Ottawa Comiccon Media Launch

GEEKS TAKE OVER BYWARD MARKET IN ADVANCE OF COMICCON WEEKEND
by Emily Plunkett

It was all about Daleks, Degrassi and Delorians in the streets of the Byward Market on Thursday as Ottawa got ready to celebrate the return of Comiccon.

On hand to welcome the highly successful event was a who’s who of characters.  Cosplayers portraying Harley Quinn, Darth Maul and Black Widow shook hands with interested passers-by who were also treated with a good look at the featured Back to the Future Delorian and Ghostbusters Ecto-1 vehicles.  Pat Mastroianni, who is best known for portraying Joey Jeremiah on Degrassi Junior High, helped event organizers kick-off the celebration.

“I'm so pleased and so excited to be here,” said Mastroianni during a press conference held at Brothers Beer Bistro on Dalhousie St.

“Ottawa Comiccon is not only a celebration of something we grew up with [and] fandom of superheroes and characters from comic books, but it's also about pop culture. I think it's terrific that we can celebrate something as iconic as Degrassi, which is part of Canadian pop culture.  It's wonderful to be able to celebrate that.”

Ottawa mayor Jim Watson was also on hand for the opening.  He was pleased to welcome the highly successful convention back to the Nation’s Capital.

“When this weekend is over, whether you live in Ottawa or have travelled as far away as Zeta-Alpha 2, I encourage you to tour the city's other attractions to see what all the excitement is about,” said Watson before getting photos taken alongside the on hand cosplayers.

Ottawa Comiccon runs from May 9 through May 11 at the Ernst and Young Centre. 



Emily Plunkett is a recent graduate of the journalism diploma program at Algonquin College. As a freelancer, she’s written for the Ottawa Star and the Sarnia Observer. Notorious for being a Beatlemaniac, a record collector and something nobody can really put a finger on, she enjoys a good Sunday afternoon with CBC Radio chatting away, her knitting in hand and her cat, Levon, snoozing at the end of the bed.