There's about a week left before the geekiest event to ever geek its way into downtown Sudbury takes place.
Graphic-Con happens June 11 at Sudbury Arena. This year's event will feature local and international artists and vendors. There will be comics, graphic novels, and activities for all ages. There will be discussion panels, celebrity guests, book signings, trailer releases, gaming, cosplay, live action role-playing — anything to will excite your inner nerd.
While the main event happens Saturday, there are a few events lined up to preempt Graphic-Con.
On Tuesday, there will be a Sudbury Trivia Night event at Fromagerie Elgin from 8-10 p.m. with a chance to win tickets.
On Thursday, Overtime Sports Bar and Grill will host the launch of the graphic novel show Last of the Lost from 7- 11 p.m.
On Friday, there will be a screening of "Howard the Duck," a movie “so bad, it's good,” said Pierre Dubuc, co-ordinator of Graphic-Con. It will be an interactive experience where the audience gets to participate as the film plays. All proceeds will go to Wild At Heart Refuge Centre.
For a full list of events happening for Graphic-Con, visit the website.
Graphic-Con is designed to encourage fan culture, literacy through graphic novels, comic books and other pop-culture mediums. Graphic-Con was created to fill a void for Northern Ontario geeks who have to drive hours to visit other conventions such as Comic-Con and Fan Expo.
“The explosion in the popularity of geek culture has created massive interest from the public in our event,” said Clifton Skelliter, of Launchpad Creative (http://launchpadcreative.ca/), which is co-organizing Graphic-Con 2016. “We're getting phone calls from around the country looking for opportunities to set up vendor tables at the event. We're happy to say we sold out of vendor spaces almost overnight.”
“Graphic-Con is trending to be one of the biggest fan conventions in Northern Ontario,” said Dubuc. “We ensure that it is extremely affordable for an experience people will not be able to stop talking about.”
Don't forget to brush up on the origin story of Greater Sudbury's first super-powered hero, Big Nick, who's first book makes its debut at Graphic-Con this weekend.
