issue 09 / volume 41

arts // 9

Cosplay, celebrities, commerce at Vancouver Fan Expo

» Convention celebrates fourth year of all things nerdy

Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

N& in its fourth year,

the Vancouver Fan Expo
celebrated nerdy media with
over 20,000 attendees at the
Vancouver Convention Centre
on April 3-5. The annual
convention included celebrity

 

panels, rare collectibles, artists’ :

original work, and cosplay of

all kinds geared towards fans of :

science fiction, horror, fantasy,
artists, and especially comics.
Fan Expo featured celebrity
guests for every generation,
such as Jennifer Morrison
(Once Upon a Time), Stephen
Amell (Arrow), William
Shatner (Star Trek), and
Carrie Fisher (Star Wars).
The celebrities participated
in Q-and-A sessions as well as
photo and autograph sessions
for an additional fee.

One of the best aspects
of the celebrity panels is the
opportunity for celebrities
to really showcase their
personality. Shatner’s
panel was by far the most
crowded one, but had very

: few questions answered due

: to the actor’s style of telling
long stories and going off on

: tangents in his responses.

: Fisher brought her pet bulldog
: to her Q-and-A, and answered
: many questions that weren't
related to her role as Princess

: Leia.

There were also smaller

: panels that took place during
: Fan Expo, as well as comic

: sketch duels, voice acting

: workshops, improv shows,

: and web series presentations.
: Comic artists, actors, authors,
: fans, and musicians could

: all be found presenting their

: unique spotlights throughout
: the convention.

ai

Outside of the panel

: highlights, there was plenty to

: see and do at Fan Expo, such

: as perusing the hundreds of

: booths throughout the hallway.
: One of the most crowded

: booths had a tented-offarchery :
: area where patrons could

: practice bow-and-arrow target
: shooting.

Many of the booths sold

: comics, video games, props,

: and DVDs while others sold

: 3-D-printed materials, swords,
: and tattoos. Posters of every

: kind, both original art and

: standard designs, could be

: found, with some of the extra

: large and rare ones going for

: hundreds of dollars.

  

One of the most unique

: booths there was the Skull
: Store, which sold a wide variety :
: of bones and furs, everything
: from lamb bones for $5 to
: genuine human skulls for

$1,000. Several booths sold

: sword and weapon replicas for
: hundreds of dollars. It seemed
: that wares of every type could
: be purchased at the convention, :
: from jewellery and T-shirts to
: weapons and raccoon scalps.

In the Artists Alley, where

: amateur and professional

: creators sell their original

: work, an assortment of prints,
: jewellery, and clothing could

: be purchased directly from

Photograph by Cazzy Lewchuck

: the creators, featuring items

: that are often difficult to find

: outside of a convention like this
> one.

Cosplaying is a major

: feature of any convention, and

: Fan Expo’s attendees exhibited

: high-quality costumes of every
: kind from all types of TV

: shows, comics, and movies.

: Some of the most memorable

: cosplays were the giant ones,

: such as Baymax (Big Hero 6),

: Totoro (My Neighbour Totoro),

: and a tauntaun (Star Wars).

: In addition, there were many

: superheroes and super villains,
: with plenty of Batmans, Jokers,
: Captain Americas, Doctors,

: and Harley Quinns to be found.
: Even the cosplay characters that
: people weren't familiar with

: were fun to see.

Other attractions at this

: year’s Fan Expo included a beta
: video game testing booth, and
: the original DeLorean time

: machine from Back to the

: Future.

Whether it’s to find that

: rare issue of X-Men #1, to

: shake the hand of Captain

: Kirk himself, or to check out

: the Transformer cosplays, the

: annual Vancouver Fan Expo has
: something for everyone.

 

Chairman of the Board: What's old is new

» A look at game hacks

Ed Appleby
itustrator
Millustrator
@theotherpress.ca

 

Sorin it gets boring
playing the same old games
over and over again. Monopoly
just isn’t doing it for you

every card in Cards Against
Humanity. Buying new games all

after a while, but fortunately
there are new and interesting
ways to combine games to
change the play experience.
These game hacks add a little
originality to a tired, old game.

Cash and Nerf Guns: As I
mentioned in my Cagh ‘n Gung
review, replacing the game-
supplied foam guns with Nerf
guns can add a new level of
excitement to the game, as long
as everyone is okay with being
shot at close range.

Infinite Monopoly: For this
one, you take two Monopoly
boards of different themes and
overlap the GO space so they

: form an infinity symbol. You end
: up with a very long game that’s
: also hard to dominate.

Mall Madness — Zombies!!!:

: Ever tried playing a game of

: Zombies!!! using the board

: from Mall Madness? It plays

: a lot faster and easier than
the original Zombies!!! game.
anymore, and you've memorized : However, it may be too easy

: for more hardcore gamers. The
: modified rules can be found at

the time can get a little expensive : BoardGameGeek.com.

Telestrations Against

Humanity: Best. Game. Ever!

: Play a game of Telestrations

: using the white answer cards

: from Cards Against Humanity

: as the subjects. You might want

: to give yourself two minutes on

: the drawing rounds, just so you

: have a little extra time to draw all
: those awkward images.

The possibilities are endless

with game hacks and can range

: from house rules to the creation
: of brand new games. For these

: types of games, don’t always be a
: stickler for the rules. Find what

: works for you and your circle of

: friends and run with it.