[Archive 2017-03-23] Fans unite at Toronto Comicon, meet Degrassi stars

Historical archive — originally published 2017-03-23. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Pop culture event Toronto ComiCon continued to grow this year, the sixth year since its restructuring as a three day program. Beginning on Friday evening, it continued through to Sunday. Organized by the same company as Fan Expo Canada, the event offered exhibitors, retailers, an artist's alley, and panels.

The current program is now distributed by Netflix, and Brogen remains a cast member as school principal, in addition to being a producer and director.

It was the first time the cast did a convention event. The cast also plan to tour to other conventions in Canada this year.

Also appearing were Robert Picardo, the holographic doctor on Star Trek: Voyager, and Ray Park, Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.

Panels at the convention focused on topics like steampunk costuming, wig styling, recently rebooted comic Captain Canuck, toy collecting, and the history of comic books in Canada over the decades, in conjunction with Canada's sesquicentennial year. Cast members from The Sean Ward Show appeared at the event, meeting guests to the convention and hosting a panel about the superhero comedy YouTube channel which has more than 600 million views.

As per usual, many attendees showed off costumes based on their favourite video games, comic books, television series, movies, and other pop culture creations. Characters ranged from one woman's interpretation of Roadhog from the current Overwatch video game, to retro revivals like the titular character from three-decade-old series Alf. Wikinews' Nick Moreau was at the event Saturday to photograph.

Many cosplayers at the event gave their own personal twists to recognizable characters. Two takes on Disney Princesses, for example: one group turned Moana, Cinderella, Mulan and Snow White into lightsaber-wielding Jedi, while another woman touring the con floor was dressed in preparation for a boudoir photo shoot later that day. Other twists included a Wookie version of Winnie the Pooh, sophisticated armour based on Pokemon characters, and a Stormtrooper from Planet of the Apes.

Ended series were the name of the game when it comes to costumes inspired by television, with few exceptions. One duo seen by Wikinews' reporter, but unfortunately not photographed, was inspired by Canadian international co-production spy series X Company, which aired its final episode just days before the event.

Source and licence

Text adapted from Fans unite at Toronto Comicon, meet Degrassi stars by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.