The inaugural Brantford Comic Com, held in the spring of 2025 at the Branlyn Community Centre, was a success, attracting legions of pop culture fans while having an array of vendors, local creative talent and special guests.
James Wright, who was one of the key organizers of the event, explained the Comic Con’s origins.
“The convention’s concept began internally among the small group of us who organized it. Since we’re all geeks, we were already used to attending comic conventions across the region—in places like Hamilton, Niagara, London, and Toronto. We simply wanted to create a cool event right here in Brantford. The idea had been quietly percolating for about four years before…and with Andrew Thomas and Shayne Maracle joining the team, the project really started to move,” he said. “Shayne had experience running numerous wrestling events, bringing expertise in both the wrestling and broader pop culture side of things. We were also joined by Andrew, a professional comic book artist who has worked with major names [ranging] from Dark Horse Comics to Kevin Smith. Ultimately, the convention was the result of combining a passionate group of people, all doing what they loved, to make something great happen for the community.”
However, momentum grew as people became aware that a local comic con was in the works, especially with the additional of Ming Chen, an American actor, podcaster, and reality show host.
“Our goal, when organizing the convention was to emphasize local artists like Andrew Thomas, Steve McGinnis, and Scott Wojcik. But the overall focus quickly shifted, though, once word-of-mouth spread online and well-known figures like Ming Chen became involved, causing the event to truly grow into something much bigger. When we initially announced the event, particularly on social media, people started to discover us organically…someone would tag a friend on our posts.’ Word-of-mouth really helped us as well as our network in the community,” the organizer noted. “Ming had visited Brantford previously, so when he was tagged in a post about the Comic Con, he immediately reached to us saying that we wanted to be part of it. His participation was a huge win for us; he became one of the best ambassadors we could have asked for. He was constantly on social media, taking photos, giving shout outs to bartenders at The Rope Factory, and even grabbing a burger at Spools. That level of engagement and enthusiasm really helped sell the event online. We were initially surprised he’d travel all the way from New Jersey for an inaugural event, but he genuinely loves the community and pop culture conventions. He was simply up for the adventure.”
Wright also quickly discovered the talent right here in Brantford as the team continued to garner guests for the convention.
“Finding this creative community was a great experience. For instance, when I first met one of the artists, there was that moment of surprise that they [also] lived here in Brantford; that shock of discovering another talented creative person nearby was an amazing feeling. Pretty Ricky Willdy and Scott Chase, two popular wrestlers from Brantford, have also been amazing to work with. We really have a wealth of creative talent here in the Brantford community. I just find we aren’t always the best at shining a spotlight on the hidden gems we have. Steve McGinnis is another example; I had no idea he lived here; we just hadn’t connected [and] finding out he’s done Fangoria magazine covers and the artwork for the Terrifier movie. And from the beginning, our goal was to showcase Brantford’s many unique features. Fortunately, the community enthusiastically rallied around us to help celebrate it,” Wright said.
Along with the featured guests, vendors have played a crucial role in the success of the convention.
“We initially feared, as with any new event, that nobody would show up. [However,] we quickly received a fantastic response, particularly from the vendors. They were really the first to show their support, reaching out to say to be part of the convention and to help. We ended up with some amazing vendors [and] the success stories we heard were truly encouraging. For example, Lara [O’Connor], the Lego blocks vendor, was a huge hit with the kids. We also had the crochet vendor, Mortician Kitten Co there [and] hearing her story was a real highlight; she posted a video blog saying this was the very first convention she was ever approved for as a vendor. She not only sold out but was overwhelmed by the response, realizing she hadn’t brought enough product. Having people who followed her on TikTok come and introduce themselves face-to-face was the highest compliment we could receive about the quality of our vendors,” Wright recalled. “Beyond the [strong] sales, we received a deeply touching message from one vendor. Just days before the event, the owner of Bard’s Collectibles experienced a tragic family loss and considered canceling. However, he decided to attend, later posting a heartfelt social media message that the event was exactly what he needed. He explained that he had been ‘down in the dumps,’ but seeing everyone there genuinely lifted his spirits. For us, that was an incredibly moving moment for us to experience.”
