This weekend has been a big one for the pop culture enthusiasts of South East Queensland, as hundreds gathered at the annual Brisbane Supanova event at the RNA Showgrounds to celebrate a year in Pop Culture.  Amongst those who dressed up, the likes of the Doctor (Doctor Who), Rorschach and Silk Spectre (Watchmen), the Joker (The Dark Knight) and more anime characters than you could poke a stick at were seen throughout the day.

The event provided a wide range of stores stocking the latest in comic books, action figures, DVDs, apparel, posters and more, with so many people attracted to each store that the ability to manoeuvre between them could almost warrant an Olympic sport.  Relief was found from the crowds in the seminar rooms and the anime theatre, which hosted a range of anime episodes and special guest sessions.

The most prominent of these special guests was Hayden Panettiere, most notable for her role as Claire Bennett on popular Sci-Fi show, Heroes.  Not only was she available for signing autographs, but she also held a special Q&A in the anime theatre, answering such burning questions from fans as, ‘How many of Claire’s stunts do you perform yourself?’ and ‘What is your favourite type of sandwich?’  Turns out that yes, she does perform most of her stunts, and that her favourite type of sandwich is of the grilled cheese variety.  Other guest appearances included Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica), Adam Busch and Amber Benson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Bonnie Piesse (Star Wars: Attack of the Clones). All were available to give autographs, and held seminars about their careers in the seminar rooms.

One of the most exciting parts of the day, and the main reason people attend, is to see the costumes that fans put months of effort into in order to prepare for the costume competition that runs each year.  Cosplayers, as those who dress up are called, enter into competitions alone, or in groups.  Some of the entrants often perform amusing skits or dances that relate to the character they are portraying.  This makes for highly entertaining viewing, as a wide variety of characters from comic books, film and anime take to the stage to show off their creations.  One of the cosplayers dressed as Sweeney Todd, recently made popular by Johnny Depp, sang snippets of the songs from the film, earning himself a huge round of applause.  Another cosplayer dressed as Heath Ledger’s Joker, acting so spectacularly that one could be almost convinced they were in the presence of the Joker himself. 

While you may have missed out on the excitement of the Brisbane Supanova event this year, you have not missed out entirely.  Supanova will also be held in Sydney from June 26^th-28^th, and in Perth from July 3^rd-5^th. For those South East Queenslanders who’ve missed out on Supanova, GenCon, a games and entertainment convention, will be held in Brisbane on the 18^th-20^th of September, giving you plenty of time to get costumes ready for what I’m sure will be an exciting event.  More information on these events is available at http://supanova.com.au and http://genconoz.com .  Hope to see you there!

- Katrina Tait