BY JORDAN JOHNSTONE
Kitchener was in good hands on Jan. 17 and 18, as dozens of superheroes were in town. Although they weren’t fighting crime, they were having a good time, attending the Kitchener-Waterloo Tri-Con.
The convention, held at THEMUSEUM, featured people dressed as characters from comic books and video games, complete with colourful wigs and props.
Anime, comic book and sci-fi fans and gamers of all ages were encouraged to come out and enjoy the two-day event. The K-W Tri-Con took over all three floors of the building with vendors, novelists, short story writers and artists all in attendance. Gaming demos and photo shoots with cosplay enthusiasts, dressed as characters such as Sailor Moon and Khal Drogo, took place as well. The band Cybertronic Spree performed on Saturday night.
The numerous writers who made their first appearance at the event were happy with the fanfare they received.
“This was my first time at Tri-Con and they had a pretty good turnout and a great venue,” said author Vanessa Ricci-Throde.
Throde has written two novels: Dragon Whisperer, which was published in 2009, and After the Dragon Raid, which was published in two instalments. They were released in 2010 and 2013.
Throde was not the only well-known writer in attendance; Jen Frankel, novelist and screenwriter, was there as well.
“I grew up in London, Ont., but live in Toronto now, so it was nice to get back into the 519 area,” she said.
Frankel has written many novels and short stories. She is most well known for Undead Redhead, about a vegan zombie that only eats rotting fruits or vegetables, which was featured in an InnerSpace segment. InnerSpace is a Canadian sci-fi talk show on the TV channel Space.
Frankel has won awards for her writing and has entered writing competitions across Canada.
With cosplay competitions and a masquerade, many fans turned up at the K-W Tri-Con as their favourite sci-fi characters.
“It was great, it is always fun getting dressed up and many people did,” said Dianne Da-Rosa, a cosplay enthusiast who was attending her first Tri-Con dressed as a female version of Khal Drogo from Game Of Thrones.
Da-Rosa was just one of many fans who role-played, smiling and posing for pictures with fans of the television series.
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