Fan Expo Canada

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Fan Expo Canada
Status	Active
Genre	Multi-Genre
Venue	Metro Toronto Convention Centre
Location	Toronto, Ontario
Country	Canada
First held	1995
Organizer	Hobby Star Marketing Inc.
Filing status	Corporate
Attendance	43,000+ in 2007
Official website

Fan Expo Canada:

Toronto, Canada's Fan Expo Canada is an annual multigenre fan convention. It was founded as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1994 by Hobby Star Marketing Inc. It is traditionally a three-day event (Friday through Sunday) typically held the weekend before Labour Day during the summer in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Originally showcasing comic books, science fiction/fantasy and film/television and related popular arts, the convention has expanded over the years to include a larger range of pop culture elements, such as horror, anime, manga, animation, toys, collectible card games, video games and web entertainment. The convention is the largest of its kind in Canada and among the largest in world, filling the entire South building of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre with over 43,000 attendees in 2007.

Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming feature films, portfolio review sessions with top comic book and video game companies, and evening events such as The Masquerade; a costume contest, and the Diamond Distribution Industry Night Dinner and reception for industry professionals only.

Traditional events include screening rooms devoted to Japanese animation, gaming, and over 175 hours of other programming on all aspects of comic books and pop culture. Like most comic book conventions, Fan Expo Canada features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as movie studios and TV networks, as well as comic book dealers and collectibles merchants. Fan Expo Canada also includes a large autograph area, as well as the Artists' Alley where comic book artists can sign autographs and sell or do free sketches.

Exclusive Collectibles

In recent years Fan Expo Canada has become one of the few events that provides the selling "Exclusive" products to attendees. The vast majority of the exclusives offered at Fan Expo Canada are licensed properties of popular movie, comic book and related characters.

