to enjoy it. In fact, I may have laughed even more this time around as Karl Urban shared with the audience stories of him and Viggo Mortensen pranking one another. I will never think of goat farms the same way again.
And of course my final panel for the weekend was for Doug Jones. Due to a miscommunication between convention staff, those of us who wanted to ask questions were initially sent away, so when the host asked if there were any questions from the audience I took advantage of the confusion and got myself to a microphone (I may or may not have strategically sat near one for this very reason). Like all the celebrity Q and A panels this weekend, this one certainly did not disappoint. Doug Jones shared some wonderful stories about his career, and continued to be a genuinely awesome person. Plus, he performed some contortion tricks on stage and showed us how he creates the walk and posture of each of his characters.
So at the end of the day, after I had done a bit more shopping (I just had to pick up some shark pup prints from Nekoama), I decided to swing by the autograph area one last time. Doug Jones did not have much of a line, and a selfie with him was not very expensive. He had only seen my yarn face on Saturday, and when I was face to face with him I could only see him through a layer of yarn. I wanted to actually see him, and I wanted a pic with him where my face was showing. I am so glad I went back. It was so wonderful to actually see him in person and interact with him without a heavy face mask in the way. It was the perfect way to finish off a perfect weekend.
