Toronto Comicon, Femme Gaming, & meeting my idol Mona from Nanalan.

Yesterday, Saturday, March 16, the North Building of the Metro Toronto Convention Center transformed into a world of comics, sci-fi, horror, anime, gaming, and cosplay at the 2024 installment of Toronto Comicon.

Whether you're a die-hard comic fan, a sci-fi fanatic, or someone who loves to geek out over the latest gaming trends, this pop culture wonderland has something for everyone. If you've ever experienced Fan Expo, the big brother of this con, you'll find Toronto Comicon to be its equally excellent smaller sibling, albeit a bit more condensed and laser-focused on fandom.

This year, I attended the event with the amazing Femme Gaming crew. For those familiar with my previous gaming event articles, you know that tagging along with the Femme Army is something I often do and is always a blast. Led by the ever-inspiring Jessica Medeiros and her fantastic team, Femme Gaming brings together folks from all walks of life to celebrate inclusivity in the gaming sphere, spotlighting and highlighting female-representing voices in the space.

Femme Gaming also hosted some stellar panels this year. I had the privilege of joining the Femme Gaming Ladies Power Hour: Cosplay & Gaming, where we dove into riveting discussions on cosplay, gaming, and inclusivity alongside some industry leaders. The panel was hosted by FindingKyKy, and joining as panelists along with myself were; Jessica and veteran cosplayers Victoria Ann Buding and Alex Rose. Moments like these remind me why I love being a part of this vibrant community, and I am so happy that my first ever panel was amongst these women.

Of course, Toronto Comicon has no shortage of highlights to behold. From meeting the legendary Nanalan (which I absolutely did) to diving into the world of X-MEN '97 at Xavier's Lounge for Gifted Youngsters and joining into The Movie Podcast Q&A, every corner was bursting with excitement and wonder. This doesn't even include the dozens of cosplay meetups, the artist alley, and, of course, a plethora of fandom stuff to make you go "TAKE MY MONEY."

If you're lucky enough to attend the con today (Sunday), have fun! Since it's the last day, you'll likely get some great end-of-con deals. From a schedule point of view, there will be storytelling sessions exploring manga, animation and motion design, dozens of voice actor and comic book designers to meet, and appearances from the talented Aang and Sokka actors Gordon Cormier and Ian Ousley from Netflix's live adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

So, all in all, this year's Toronto Comicon was good. It was just enough to tide me over until Fan Expo. See you there!