Montreal Comiccon 2023 Wrap

Comiccon 2023. Photo Paipai Chen

Recovering from the pandemic, Montreal welcomed the 13th edition of Comiccon over the weekend from July 14th to 16th at the Palais Des Congrès. This three-day-long celebration featured multiple celebrities appearances such as Christina Ricci and Tom Welling, along with many other activities.

Before we even arrived at Palais de Congrès, we observed dozens of cosplayers on the metro chatting, filling up the metro with joy and excitement. Upon our arrival, there was already a line-up waiting to enter the exhibition. 

Comic fans are not limited to one age group, but rather, people from all age groups are here. You see young parents dressing up as manga characters with their children, a pregnant mom with a baby dressed as Pikachu in the stroller, teenagers enjoying their time with their friends, older people dressing as characters from StarTrek…

It included all genres of arts of its kind. We saw a Barbie booth inside the 2nd floor exhibition where Baribie fans can take pictures inside the booth. Many booths were selling delegate accessories such as stickers, keychains, and charms of certain characters from either an animated movie, an anime, or even a video game like Genshin Impact. 

The event was spread out over different floors. On the second floor, a huge board was available for taking pictures near the main entrance. Inside the exhibition, the hall was divided into three parts. Mainly they were booths selling cultural items or doing promotion of some comic artists’ books, but there was also an Indie Game Zone located in the main exhibition hall, and a bunch of book signing opportunities for fans to meet up with their favorite artists. At either end of the room was where other activities took place. At one end, there was a small arcade, and at the other, there were photo booths set up from a scene in a comic. For one, there was someone dressed as Batman, where you can choose to pay a small amount of money to take a picture with him.

On the fifth floor was where most speaker presentations took place. Lastly, the seventh floor featured not only the food court, but also a popular attraction for many of the participants: the Autograph zone with celebrities.  

Overall, this year’s Comiccon was a success. Covid was a devastating hit for big cultural celebrations such like Comiccon. With a good start like 2023, we can’t wait to participate again next July!

Comiccon took place in Montreal from July 5-7 at Palais de Congrès. For next year’s event, keep an eye out HERE.