It’s been quite a-many years since I last attended Fan Expo in Canada. I went to college in Buffalo, NY and found myself in Toronto quite a bit and as I remember it; Fan Expo was the first true COMIC CON that I attended. At that time it wasn’t the pop culture fest that it was now and even though it had some Star Trek and anime offerings, it was mostly about the comics. If you’ve attended any “comic con” in the last 10 years, you’re aware of how much things have changed and how it’s so much different than it used to be. Most of these cons are corporate greed-fests that make the fans cough up thousands of dollars just to travel to the city, gain entrance, and wait in hours-upon-hours of lines to buy, meet & greet, and attend panels. I’ve become more and more disenfranchised about the whole thing, but alas, Fan Expo had a draw that none of these other cons had that made me want to go. That draw was none other than poster-artist extraordinaire, Drew Struzan.
While the name may not mean anything to you, his artwork most certainly would.
The Thing, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Hellboy, Goonies, Better Off Dead and countless others. Struzan’s art shaped my very childhood and when I found out that he would be attending the event, I KNEW that I had to go. So, my cousin from Gourmet Scum Radio and I got into my car and made our way up to the Great White North. Being that it’s only a 3-hour drive from Rochester, NY we just got up early and spent the day in Toronto before heading to the Thursday opening of the event. Let me tell you that after spending HOURS in lines for other cons, this was the most seamless. They had people organized, kept us updated, and we were let in through a bottleneck that prevented people from “storming the gates” once the clock struck 4pm.
Luckily for us, Struzan was actually located right near the front entrance. There were only a few people ahead of us and most people who entered the line after didn’t even realize who Struzan was until they looked down at the posters and were like “wait, this is the guy who drew TEMPLE OF DOOM?!”. Meeting the Struzan was amazing. He’s super nice and gracious and talked to us for a few minutes as we geeked out all over his table. After getting our posters were signed, we hit the floor and as it was spread out between a North and South Concourse at the Toronto Metro Exhibition Center it never felt too crunchy with everyone. There were times when it got a little much walking through the anime aisles, but honestly that’s about it.
There were stars and cosplayers on display as well and they had organized lines to meet and greet them. Going into artist alley, most of the majors were lined up against the wall and were all easily accessible. Overall, we had an awesome time at the event. With the exchange rate being what it is, coming from the US and buying tickets was so CHEAP and completely worth it. Also, as I’ve said, everything was much more organized than some other big events and really played into the “Fan Service” of Fan Expo. If you have the means, I highly recommend it for 2018 and splurge if you can and get the VIP tickets. They end up being around $100USD and are completely worth the price tag!
