Yo…
Toronto Comicon is here!
This weekend: March 14 - 16, 2025; Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Front St W.
(This is a smaller…intimate Comicon. The one I usually suggest to parents to bring smaller children. Fan Expo in the Fall covers horror, sci-fi, gaming, comic books and more. It is one of the largest comic book conventions in North America and can be intimidating and overwhelming for the kids. Yo: I find it overwhelming, so I can imagine a kid struggling.)
The celebrity guests for this weekend’s Toronto Comicon are mostly pulled from two popular nerd TV shows: The Boys streaming on Prime Video and Supernatural.
(The Boys will return in 2026 for a fifth and final season. While, Supernatural last aired on November 19, 2020 on The CW. And yet five years later the passion for this horror happy show hasn’t abated, it’s only grown stronger. What’s also funny is that Supernatural is a Vancouver based show—that’s where it was mostly shot—while The Boys is clearly Toronto based. Hah…wonder if that’ll spark some mini-provincial beef?)
The Boys stars are Karl Urban, Anthony Starr, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonzo, Nathan Mitchell and Valorie Curry…and yes: more! (Check the schedule, they’re not all here every day of the Comicon.)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s James Marsters is here on Saturday and Sunday, which is smart timing. On March 10, EW ran this article: Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered 27 years ago today.
As for Supernatural we can roll with a handful of the show’s noteworthy actors: Jared Padalecki, Mark Sheppard, Alexander Calvert, Jim Beaver and Ruth Connell.
Attached is a My Summer Lair conversation with Scottish actor Ruth Connell who played Rowena MacLeod an extremely powerful natural witch and the mother of the demon Crowley.
(After going to Hell, Rowena became the new Queen of Hell. I’m telling ya…I don’t just get weird yet creative folks on this fine program…I score top shelf guests like the Queen of Hell. That’s…hot! (Eh, s’a bit weak: that pun sounded better in my head which is where I probably shoulda left it.)
You’ve recently seen Scottish actor Ruth Connell on Dead Boy Detectives; the first season streamed on Netflix. (And only season, sigh. In August 2024, the series was canceled after one season.)
For eight episodes of the Neil Gaiman adaptation she played Night Nurse. A character who was introduced in a Doom Patrol episode. (Doom Patrol is quirky, clean fun. I’d never read the comics; the show offers delightful moments. It’s done now…Doom concluded in 2023.)
Though, honestly: you probably know Ruth best as Rowena on Supernatural.
For over 30 episodes she played the cheeky witch and the mother of the demon Crowley. (Played by Mark Sheppard who is also gonna be present at Toronto Comicon. Mark Sheppard played Canton Everett Delaware III in the first two episodes of Doctor Who series 6: The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. Two stunning Who episodes. I’d so ask him about that.)
That’s a clip from the Regarding Dean; Supernatural: Season 12, Episode 11 so you can see Ruth Connell as Rowena in action.
In my conversation with Ruth I highlighted this specific Supernatural episode because it best encapsulates Rowena: the witty one-liners, the smug hustle…there’s a lot going on after a powerful family of witches cast a spell on Dean that’s quickly erasing his memory.
As funny as the episode is; Dean is gonna die unless Sam and now Rowena step in.
While I cover Dead Boy Detectives, Supernatural (Regarding Dean) I also talk to Ruth about two vital Scottish elements: tea…of course. A part of me almost skipped the whole Supernatural thing and wanted to focus entirely on tea. (I have many tea emotions; so does Ruth.)
And….secondly this crucial detail: Ruth was born in Falkirk and raised outside Bonnybridge. And famously The Falkirk Triangle averages around 300 UFO sightings per year. It’s a well-known UFO hotspot.
I had to ask her about UFOs. Have you ever seen anything…that’s more X-Files than Supernatural? It was the first time I’d ever met somebody from that area. She said her grandmother saw...something. Oh. Now that’s something worth hashing out over tea.
I wish I had more time.
Tea and UFOs shouldn’t be rushed; in a way they’re both so strange and so magical they are Supernatural.
I’ll be attending from Friday to Sunday; as a roaming reporter for 640 Toronto (Talk Radio AM 640). That’ll be fun! (They’ve invited me back on the air on The Ben Mulroney Show to talk about Toronto Comicon as a nerd to English translator.)
Cosplay is a central pillar of Comicon. Like Friday alone will host numerous cosplay meetups from Harry Potter to the MCU to the DC Universe. (I’m waging an endless war on pants; as such: I barely dress up in life so cosplay is an effort for me. ) Those cosplay meet ups happen all weekend long so feel free to dress up so others can…Pikachu. #RimShot
This weekend you can also learn how to play Dungeons & Dragons...though as an ‘80s kid who lived through many Cry Wolf Panics; I will not be rolling the dice with Satan.
