“With over 103,000 fans coming through the gates, the 11th annual Calgary Entertainment Expo was a resounding success,” said convention spokesperson, Emily Expo. “With guest like Stan Lee, Peter Mayhew, William Shatner, Agents of SHIELD’s Clark Gregg, X-Men actress Famke Janssen and the Malfoy brothers, Tom Felton and Jason Isaacs, we were able to provide our guests with a good cross section of the current hot Hollywood franchises in addition to top notch comic book creators like Mike Zeck, John Beatty, Don Rosa, Joe Staton, Joe Rubenstein, and Nat Jones.”

This year marked the first Calgary appearances for many Artist Alley professionals.

“I’m here because Dan Parent (Archie) kept telling me I had to come to Calgary,” said current Dick Tracy artist Joe Staton. “This has been a great show and they (the organizers) are treating us like royalty.”

Staton’s 45-year career spans through stints at Charlton Comics, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and First Comics. 

“I either wanted to be an inker or a penciller when I started,” Staton added. “It turns out I’ve done both and oddly enough, my ‘first’ artwork at age 3 was supposedly Dick Tracy according to my parent, is what I’m doing now!”

Mike Zeck and John Beatty were thrilled with the reception of Alberta comic book fans.

“This has been a great show,” said Zeck. “It has the feel of a large show, but is run like a small one with us (creators) being asked continually if we want something or they can help us.”

Beatty agreed.

“Every show we go to is different, and this is my first appearance in Calgary,” said Beatty. “If they want me back, I’ll be here. This is great.”

Other first time attendees included Don Rosa, who thrilled Donald Duck fans with his artwork and visited throughout the weekend.

Archie Comics sent a large contingent to Calgary in celebration of their revamp and off-the-wall titles like Archie Vs Predator, Archie Vs Sharknado, and Archie and the Ramones. Artists Dan Parent, Fernando Ruiz, Rich Koslowski, Fiona Staples and Gisele LaGace were in attendance to sketch, sign, and listen to “I love Archie,” stories from adoring fans.

“Canada loves Archie,” noted Ruiz during the Archie panel on Saturday. “According to sales figures, Canadian sales are equal to that of the States with only 1/10th of the population. From the people we have talked to across the country, we can believe that.”

Parent, Ruiz, LaGace and Koslowski were actively pitching their newest project, Die Kitty Die! which will be out in late June as a hardcover.

“Since leaving Archie, I have been busy on our creator owned property, Die Kitty Die!,” said Ruiz of the Kickstarter project. “Once we print the book, we will be moving to Chapterhouse Comics and then be an ongoing series. We are all excited about the opportunity to flex our creative muscles.”

The Comic Legend Legal Defense Fund (CLLDF) was also well represented with Canadian artist, Ty Templeton signing and sketching to raise money for creators. Happy Harbor Comics owner and CLLDF representative, Jay Bardyla was pleased with the results. 

“Ty is doing a great job for us and it’s great he was able to lend a pencil for the weekend,” said Bardyla.

Jens Robinson, son of Jerry Robinson was in attendance for the first time promoting his new book on his father, due out next year from Dark Horse.  

“My fathers’ life was not just comic books, though that is what most people remember him for,” said Robinson who splits time between New York and Los Angeles. “He founded a syndicate for political cartoonists which I continue to this day in association with the New York Times, and he was always one to never put all his eggs in one basket. That will be evident in the new book.”

Lovern Kindzierski and Renegade Press debuted Underworld, a dark gritty book that won the approval of fans quickly.

“It’s a different book than Shame,” said publisher Alex Finbow. “We expect it to reach a different audience, much like Arctic Comics will reach other readers.”

As with every convention, the whole story does not happen in artist alley or celebrity central. 

Lorraine, a volunteer with the Jack Kirby Museum, noted that during the costume judging contest, a marriage proposal was made and accepted!

With the changing landscape of convention interests, cosplay has become more popular as the aisles were populated with characters from Brave, Sesame Street, Star Wars, DC Comics (every world), Marvel Comics, and movie franchises.

“It always amazes me how creative these fans are,” said Hilarie Staton of the growing skill and complexity of the costumes fans wear. “I remember when Joe and I would go to shows and it was unusual to see someone dressed up, now it is almost unusual to not see everyone costumed up.”

Despite the uncertainty of the economy, convention sales were brisk and a $99,000 copy of the first appearance of Aquaman sold off the floor. Over the four days, most retailers were pleased with their sales.

The gaming section of the show was vibrant and busy with a large variety of games taking over part of a second building for the four day show.

“As a gamer, it was nice to have a large area to play D&D, and other games away from the main room,” said Geoffrey Lasiuta. “Table top games and RPG’s don’t always work in a crowded space.”

By the end of the show, when the last Marco Polo sounded, organizers, fans and exhibitors were of one mind…We will be back in 2017.

Writer-photographer Tim Lasiuta submitted this report.