History of Fan Expo Canada - Locations and dates

Dates	Location	Attendees	Notable guests	Notes
August 12-13, 1995	Roy Thompson Hall	Est. 1400	J. Scott Campbell, Kelley Jones, Joe Jusko, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bernie Wrightson, Brian Hotton, Stephen Platt, Ken Lashley, Ty Templeton	Titled: Canadian National Comic Book Exposition
1996	Holiday Inn on King	Est. 2900	Dale Keown, Adam Hughes, Stuart Immonen, Pat Lee, Ken Lashley, Mike Zeck, Dave Ross	Titled: Canadian National Comic Book Exposition
1997	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	Est. 3800	Marc Silvestri, Dwayne Turner, Carlos Pacheco, Dale Keown, David Wohl, Rich Buckler Sr.	Titled: Canadian National Comic Book Exposition
June 26-28, 1998	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	6778	Joe Quesada, Greg Capullo, Joseph Michael Linsner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Humberto Ramos, Christina Z, Amanda Conner, Chester Brown, Joe Matt, Seth	First appearance of CNAnime brand, representing Canadian National Anime Expo.
August 27-29, 1999	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	9620	Jeri Ryan, Kevin Smith, Kenny Baker, Warwick Davis, Lou Ferrigno, Joe Quesada, Michael Turner, Mark Waid, Leinil Francis Yu, Keu Cha, C.B. Cebulski	First appearance of SFX brand, representing the Canadian National Science Fiction Expo. Ray Park is under contract, but does not attend resulting in a lawsuit.
August 25-27, 2000	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	12,763	Jonathan Frakes, Anthony Stewart Head, Roxann Dawson, Hudson Leick, Jeremy Bulloch, Richard Biggs, Peter David, Chris Claremont, Barry Windsor-Smith, Adam Kubert, David Finch, Jae Lee, Brian Michael Bendis, the entire cast of Earth: Final Conflict	Headliner James Marsters cancels due to professional work and is replaced by co-star Anthony Stewart Head.
August 24-26, 2001	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	15,359	William Shatner, James Doohan, Peter Mayhew, Traci Lords, Ethan Phillips, Ted Raimi, Ian Churchill, Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco, Mika Akitaka, Scott McNeil	Canadian National Expo master brand first appears.
August 23-25, 2002	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	16,600	Brent Spiner, Nicholas Brendon, Nichelle Nichols, John Billingsley, Billy Dee Williams, Andy Hallett, Adam Kubert, Joe Kubert, John Romita Jr., John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke.	Titled: Canadian National Expo featuring SFX and CNAanime.
August 22-24, 2003	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	20,655	Leonard Nimoy, Ray Park (see notes), Adrian Rayment & Neil Rayment, J. August Richards, Connor Trinneer, Denise Crosby, Brian Michael Bendis, Francisco Herrera, Ed McGuinness, Ken Steacy, Darwyn Cooke, Josh Blaylock, Fred Gallagher	Ray Park appears at SFX at his own expense as par of an out of court settlement brought by Hobby Star Marketing Inc. for his non-appearance at SFX 1999.
August 27-29, 2004	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	27,684	Patrick Stewart (see notes), George Takei, Julie Benz, Peter Mayhew, Mercedes McNab, Anthony Montgomery, Aron Eisenberg, Cirroc Lofton, George Romero, Tom Savini, Alexandro Jodorowski, Doug Bradley, Abe & Ueda, George Perez, Brian Azzarello, Mike Deodato, Rags Morales, Skottie Young, Adam Hughes, David Mack, Jill Thompson	Rue Morgue Festival of Fear joins the Canadian National Expo as a feature event. Patrick Stewart postpones due to life threatening heart condition. He returns to Toronto, September 25, 2004 to make it up to fans. Masquerade event moves to the John Bassett Theatre and becomes the largest in Canada. Retailer arrested on show floor for selling numerous illegal weapons including throwing stars, nunchaku, one handed crossbows and brass knuckles. The Expo also suffers an hour long black out on Sunday afternoon.
August 26-28, 2005	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	39,753	Elijah Wood, Clive Barker, Gary Gygax, James Marsters, Kevin Sorbo, Crispin Glover, Marina Sirtis, Adam Baldwin, Erica Durance, Margot Kidder, Kenny Baker, Elvira, J. Michael Straczynski, Frank Quitely, Mark Bagley, Greg Land, Neal Adams, Jhonen Vasquez, Peter Laird.	GX Gaming Expo brand first appears as a feature event. Attendance reaches facility limit and Toronto Fire Marshall's office halts ticket sales on Saturday afternoon.
September 1-3, 2006	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	42,947	William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Carrie Fisher, Alice Cooper, Linda Blair, James Callis, Gates McFadden, Robert Picardo, Jeffery Combs, Verne Troyer, Karen Black, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Brian Michael Bendis, Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Mike Mignola, Roman Dirge, Josh Middleton	Canadian National Expo re-branded as Fan Expo Canada. The show outgrows the North Building of the MTCC and moves to the much larger South Building.
August 24-26, 2007	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	43,738	Adam West, Jonathan Frakes, Tricia Helfer, David Prowse, Malcolm McDowell, Robert Beltran, Dario Argento, Adrienne Barbeau, John Romita Jr. and John Romita Sr., Greg Pak, Olivier Coipel, Simone Bianchi, Paul Dini, Steve McNiven, David Finch, Michael Turner, Frank Quitely, Dale Eaglesham.	World Series of Video Games partners with Fan Expo Canada to hold the largest live video game tournament ever held in Canada.
August 22-24, 2008	Metro Toronto Convention Centre	44,500+ (Forecast)	Buzz Aldrin, Kate Mulgrew, Edward James Olmos, Brent Spiner, Michael Rosenbaum, Sean Astin, Laura Vandervoort, Jamie Bamber, Renée O'Connor, Kristy Swanson, Jeremy Bulloch, Henry Winkler, Alex Ross. Brian Bolland. Tim Sale, Mark Bagley, Peter David, Matt Fraction, Gabrielle Dell'Otto, Marko Djurdjevic, Cliff Chiang, Georges Jeanty, Alex Maleev, Keith Giffen, J. Scott Campbell, Adam Hughes, Steve McNiven and many others. Horror and Anime Guests To be announced.	Major League Gaming (MLG) replaces World Series of Video Games as partner for GX feature of Fan Expo Canada. Introduction of the "Hollywood Icon" guest label (for Henry Winkler).

Issues

Capacity attendance at Fan Expo Canada in 2005 has raised crowding issues. Concerns have been that the event is possibly too big for the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, even though they have moved to the largest halls in the facility. The worry of fans is that the event will sell out and potential attendees will be denied entry as has happened at similar events such as the New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con International. Other documented issues include online harassment of attendees and threatening dealers.

Criticism

Hobby Star Marketing (HSM) organizers of this event have been criticized for harmful practices towards other competing conventions, specifically during the years 2004-2006. The various issues have been quiet of late.