Montreal Comiccon kicks off today
Weekend of celebrity autographs, cosplay, gaming and workshops in store for fans, artists
Comiccon is officially underway, which means thousands of Montrealers decked out in elaborate superhero costumes will make their way to Palais des Congrès for the weekend.
Over the next three days there is something for everyone including comics, improv, games, celebrity autographs, panels, concerts, workshops and screenings.
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The annual event also has a stellar lineup including Star Trek's William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols, Harry Potter's Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Run DMC's Darryl "DMC" McDaniels, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air's Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton Banks) and Star Trek: Voyager's Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway).
It's a chance for fans to meet their idols, and in some cases, for artists and celebrities to meet those who inspire them.
It's also an opportunity to show off the creativity and artistry that goes into some of the elaborate costumes developed by fans.
Mae Morrison has been a cosplayer for three years now. This year at Montreal Comiccon she's wearing her Asari costume, a species of "beautiful, tall, gorgeous, blue women with tentacle heads" from the Mass Effect game — a new installment of which, Andromeda, launches in March 2017.
"The tentacles loop, swoop back into a really sexy flip hairdo that's very sleek and exotic," Morrison said.
Making that tentacle head was a complex process. She first had a clay sculpture made of her own head, filled a mold with latex, then sanded, painted and finished the head prosthesis. She'll glue it on with actual prosthetic glue and blend the seams so it looks just like her real skin.
"There's something really interesting about not feeling quite human because everyone feels a little out of place and alien and here I am playing an alien."
Montreal studio director for BioWare Yannick Roy is helping build shooting videogame Mass Effect: Andromeda and said meeting cosplayers helps his team design characters.
"As creators of entertainment we tend to create this in a vacuum in our studios and never really interact with fans," Roy said. "So opportunities at the Comiccon when we get face-to-face, we get a lot of energy and feel the passion for our creation."
In its eighth edition, Montreal Comiccon runs from July 8 to 10.
With files from Jeanette Kelly