July 8, 2024
Sixty-five thousand people attended Montreal Comiccon this past weekend
With Hollywood’s contract disputes settled, the celebrities returned to comic book circuit and to Montreal much to the delight of the people that come out religiously every year. Last year’s Comiccon was marred by the strike that begun just hours after Montreal Comiccon had kicked off, and as such, the majority of the celebrities scheduled to appear didn’t.
While the weekend was still great, the lack of stars on stages had people understandably frustrated – but those frustrations were, for the most part, properly directed at Hollywood and their planned use of AI as alternative to human talent, both on screen and behind, where writers were under threat of replacement. While that debate still exists, and likely will for the foreseeable future – we can at least get back to the status quo when it comes to Comiccon.
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Last year’s edition of the Montreal Comiccon set a record for attendance that was matched this year, as an estimated sixty-five thousand people attended the event throughout the weekend. Many people showed up in costumes that had obviously taken considerable time to piece together.
All the usual fanfare that is expected to be found at an event such as this was on display, as merchants peddled wares to the thousands that had come to market to celebrate all things comic book and all avenues that branch off from it. From books and toys, to clothing and food and practically anything else the mind could conjure – including swords – could be found, at a price.
The artist gallery featured a barrage of talent both international and local, from artists taking their first steps into the art world to others that have made a career of doing so. Independent comic books were available as well as a chance to meet those that draw, ink and write some of the genres better known titles; and if you asked nicely, most were willing to slap an autograph on their books for you too.
Meanwhile in the upper floors, guests such as Robert Englund who played Freddy Kruger in the A Nightmare On Elm Street films, were signing autographs and taking photographs for fans, again at a price, while a few also took to the stage to chat about their careers.
Lou Diamond Phillips took time to chat about his works- including 1990’s The First Power that host Jason Rockman gushed about; and for good reason. Tales of his injury on the set on Young Guns II, the death of his friend Brandon Lee while filming The Crow, the Alec Baldwin debacle and being “brat pack adjacent” captivates his audience and showed the charisma Philips has shown on screen throughout his illustrious career.
Canadian television greats, the Trailer Park Boys, were also on hand albeit briefly, spending twenty minutes talking, in character, about one of the nations best loved shows – and answering some of the strangest fan questions a panel like this might have bring up.
Giancarlo Esposito waxed poetically and seemed determined to inspire his massive gathering. He spoke positively about Kevin Feige, the Disney executive who has been under fire of late for multiple failed Marvel and Star Wars related shows and films, and the response from the packed room reflected that, as the room fell silent with just a few muffled whispered voices to be heard. Esposito was cast as Gideon Lorin in The Mandalorian; a role he spoke highly about and perhaps why he spoke so highly of Feige. Many people, however, feel that Feige and Kathleen Kennedy have ruined the Star Wars legacy.
Esposito is perhaps best known for his role as Gus Fring in the incredible television crime drama Breaking Bad where he portrayed a hard-working chicken restaurant entrepreneur who also had his hands in the drug trade – a role he later reprised in the television show Better Call Saul. Of course, Esposito surged to fame alongside Samuel L. Jackson in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing.
And the main attraction, Kevin Smith, who returned to Montreal after an absence of nine years and is always someone that draws people to the convention. Smith took time to offer thoughtful and lengthy responses to the fan questions; and spent a good portion of his set speaking about his personal life, especially what has happened since his heart attack and all the changes that have come from that. Dietary changes, where Smith begrudgingly spoke about become vegan and sobriety.
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And with that, the curtain closed on the Palais de Congress for another year, but fans will have a few things to look forward to in the near future, when the Fantasia film festival returns (from July 18th to August 4th) as does the Otakuthon Anime Convention (August 2nd to the 4th).
The festival also announced its return for 2025, when the Montreal Comiccon will take place at the Palais De Congress from July 4th to 6th and while it is too early for guests to be booked and announced, no doubt it will once more be a memorable weekend for those that loved the fantastic worlds found only in comic books.
*Photographs by Kieron Yates, Sam Morris and Pierre Bourgault
