Supanova Sydney

saturday

For more than a decade, the multi-genre fan festival Supanova has brought fans and creative talent from the worlds of sci-fi and fantasy, wrestling, comics, video games, collectables, anime and cosplay together.

Those of you who haven’t yet made your way to a Supanova fan convention or been exposed to the wonders therein, imagine a visit to the Easter Show, but one where the novelties in the showbags have escaped their confines and come to life. 

On the train, in the halls, milling around the booths, there were thousands of people who have never surrendered their love of donning a costume and playing ‘let’s pretend’. Alongside were the rest of us, who if anything like me, were feeling a tad under-dressed. The subculture of cosplay allows fans to assume the persona of their favourite character and/or to come up with an interpretation of the character or property that is entirely their own. 

One of the most prolific characters on-site this year was Harley Quinn, one of the lead female characters from the upcoming video game and movie Suicide Squad. Earlier in the day the cosplayers held a ‘Harley’ meet up that brought together a dizzying array of black, red and blonde in several guises. Other popular character costumes referenced Orange Is The New Black, Disney princesses and, despite only having hit cinemas a couple of months ago, Mad Max: Fury Road’s Furiosa. 

Thanks to the proliferation of Australian on-screen talent in Hollywood, many of the panellists this year had a local flavour including Liam McIntyre, Todd Lasance and Bob Morley. International stars included Nathan Fillion, Jason Isaacs, Elizabeth Henstridge and Kristen Bauer van Straten.

During her panel, van Straten talked about her first week on the set of True Blood, long days shooting and the death threats she received following the broadcast of her vampire character Pam’s immortal line, “Oh my God, I’m a Republicunt.” She also discussed the evolution of her early career as a guest star on sit-coms, her acting process and, when questioned, suggested that when it came to a throwdown between Pam and Once Upon A Time’s Malificent, Pam would win hands down “because she’d cheat, and fight dirty”. 

Among the male cosplayers, vintage Joker from the ‘60s Batman & Robin TV series, Schumacher-era Batman, and the heavily-armed frontline troops from video games such as Mortal Kombat, Assassin’s Creed, Call Of Duty, Halo and Destiny ruled the day. In an unusual twist, one bloke’s costume was a mash-up of Duke Nukem and Wolverine. Also popular across both genders were Japanese- and Korean-themed costumes and motifs.   

Among the entertainment on offer, fans had the chance to compete in a Magic: The Gathering tournament, test out the new Terminator: Genisys video game and the Origin PC free-play zone. Aisles buzzed as fans swarmed booths where authors, artists and celebrities signed autographs, chatted and plugged their new work and greatest hits, before turning their attention to the collectable merch for sale and the agony of indecision. 

sunday

Supanova is the prime place to people-watch and it’s heartening to note that, of course, without the people, Supanova would be nothing. Despite the plethora of weapons people are carrying, there is no need for herds of policemen like you’d see at a music festival — the camaraderie between characters of different fandoms is not hard to miss and people are utterly respectful of each other. Monsters, Inc.’s Sully, first generation Pokemon characters like Gyarados and Gengar, Vega from Street Fighter, Game Of Thrones’ Joffrey Baratheon and various film characters flit between the more odd sightings — Sailor Moon and Thor pushing a pram, Freddie Krueger and Bellatrix Lestrange skulking around in character, eight-year-olds in ghillie suits, the chef from the Muppets with his vision obstructed by his eyebrows and a seeing-eye dog in a pink Batman costume (awwww!). 

Madman Entertainment and Kings Comics were expectedly milling about with people marvelling at the three- and four-figure statues of Disney, Marvel and Star Wars characters, while others watched the magic at Weta’s special FX make-up stall. The five aisles of market stalls were chock full of up-and-comers selling drawings and indie film companies like Brutally Honest Productions pitching their work, as well as a treasure trove of quirky jewellery, creepy contact lenses, meme masks and anime digital art. 

John DiMaggio and Billy West’s talk in the Cosplay Theatre consisted entirely of fan-posed questions, a hilarious 30 minutes where the two jump in and out of their various characters, from West’s Bugs Bunny, Zoidberg and Fry and DiMaggio’s Jake The Dog, Bender, the Banana Guard and various Spanish-language soapie characters. The two seemed super down-to-earth and are eager to please the crowd, and the talk was over too quickly. 

There were designated areas for Supanova’s collection of geeks to play Magic: The Gathering and also what looked like Battlefield in a huge 30- or 40-computer LAN party. Other highlights were the Black Dog Institute’s Star Wars showcases, featuring the most legit Chewbacca, Leia and Darth Maul you’ll have seen this side of the silver screen and the groovy The Consouls playing gamer-themed jazz in the foyer, complete with double bass and saxophone. 

Most of all, though, it was amazing to watch thousands of pop culture enthusiasts bond over the magnificent world of gaming, comics and cartoons, befriending others who have cosplayed the same costume and complimenting those who haven’t. Altogether a truly invigorating place to spend the day.