After years and years of going to comic conventions and loving them, I can honestly tell you that I have the best time heading to these things with my daughter with me. This year at Toronto Comicon has been no exception.
We started our experience on Friday, getting into the South Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre not long after it opened at 4 pm. The first goal on our list was meeting up with Joe Eisma, artist for the instant classic Image Comics series Morning Glories. Joe also illustrated the recent series The Archies, a comic featuring our favourite Riverdale characters in their own band. Each issue featured appearances from real groups, including The Monkees, which is a band that The Princess and I both adore. I’ve known Joe via Facebook for a few years now (we did an interview about Morning Glories awhile back), and I asked him if he’d do a commission of Davey, Mickey, Mike and Peter for us. When we found Joe at his table, he was friendly and smiling, and delivered us a fantastic piece of artwork. While I’ve got some great pieces in my collection, this one is super special, as it’s the first that my daughter and I “co-own”.
For The Princess, seeing so many cosplayers as characters she loves is a huge thrill, and she’s always willing to go up and take a picture with them. She’s a shy one though, so it’s usually me saying, “Starfire, could we take a picture with you?” While I’m not big on the dress-up myself (though I have worn a Ghostbusters outfit a time or two, to be be honest), I absolutely appreciate the joy that cosplayers can bring kids like my daughter, and I’m thankful for them.
A big part of the Toronto Comicon experience is looking for deals, which as many Con-goers can attest, isn’t always an easy feat. The Princess and I are always on the look out for hard-to-find Teen Titans Go! Funko Pops, but we were out of luck this year. Same with The Shining Jack Torrance Chase figure, which is my holy grail at the moment. While we wound up bringing home a few Pokémon toys for the little one, at the end of the day my big convention score this year was the mammoth Marvel Monstears Unleashed: Monster-Size book, written by Cullen Bunn and featuring work from various artists, including Adam Kubert, Greg Land and Steve McNiven. The book is actually massive, measuring 21.62 × 14 × 0.75 in, and the price was a steal at just $20! Now I just have to find someplace to put it.
By the time The Princess and I headed home, we walked the Toronto Comicon floor multiple times over the course of three and a half hours. We were exhausted. We’d seen everything and then some.
So, of course, we’ll be back Sunday for Round Two.
