If you could be someone else for a day, who would it be?
This weekend, thousands of fans at Toronto Comicon answered that question by dressing up — also known as cosplaying — as characters from their favourite comics, video games, anime, shows and movies.
The Star dropped by a packed Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Saturday afternoon to chat with those sporting the most eye-catching costumes.
Meghan Krizus, 29, math and English tutor
Comicons attended: “20, at least.”
Character: Aayla Secura from “Star Wars”
Why: “She believes in using her strength to protect those who need protecting, and that really agreed with me. I also like that she’s blue. Blue’s my favourite colour.”
Andrew Saxon, 41, app developer and database administrator
Comicons attended: “Around the 40 mark.”
Character: Gandalf from “The Lord of the Rings”
Why: “One of the stars [of Peter Jackson’s adaption] is here: Andy Serkis,” who plays Gollum in the beloved trilogy. “I kinda came to meet with him.”
Most excited for: The community. “Coming out of winter, this is the first big ‘Con event. This is when you’re going to see a lot of the friends you’ve made in the past.”
Chelsea Telesford, 14
Comicons attended: 1
Character: Hu Tao from the video game “Genshin Impact”
Why: “Hu Tao’s my favourite character … She always loves playing pranks, she’s always trying to find ways to stir up business for her funeral parlour. And I just think that’s really cute.”
Justin Bumaleg, 25, robotics engineer
Comicons attended: 1
Character: Kure Raian from Japanese manga series “Kengan Ashura”
Why: “I’ve been practicing stunts and martial arts since I was a kid, and the premise of the show is all about martial arts. I just really gravitated toward those characters.”
Luke Donnelly, 50s, manager
Comicons attended: 100 (approximately)
Character: Wolverine
Why: “Many people tell me I look familiar, so I thought I might as well try it.”
Most excited for: “Just here to see good friends I haven’t seen in a while.”
Kaleb Acab, 13
Comicons attended: 3
Character: Chad and Raccacoonie from “Everything Everywhere All At Once”
Why: “I just like the movie. My dad made [the costume] for me for Halloween, and he made it for himself, too. So we thought, ‘What if we both go to Comicon as this?’”
Anthony Acab, 48, youth counsellor
Comicons attended: 3
Character: Chad and Raccacoonie from “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Favourite part of Comicon: “Seeing everyone in their element and what people are really passionate about. Here’s this opportunity to celebrate, shine and just be all the freaks and misfits that we are.”
Philippe Darveau, 51, retired veteran
Comicons attended: 3
Character: Jack Skellington and his dog, Zero, from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”
Favourite part: “I have strong PTSD. Usually I’m afraid of big places with a lot of crowds. But Comiccons are the only exception — I’m not scared here. So it’s like doing my homework to heal myself — and have fun at the same time.”
John Peake, 26, coroner and aspiring construction diver
Comicons attended: 4
Character: Doomslayer from the video game franchise Doom
Why: “Doom Slayer was thrown into a sh — t situation by doing the right thing, and is merely driven by his rage and his ability to push forward through any situation, his ability to hunt demons. He’ll do that to avenge his pet rabbit and his family he lost along the way.”
Favourite part of Comicon: “I’m really here [to let] people take pictures, show off what I got, do a little advertising myself. I do a lot of props. You see that giant sword over there? That’s one of my creations.”
Susan Jamjekian, 45, army cook
Character: Harley Quinn from “The Suicide Squad”
Comicons attended: 1
Most excited for: “There’s a lot of really special people coming here, like Robbie Amell,” who plays Firestorm on the television series The Flash. “And tomorrow we’re dressing like Star Trek. So just everything — everything’s exciting.”
Garo Jamjekian, 45, professor
Character: The Joker from “Batman”
Comicons attended: 1
Why: “He’s got pizzazz. He’s got a great wardrobe. And I like this version of him from the video game and from the comics. I wanted to go with the frills. Feels good!”
Frederick Lao, 27, entrepreneur
Comicons attended: 1
Character: Zhongli from the video game “Genshin Impact”
Why: “He looks handsome. He looks cool.”
Lindsay Rysdale, 34, mother, receptionist and bartender
Comicons attended: 3
Character: Black Widow from the Marvel Comics
Why: “I love The Avengers. I love the MCU (Marvel Comic Universe) … And I had to do Marvel today because there’s a Marvel meetup with my friends.”
Serena Liu, 25
Comicons attended: 1
Character: Ningguang from the video game “Genshin Impact”
Favourite part: Meeting up with other fans cosplaying characters from “Genshin Impact.” “It’s so exciting to [meet] in the actual world” after playing with them online.
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