By
Hervé St-Louis
August 30, 2009 - 06:05
The second day of the Fan Expo helped the convention carve itself a spot on the map once and for all in the large comic book conventions held throughout the summer. Numbers given by insiders of the show put the attendance level at 30,000 when not counting repeated visitors. Many last minute attendees were still waiting in line to get their passes. There is no official information on what percentage of attendees were multi-day visitors versus single day ones.
More guests such as Leonard Nimoy were also at the show on Saturday drawing more crowds. Security on the grounds was well organized and there were many ushers helping the flow of attendee moving in and about the Toronto Convention Center.
There were more strollers and families, including a little Jawa, an army of stormtroopers and other Star Wars characters. Yet, unlike other shows, the mix was mostly made up of adult men which is always a concern for this writer. For the industry to be healthy, it needs a more diverse fan base.
On the positive sign, this show, like others shows that there is a sub culture that is attracting women to comic books but it is decidedly not super hero-based. Unfortunately, those types of exhibitors were not much in attendance.
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