Comicon is focused on comic creators; and that list includes (but is far from limited to) Daredevil artist Alex Maleev (his DD run written by Brian Michael Bendis is highly recommended reading!), Jim Zub (who writes Conan the Barbarian. Jim tells some wild stories about Conan fans, especially over from Europe. They are intense fans.), Fred Kennedy (check out Dead Romans), legendary Marvel editor, Jim Salicrup (old school Spider-Man) and the standard many more.
🍸Comics & Cocktails: Friday, March 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Greta Bar YYZ. “Hang out with comic creators, chat with fellow fans and grab a free themed print that’s perfect for signatures.”
🍸 Bonus Fun: There’s an unofficial Comicon after party happening at Supermarket at 10 p.m. on Saturday, March 15 with live performances, cosplay and dancing.
More fun?
2 more supa dupa #PantsWorthy Toronto Comicon suggestions.
Wander Artist Alley slowly…check out the t-shirts, buttons, comic books and sketches.
This Comicon tends to be more local, it’s not as big as Fan Expo which brings in artists from everywhere. Truly a Comicon highlight, the (often local) talent in Artist Alley is impressive.
Here’s a chance to uncover and connect with local nerdery in the Community Zone. There will be invitations to donate to Sick Kids and other charities you’re familiar with.
Some of the benevolent nerds you can visit in the Community Zone are The Ontario Ghostbusters who will have a booth.
So will The Doctor Who Society (lots of creepy Daleks) and the Canadian Garrison – 501st Legion.
Truly the Community Zone crowd-pleaser is The Canadian Podcast Awards booth.
The Canadian Podcast Awards booth offers a rotating transmission of remarkable podcasts. Whatever you are into, drop by the booth and you’ll discover a charming podcast or support one you really enjoy.
Check out The Creative Imbalance podcast with host Sean Sirianni: Sean is great at mapping the creative journey of unique creators across many mediums.
Adam Corky’s Do You Watch Anime? covers well…anime. If you know what a Chainsaw Man is (no, not Leatherface) this is your jam.
Beyond The Batcast is where Adam Upper and Braydon Keddie discuss and review Batman: The Animated Series episodes. (My favourite Batman episode is Almost Got ‘Im.)
Yabba Zonkers Zoinks! A Gen X 4 Life Podcast celebrates Saturday Morning Cartoons paired with a yummy cereal.
Details and schedule for all the podcasters is here.
Including moi…My Summer Lair will host The Canadian Podcast Awards booth on Friday.
Come through…there will be a contest and high fives and fist bumps and sarcasm. So much sarcasm. Now that’s #PantsWorthy.
If you visit on Friday while I am hosting the booth I will give you a passionate and eloquent exploding fist bump. From the heart, yo.
Toronto Comicon Tickets can be bought online and range in price depending on the date of your visit and any add-ons, like photo-ops or signatures.
While three-day passes are sold out, you can purchase tickets for March 15 at $29, March 16 at $39 or March 17 at $34. Child and youth passes are also available at a discounted rate.
Shake off the winter blues, put on pants and drop by the Toronto Comicon this weekend.
Set in Oshawa of all places—I didn’t know what to expect. The Displaced offers a fascinating Roanoke Colony-like mystery where memory is unreliable.
“In The Displaced, a city and its 170,000 inhabitants vanish without a trace - or even a memory - left behind. The people who didn't disappear with the city start to be forgotten too, and they have to find each other to survive.” Oh, yes!
Surreal. Imagine…Oshawa is just…gone. Like: gone. Swallowed up whole by the Earth. One of the characters, Gabby is a Mom who was in Ajax when the vanishing happened. She lost of her baby and her husband. And now she’s in danger of losing her memory.
It’s not just that Oshawa is gone…it never existed. People—some survivors—are starting to forget it was ever there. (I know there’s an Oshawa joke worth making.) The vanishing extends to memory.
The Displaced is by writer Ed Brisson and artist Luca Casalanguida; it’s published by Boom! Studios. (Ed used to live in that hood which gives it an authenticity.)
There’s more to this sci-fi laced story as it unfolds…think Stephen King’s The Langoliers.
I felt 5 issues were crammed, the premise demands space to let the intrigue breathe. And there’s a fascinating reveal…here’s a hint: Oshawa is not the first city or town to just magically disappear.
Shame this unique world is so brief.
Still, this trade paperback which collects all 5 issues is worth picking up at Toronto Comicon.
If you want more Recommended Reading suggestions I can be reached at @MySummerLair on all socials. Say hi and yo.
While I Don’t Cosplay I Do Look Good In Geek Chic…
Sammy Younan
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Sammy Younan is the affable host of My Summer Lair podcast: think NPR’s Fresh Air meets Kevin Smith: interviews & impressions on Pop Culture.
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