Hobbits, heroes and hype: Montreal Comiccon kicks off with star power and fan energy
Posted July 4, 2025 5:07 pm.
Last Updated July 5, 2025 12:08 am.
Montreal Comiccon opened its doors Friday afternoon at Palais des congrès, launching its 15th edition with packed programming, major celebrity guests, and fans in costume lined up well before opening.
“This weekend we have the biggest celebration — the 15th anniversary of Montreal Comiccon,” said Cliff Caporale, programming director for the event.
The convention is expected to draw more than 65,000 visitors over three days. “Last year, I think we had 65,000, so we’re aiming for that number or higher,” Caporale said. “Crossing our fingers because we want to feel like people love us.”
Fans lined up early, some from far away
Hours before the official opening, fans had already started lining up outside the venue.
“These fans are truly dedicated,” Caporale said.
Marie-Hélène Cornier, who drove more than 1,300 kilometres from Havre-Saint-Pierre, made the trip with her daughter to celebrate her birthday. “We come out because we just love it. We are just geeks. Cool geeks,” she said.
Her daughter, who will turn a year older when the event ends on July 6, said she’s most excited to see other fans’ costumes. “It just makes me happy to see that people enjoy the games enough to cosplay and do it.”
Another attendee accompanying them added simply, “This is my first time here, so I don’t know what to expect, but I’m excited for everything. I’m really happy.”
Celebrating comics, media, and community
Montreal Comiccon brings together stars from movies, TV, comics, anime and more. This year’s headliners include Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd and Andy Serkis of The Lord of the Rings films, who will appear together Saturday night for “A Night in the Shire.”
Also on the guest list are William Shatner, Brent Spiner, Peter Weller, Kane Hodder and Rose McGowan.
“You get to see some of the top talent in the world,” said actor John Kassir, best known as the voice of the Crypt Keeper from Tales from the Crypt. “Not only those who make the comic books, but who bring them to life in all different types of media. And you get to see the people who all come because they all have the same love for it. So I mean, that’s what makes it special, you know.”
Kassir, who has fond childhood memories of comic books, shared a personal story about returning to the genre. “When I got the part of the Crypt Keeper, I ran home to find my old comic books and my mom said, ‘Oh, that garbage? I gave it away to some kid down the block.’ I said, ‘You have any idea what those were worth, mother?’”
“Montreal is one of my favorite cities in the world. I had family here when I was a kid. I think my first time in Montreal was 1967 for Expo, and I fell in love with the city then and have loved it ever since,” he added.
First-timers soaking in the experience
For actor Jamie McGuire, the event marks his first convention in Canada.
“I’m just in awe of the whole experience,” he said. “The fans, the vendors, so many awesome celebrities that I grew up watching — I’m just awestruck by it all.”
McGuire said one highlight already made the trip worthwhile: “The fact that I actually met John Kassir just last night. I grew up watching Tales from the Crypt Keeper, and then as I got older, I watched Tales from the Crypt. Meeting him — I’m like, okay, this just made my weekend.”
Asked to pick the thing he was looking forward to most, he said, “It’s really hard for me to choose just one thing because I’m in awe of it all.”
Craft, cosplay and creativity on display
For fans like Florence Dallaire, the event is both tradition and art. “Just for fun, it’s like a tradition with my family,” she said. “And like we always create our cosplay from all favorite characters or our own OCs to come at the convention and just have fun with others.”
Dallaire came dressed as Hawks from My Hero Academia. “For the wings, it take me almost a month,” she said. “The rest, it’s something like I buy it and I made it. I changed some stuff on my cosplay. It takes me like three, four months to do.”
Montreal Comiccon’s main cosplay event, the Masquerade, returns Saturday night and will include a new addition this year — a national cosplay competition.
“This is the Cosplay A,” Caporale explained. “We launched it in Ottawa a couple months ago and we’re doing our round in Montreal. We’re going to choose the best cosplayer in Winnipeg, Ottawa, Quebec City and Halifax, and then next year bring them all together for a big, giant pan-Canadian competition.”
A weekend to escape and connect
Comiccon’s tagline this year — “join the world where we belong” — reflects the welcoming, creative community the event builds each summer.
“What makes it so special? The colourfulness of it all,” Caporale said. “Be it through the cosplayers, the people dressing up as their favourite characters, the people coming onto the stage, like the media guests that are coming to the stage and explaining how it works behind the scenes.”
“The world is kind of like grey outside and this is a place where people set that aside and meet people who are of the same mind and maybe share the same fandoms,” he added.
For McGuire, that spirit defines the weekend. “Montreal, thank you very much. It’s a great honour to be here and I hope to see you all here for the weekend. It’s a really incredible moment.”
