Comic Con invades Toronto
Windsor comic book artists David Finch (left) and Johnny Desjardins meet with fans and sign their work at the Toronto Comic Con March 9. (Photo by Chris Mailloux)
By Chris Mailloux
A comic convention in Toronto attracts guests from all over the world. This year’s guests included comic book creators from Windsor.
Thousands of fans were given the chance to meet comic book creators, actors and voice over artists at the Toronto Comic Con presented by Hobby Star Marketing Inc. The event took place from March 7-9 and was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Eliza Dushku, Sean Astin, Rachel Nichols, Brandon Routh and Giancarlo Esposito were some of the more popular featured guests at the convention. The celebrities signed autographs and took photos with excited fans.
Also attending the event were comic books writers and artists Tony Moore, Kevin Maguire, Mike Del Mundo and Windsor’s own David Finch and Johnny Desjardins.
Desjardins, who is currently drawing covers for Dark Horses Comics’ Legendary and Zenescope, said he attends conventions like this so he can meet with fans.
“I’ve been doing a lot more (conventions) in in the last couple years, I think I did six last year and this is the first I did this year,” said Desjardins. “I love coming to Toronto. I’m from Windsor, so it’s not too far of a ride and the crowds are always great.”
Independent artists and vendors spent their time promoting their work and businesses. Justin Currie, 27, is from Winnipeg and was one of the many independent artists and said he attends conventions to promote his artwork under the title Chasing Artwork.
“I’ve developed a style of painting called shattered vector painting,” said Currie. “I do all my work in Adobe Illustrator it(the artwork) is all vector based.”
Vector art is a type of style created by using paths or points in a computer program. Vectors are any objects that will keep their proportions and quality when the size of the image is increased or decreased.
Currie started attending conventions as an artist in 2009. He studied graphic design and worked at a design firm until he was hired as a concept design artist and interface designer at a video game studio.
Currie said he thinks the number of people attending the event has increased compared to the previous year. He said Toronto is one of his favourite places to attend conventions.
“Everybody is always enthusiastic about the artwork, they’re willing to invest in it,” said Currie. “In a lot of cities people try to haggle with you but here everyone is more than happy to help out up and coming artists.”
The next Toronto event Hobby Star Marketing Inc. will be hosting is the Toronto Fan Expo. The event will be celebrating its 20th anniversary and will run from Aug. 28-31.
