Supanova Comic Con and Gaming Melbourne Review
Summary: Take your pop culture passion to new levels with fandom favourites a plenty at Supanova Comic Con and Gaming!
5
Cultural Convergence
Supanova has been running for some time now and with it taking place at the Melbourne Showgrounds I figured it must be worth a look… I was not wrong.
For those (like myself) who have previously been to some of the smaller pop culture conventions… this really is a much larger scale event. As we discovered… just one of the pavilions could have housed the entirety of an event we went to last year. There are benefits and drawbacks to this… the benefit (or at least in my mind a major one) is that there is much more room to move which in turn tends to mean more airflow (which I am certain those in costumes would appreciate). The main downside and it really depends on your way of thinking, is there is a lot more ground to cover… so get your walking shoes ready because you will be doing quite a bit of it.
Entry is relatively simple (if time consuming, as the queues form early) and takes you into the artists alley/creators section… again, where previous events I’ve been to have something like a row or two devoted to this section… this is an entire pavilion! It is here that you can meet some of the artists/creators of the comics you know and love and maybe even purchase a piece to take pride of place in your collection. Prices range from accessible stickers and key chains up to more pricey prints and personalised options.
Moving out of the first pavilion and you are into the open air and choices. A few food trucks provide an option to fuel you before the next phase of exploration… you may need the energy. The closest buildings we found as we moved further on were a cafe (so a chance to sit down and refuel before moving on) and the locations of star talks and cosplay stages, these are where you’d go if there was a particular talk you wanted to hear (who’s talking and what topics are available on the website) or if you wanted to see some of the amazing cosplay people have put together.
The rear section of the grounds housed the figures/comics/general items and also the celebrity signing section. This is the area that inspires “if I won lotto” lists of all sorts of goodies. My personal favourites tend to be the statues and there are often very impressive figures and props to be seen and purchased (if you have the money). But it’s not all big ticket prices, there are plenty of Funko Pops at multiple stores throughout, pokemon cards/plushies/figures and just about any other form of product you can imagine. Comics are available so you can add to your collection (or perhaps purchase something to read on the way home). A few stores provide hits of sugar for those who are starting to feel a bit drained at this point, some nice fudge or fairy floss might just keep you going long enough to get through. There are also some gaming stations for those that might want to stay in one location for a while but still be actively engaged in the environment.
We spent about three hours and didn’t even see all of the sights on offer, we managed about two thirds of the first pavilion and about one third or so of the rear pavilion… but at that point we had spent all we wanted to and my companions were getting a bit tired… so we headed for home, conveniently the train station is running for the event so we were able to walk a short distance and catch a train to see us on our way.
Final Thoughts?
If you haven’t been to a Comic Con event before… this is a big one and I would certainly recommend wearing shoes you are comfortable walking around in, if you are going to do cosplay… keep your temperature in mind, we started getting a bit warm and it was only about 20c and we were dressed appropriately. I liken it to The Royal Melbourne Show but for pop culture… you can curate your own showbag (many stands have branded bags that you may be offered with a purchase) which will provide you your own personal selection of items that you are happy with and are likely to cherish for many years to come. It’s a visual spectacle with amazing art work, fantastic cosplay and there’s likely to be something for everyone given the vast array of pop culture items represented. Get along and have some fun!
About the Author
Chris O'Connor Father of four, husband of one and all round oddity. Gaming at home since about 1982 with a Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Moving on to the more traditional PC genre in the years that followed with the classic Jump Joe and Alley Cat. CGA, EGA, VGA and beyond PC's have been central to my gaming but I've also enjoyed consoles and hand helds along the way (who remembers the Atari Lynx?). Would have been actor/film maker, jack of many trades master of none.
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