Montreal ComicCon moves up to Palais des Congrès The Montrealer August 21, 2012 3027 The hugely popular celebration of comic book characters is moving to the larger venue for the September 15 – 17 annual Montreal show “San Diego Comic Book Convention” now known as ComicCon was founded in 1970 by a group of comic book enthusiasts. Now the largest comic book and popular arts convention in the world, ComicCon is held in cities throughout North America. Montreal ComicCon is a place to discover independent artists and their creations, hundreds of merchants selling rare comic books, exclusive toys and pop culture-inspired apparel. The creators of Montreal ComicCon along with a few special guests, including a life-sized Hulk, recently unveiled the 2012 edition at Terrasse Bonsecours. The Guest of Honour of the September event will be William Shatner, the man who brought Captain Kirk to life in the original Star Trek series. He will be joined by the android Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Star Trek: Next generation. The crowd cheered its approval at the conference when Patrick Stewart, Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: Next Generation was also announced as one of the special guests. Adding to this year’s celebrity list are Adam Baldwin, best known for his roles in Firefly and in Chuck; Aaron Ashmore and Eddie McClintock, best known for their roles in Warehouse 13. Some of the cast of the sci-fi series Being Human including Meaghan Rath, Sam Huntington and Kristen Hager will also be joining Montreal ComicCon in September. The original Batmobile from the 1989 Batman movie as well as the original Starsky and Hutch car will be on display. This event is for all comic fans, including those of Tintin who will be able to meet Jean-Pierre Talbot, the actor who portrayed the hero in Tintin and the Golden Fleece and Tintin and the Blue Oranges. The 2012 edition of Montreal ComicCon has expanded to three days in a much larger venue because of the number of fans whom could not attend the event last year due to lack of space. Montreal ComicCon will take place at the Palais des Congrès on September 14, 15 and 16. Over the three days, there will be many activities including the costume competition as well as the ComicCon Masquerade. Visitors will also be challenged by sketcharades; where players must guess words through drawings. A special celebration will honor the creators of comic books, graphic novels and web comics by Canadians with the 8th annual Joe Shuster Awards. For more info and tickets, visit www.montrealcomiccon.com