ay y 1 SoD OA iis of |W aA ry | a a hi: Ce wy, wr Og af 7 is CEP Have aa Revenge of the nerds > Examining Fan Expo Vancouver's upcoming guest list Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor or those of you who have lived in Vancouver for more than a year, you may recall Fan Expo, our large-scale, annual comic and sci-fi convention. This year, the convention will take place November 1-13 at the Vancouver Convention Centre, near Waterfront Station. As per usual, the guest list for the event has been a carefully-guarded secret, but as we slowly near that fateful weekend, various celebrity and artist names have been released, much to the excitement of many a nerd. The convention staff have already proven they want to go big, offering up a plethora of guest names that are obviously meant to appease all kinds of fans. To be honest, there are some hits, though also some definite misses so far. Going section by section, let’s take a look at the highlights. In the category of TV and Movies, we have returning fan- favourites Carrie Fisher, best known for her role as Princess/ General Leia from the Star Wars franchise, and John Barrowman, who will be joining us from the Doctor Who and Arrow universes. Joining Barrowmen from the Arrow crew will be David Ramsey, Paul Blackthorn, Caity Lotz, and Neal McDonough. Whovians will also be pleased to know that Alex Kingston will be gracing us with her presence, Vancouver’s Browncoat population will be glad to see Firefly’s Jewel Staite, and Potterheads will be excited to meet Tom Felton. But the stand-out new face that most Vancouverites will be excited about has to be Dean Cain, better known as Superman! Anime fans have much to rejoice about, considering that the feature voice actors this year will include Sailor Moon herself, Linda Ballantyne. She will be joined by Susan Roman, who voiced Sailor Jupiter. Alongside them we have an impressive line-up from Dragon Ball Z, including Chris Sabat, Eric Vale, and Ryo Horikawa—the original Japanese voice actor for Vegeta. For those of you looking for something a little more recent, Trina Nishimura, the voice of Mikasa from Attack on Titan, will also be in attendance. Fans looking for something a little more literary will have the pleasure of meeting Bruce Timm of DC writing and artist fame, best known for his works in the Batman franchise. Other notable names will be Kevin Smith, Jae Lee, Brian Stelfreeze, and Matt “Batt” Banning. Examining the comic guest lineup, we can see a definite DC theme going on, so get your bat-shark repellant ready. Moving on to the cosplayer guest list, there’s definitely some room for improvement. Besides Vancouver favourite Evilyn13 and headliner Meg Turney, the names they’ve announced so far are relatively unknown to the masses at large. This has left many fans scratching their heads, seeing as in previous years Fan Expo has attracted bigger and better costuming superstars. As we draw closer and closer to November 11 you can expect to see more and more names announced, so stay tuned and keep your eyes opened for some familiar faces. > us oe ah (¥ Indie fashion feature: SpreePicky for Halloween as (¥ Beauty on a budget: Light up your lips (¥ Listed: Reasons to stay inside And more! Image of Carrie Fisher via wikimedia Geek DIY: Halloween costumes for pun lovers > Suggestions for the wordplay enthusiast in all of us Brittney MacDonald Life & Style Editor Fs the perfect Halloween costume can be hard. But what if you want to look great and appear incredibly witty at the same time? Well, don’t fret. Everyone knows that puns are the pinnacle of social humor, so why not celebrate everyone’s favourite holiday dressed as one of your favourite plays on words? Here are some easy suggestions to become the perfect pun! Want to present yourself as an eternal optimist? Well, you know what they say; when life gives you lemons—make lemonade! So dig through your attic, or maybe that hall closet no one ever opens, and find your family’s copy of the Game of Life. Glue or tape the box to your chest before making a quick trip to your local grocer and picking up a hefty bag of lemons. Start handing these out to trick-or-treaters, or maybe just your local pub crawlers, and see if anyone catches on. An alternative for those of you who lack the Game of Life is a box of Life cereal. Happy squeezing! Next up is one for all those romantics out there, or maybe just one for all those procrastinators who left their Halloween shopping till October 30. Find a regular grey shirt, then go to your local hardware store and start collecting sample colour cards from all the options ranging from black to eggshell. Staple these to your shirt and you are now everyone’s favourite erotic novel turned film, 50 Shades of Grey. Maybe you'll luck out and find the Anastasia to your Christian, or vice-versa—on second thought, Photo via NBC those two really shouldn’t be your relationship goal. Want to let everyone know how smart you really are? For those over achievers, get the recognition you deserve by cutting out two large brown circles and wearing them on your front and back like a sandwich board. Colour or paint in some smaller brown circles to resemble chocolate chips. You might have guessed it, but you are nowa cookie. So where does the pun come in? Carry around a sign that states your GPA. You're now a smart cookie! Get it? Hey, I never said they were clever puns. For the incredibly lazy, who want to get out of this holiday with merely a participation ribbon—write “B” and “O” on one cheek, and “O” and “K” on the other. You now have your nose in a book. Congratulations on your mediocrity. If all else fails, just go as someone having a really good time. That costume is always a winner!