“That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn’t notice, but we did.”
That’s what Tony Stark said. Clearly not referring to the Oz Comic-Con. But he could have say that last weekend in Rozelle. Well, the authentic one or one of his cosplay counterparts going around at the Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island.
Science, fiction, television, comics, gaming – none of these were missing at the 2015 Oz Comic Con. For this forth edition, a huge number of stalls were organised, as well as a gaming areas, a photo booth, and an autograph schedule to meet great and amazing authors from the crème de la crème of modern-day geek-stars.
Personally, I decided to stalk Todd and Ted from Scrubs (ed. Robert Maschio and Sam Llyod). Rob Maschio’s vibe was absolutely ecstatic. As part of the audience, I had spent the Q&A hour wondering if the Todd character was actually based on his real personality. If he was acting, he was doing it really well. No sex joke was missing, no high five forgotten. I just had Todd in front of me. Answering questions from Cormac or War Boy or Zatanna – not the real ones clearly!
The funniest part of the session was the massive, personal, deep battle with Richard Dean Anderson (McGyver and Stargate star). Having the stages so close to each other, we couldn’t ignore the fact that someone next door was having fun. We had Capitan America with us, and we just couldn’t let it go! That’s how a ‘WOOO’ and ‘OOOOHHH’ battle of cheers began. Guided by Rob Maschio, we get involved in a real mission to show off (nice and loud) that we were having the time of our lives. Well, we were.
After the last whoop to say goodbye to our beloved Richard at the other side of the exhibition centre, we all walked away to explore the rest of the fair. I am pretty sure I missed a few stands but, believe me, it was far too easy to get distracted by Batmans and Chewbaccas passing by.
To cater to my inner child (who was clearly a bit of a nerd), I decided to spend a bit of time at the gaming area. A lovely (and patient) teacher kindly helped me refresh my card-trick prowess. As if being the center of attention, holding those 7 cards in my hand wasn’t enough; I also had the marvelous surprise of discovering that the deck of cards I was playing with was officially mine. Mine!
Surely that was it, or could I expect more from a day in Rozelle? Excited about my booty, I was dancing around the trade with a new priority – keep on playing! My expectations were met and exceeded thanks to the Lego stand, were I was involved in a beautiful and artistic project: They asked all participants to fill a square of lego following a map to place the colored bricks in a determined order. This square was then insert in a bigger contest creating a colorful and pop art portrait of an ogre, much to the delight of the creative in me.
Art, games, laughter, chatter, costumes, and oh so much socialising. This sure was one great Sunday, worth every second!
– Beatrice Giorgi
Beatrice is a eventsaholic based in Sydney. Specialised in Cultural and Artistic Festivals, she travels around to experience the most she can of the best of Sydney’s offerings.
