Tuesday, August 2, 2016

Toronto, Ontario’s 2016 Fan Expo Canada, scheduled for September 1–4, includes farewells to some US icons, and the debut of a new work by a Canadian icon. The first batch of programming was announced in a media release late last week.

Saturday, September 3, acclaimed Canadian author Margaret Atwood is to launch her graphic novel Angel Catbird, with illustrator Johnnie Christmas. The panel includes a question and answer session and an opportunity to purchase the book before its general release date. Other recent firsts from the 76-year-old Booker Award-winning Atwood include a chamber opera that debuted in 2014, participating in the Twitter Fiction Festival in 2015, and being the first writer included in the Future Library project, her Scribbler Moon not to be read until 2114.

Stan Lee, now 93, is in the midst of what he claims to be his final convention tour. As first announced in February, the Spider-Man, Iron-Man, and X-Men creator is to make his final Canadian convention appearance at Fan Expo. Also bidding adieu to the convention circuit are Adam West and Burt Ward, from the original Batman television series, celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

The remainder of the announced schedule includes various programs for the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, including appearances by actors William Shatner, George Takei, and Nichelle Nichols, the four day long Geekfest Film Festival, and a live script reading of Ghostbusters by voice acting legends Rob Paulsen, Bill Farmer, Maurice LaMarche, and David Hayter. Panels include The Dark Knight III team, including a rare appearance by Frank Miller, the cast of Sailor Moon, and an exclusive panel of Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes.

The 750,000 square foot event projects “over 140,000” attendees this year to Toronto’s Metro Toronto Convention Centre.