Participants from the comic con costume contest line the Medicine Hat Public Library theatre stage for a photo.--News Photo Anna Smith
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Residents of all ages made their way to the Medicine Hat Public Library on Saturday for the inaugural Comic Con, filling all levels of the library with nerdy excitement.
The event ran for most of the day, beginning at 10 a.m., and featured a variety of activities, from a patrolling Darth Vader in honour of Star Wars day, to various artists and local publishers hosting tables to show off their talents.
The event was absolutely a success in the eyes of Frank Krulicki, a comic writer who calls Medicine Hat home. Over the course of the day, Krulicki had the opportunity to host a panel in regards to how to break into the comic book industry, and was pleased to see the results of the library’s work to make the event happen.
“We actually sold more books in the first 15 minutes at this convention than we’d sold in the first 15 minutes of any other convention, including Calgary and Edmonton,” said Krulicki, who said this spoke well to the city’s interest in local creatives.
The day coincided with both Free Comic Book Day, which the library had previously participated in, as well as Star Wars Day, inspiring themed crafts and scavenger hunts for younger attendees.
The event was also fantastic for groups looking to introduce themselves to the broader community, such as Medicine Hat’s local Shire for the Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA.
“We’ve been working on everything for about a good year and a half, almost two years now. So we’re just starting to get our name on the websites, that’s how new we are,” said Michael Chizmadia, Herald for the group, who is known within the organization as Vilkas.
The library had previously invited the group out for its Medieval Night, and has since invited them back again, for demonstrations of heavy-armour combat throughout the day of the convention. It is their hope that participation in the day may inspire more people to get involved, from interest in combat arts to work in the historical arts and sciences.
“We invited folks to come out and join us as we teach heavy armour, rapier fencing, and become a member with us. You know anybody that wants to come out and recreate history,” said Chizmadia. Overall, he noted he was happy with the turnout, and the opportunity for members to show off their skills for an audience as well.
“It’s been wonderful. It’s been good turnout, good involvement, and I’ve had a lot of good conversations with people,” said Krulicki.
Krulicki added he believed this was a fantastic option for those who may find a trip to one of the larger conventions either time or cost prohibitive.
