Yep, it’s that time again. Last year was the first time the Supanova Pop Culture Convention came to the sunny shores of Perth after a few years in the Easter states of Australia. The turnout impressed everyone, so here we are again. There wasn’t much difference from last year’s event, but the weather was better. This year I actually knew a few more people, thanks to this here blog and my Extra Sequential mag so I spent the bulk of my time saying hello and catching up with friends. Just like last year, the number ofsuperhero costumes, and presumably fans, were overshadowed by the swarm of teen manga and anime readers. Most of the stalls seen last year were here once more, with Kings Comics and Madman Entertainment being the biggest booths. The local geek scene was proudly represented by Quality Comics, Comic Zone, Empire Toys and snazzy publisher, Gestalt. $25 is perhaps a bit much to ask for attendees, especially as you can see the whole event in less than 2 hours. The only things I noticed misisng from last year were the free coffee, a presence from a film studio (last year’s was Hellboy II, this year was supposed to be Paramount’s G.I. Joe, though I did see posters for the film) and a lack of considerable goodies in the giveaway bag.

Great costumes were on display, including two brave young girls sporting a Princess Leia slave outfit and a Ms. Marvel costume. Funny how all the males were all covered up. I guess that’s because every male superhero or villain makes wise costume choices. Only the foolish would come dressed as Dr. Manhattan I guess. There was also a life-size Dalek, and TARDIS, with wearers/operators inside.

I felt kind of bad for the lack of queues for the original Battlestar Galactica cast and Anakin from The Phantom Menace, but it was early in the day. The lines would’ve been longer for Karl Urban and two of the Twilight cast. I did say hello to Urban who was strolling around in a nice suit and who said, “G’day mate,” to me. I also chatted briefly with artist Tim Sale and Secret Six’s Nicola Scott, which was cool, and chatted to a Stormtrooper from the cool looking 501st Legion.

I also saw Dave Gibbons who was understandably popular. There was a sign saying no photos, no sketches and a limit of 3 signed items per customer however. Perhaps he’s just fed up with all the Watchmen film attention. One female fan gave him her copy of Watchmen and asked him to sign his favourite page. He closed his eyes, opened up the book and chose a random page. Nice.

I didn’t buy anything this year, as nothing screamed out at me. If I were a fan of Japanese animation I could’ve bought a lot. It’s good that readers of American comics aren’t the main focus, as it is a pop culture exhibition after all. Well done once more to the event organisers and volunteers for another job well done. They obviously know the pulse of Perth’s pop culture savvy consumers and cater for them. The guests were  a big draw for a lot of people this year that didn’t go last year and the advertising stepped up a notch too. Of course, after going to Comic-Con I’m spoilt, as I’ll again realise when I go to San Diego in 3 weeks. However, seeing Perth represented and respected in this manner is a wonderful thing.

July 4, 2009
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: Supanova . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: 1 Comment

Actually, there’s a Preview Night on as I type this, but it officially kicks off this coming weekend on the 4th and 5th of july. It’s at the Claremont Showgrounds, and you can go here for the full list of events. As happened last year, there have been some last minute roster changes, but I’m not really concerned about the celebrities, though I know many are going for Karl Urban (Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings), Gil Birmingham (Twilight), Dave Gibbons (Watchmen artist) and Jake Lloyd (Anakin in Episode 1). There will also be a few anime voice-over people, and of course, lots of pop culture goodies on sale.

July 3, 2009
Categories: New To Comics?, News . Tags: Supanova . Author: Kris Bather . Comments: Leave a comment