Ottawa Comiccon 2017 ran from May 12th-14th, and Sunday the 14th marked the final day of OCC. While many of the cosplayers had cleared out and the crowds had settled down, there were still plenty of people there to see such high-profile guests as Alex Kingston (Doctor Who), Matthew Lewis (Harry Potter), Phil LaMarr (Futurama) and Robin Lord Taylor (Gotham).
HIGHLIGHT PANEL – Minds of Our Own: Neurodiversity in Comics
In this panel, Sean Moreland from the University of Ottawa, Dominic Bercier of Mirror Comics and Caroline Frechette of Renaissance Press discussed problematic depictions of mental illness in comics.
Frechette, in particular, criticized DC for Batman’s villain gallery. Almost all of Batman’s villains, after all, come from Arkham Asylum. Frechette also brought up what was, in their mind, the ‘breaking point’ for their tolerance of DC. In 2013, DC held a contest to draw Harley Quinn committing suicide while naked.
Bercier discussed his issues with Marvel, especially around Tony Stark. Tony Stark is apparently bipolar, but it barely registers as bipolar – it’s more of an add-on than a real, genuine look at the illness. It’s interesting and saddening to realize how negative symptoms are downplayed for heroes, and exaggerated and stereotyped for villains.
HIGHLIGHT ARTIST – Vitaly S. Alexius
Vitaly S. Alexius is the author of the beautiful, detailed webcomic Romantically Apocalyptic. Running since 2009, the comic follows Zee Captain and Sniper as they travel through the post-apocalyptic world.
Friends in costumes play the characters of RA, photographed against greenscreen, but Alexius creates dramatically beautiful backgrounds from digital paintings and photographs of abandoned areas from around the world. Alexius says that he based the setting and characters on his childhood in the Soviet Union.
HIGHLIGHT COSPLAYER – Eridan and Feferi
These lovely cosplayers present their own versions of Homestuck characters – Eridan Ampora (left; EvergreendeYaoiQueen) and Feferi Peixes (right; life_lover_13).
That’s all for OCC 2017! Who attended this year – and who’s ready for next year?