Cosplay was also front and centre at the convention, and attracted many fans of a variety of video games, and movies.
“The moment we announced the event and tickets went on sale; we were delighted to have some local cosplayers reach out to us. We were hopeful that we could attract a good number of participants. On our media day, sponsored by Josh Wall and the Crew Real Estate…we were already doing interviews with our scheduled guests when we had a major breakthrough: Nathan [Tebbens], who would be our Master Chief Halo cosplayer, reached out. He volunteered to come down and film mock commercials and promotional content. Additionally, one of the organizer’s sons showed up dressed as Wolverine, which helped set a great initial tone for the event,” he said. “On the day of the event, we had no concrete expectations, knowing only that a few cosplayers had promised to attend…[but] we were absolutely overwhelmed by the response. By 9:30 in the morning, cosplayers were already lining up [and] throughout the day, we were treated to having literally the best cosplayers you could imagine. The variety was fantastic: we had Shrek and Fiona, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, a lot of Halo cosplayers, and numerous Star Wars enthusiasts (including the well-known 501st Legion.) Getting to know the local cosplay community was a genuinely amazing experience. Everybody came out to have fun, and the hard work they put into their costumes was very impressive. For example, Nathan mentioned that he spent about three months building his Halo costume, which included 3D printing the helmet. Seeing that dedication first-hand was truly awesome.”
Brantford Comic Con also welcomed other guests that were big hits with fans.
“Bringing in our special guests was a team effort, leveraging deep connections within different fan communities. Shayne is a die-hard wrestling fan with extensive connections in the community and was instrumental in bringing in the professional wrestler, Danhausen. He’s previously brought big names like Mick Foley and Hacksaw Jim Duggan to Brantford. When word got out that Shayne was looking for a wrestling guest, he was able to secure Danhausen, who immediately came on board. This was a significant achievement, as Danhausen doesn’t do many conventions. We saw a lot of fans drive in from out of town specifically to meet him,” he explained. “The voice actor Frederick B. Owens was brought to the table by Dave [Fawcett], known as “The TMNT Collector” (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). Dave is a legendary figure in Ninja Turtles fandom, holding the Guinness World Record for the most Ninja Turtle items, over 2,000, filling his entire home. Having befriended many people involved with the franchise, Dave is connected to Frederick B. Owens [and] suggested him as a guest because of his amazing voice credits in the Ninja Turtles cartoons, as well as his extensive acting work in movies and TV shows.”
Spawning from the overwhelming success of the Comic Con, the team looked to develop other creative events including a holiday market called Geeky Gifts, that will be held in November 2025.
“The idea for the holiday market was conceived by Shayne, who simply wanted to do something cool and engaging in the time between our 2025 and 2026 Comic Cons. He proposed a geek-themed Holiday Market which we thought the idea was brilliant. We started with tempered expectations, but the response was immediate and overwhelming…we sold out of vendor spaces faster than we had for the main Comic Con event,” he stated. “This allowed us to really highlight local talent [including] many crafters, artists, and people with unique items to sell—from artwork to witch paraphernalia. Many of them had heard about the success of the first Comic Con and eagerly signed up. The timing was perfect, bridging the gap between Halloween and the Christmas season. We figured there was no better way to kick off the holidays than with a fantastic geek market.”
Nevertheless, several local businesses were intrigued by the new comic con and reached out to get involved as a sponsor including the Rope Factory and The Crew Real Estate.
“My relationship with Jamie [Stephens] goes back many years. As music guys, we connected and formed a friendship, even sharing office space at one point. We’ve always been close, and I was happy to help him with Call Home, his own large-scale music festival, which was one of the first big events in Brantford. When Jamie heard we were starting our own venture, he was one of the first people to step forward, immediately offering his support,” he said. “It’s incredibly reassuring to know you have friends you can count on when taking a big risk like this. He gave us his full blessing to host our after-party at The Rope Factory, and he’s been very supportive since day one,” he said.
Along with the Geeky Gifts Holiday Market, Wright and the team look ahead to the 2026 Brantford Comic Con and other opportunities to
“We’re all absolutely floored by the success of the first event [which] exceeded everyone’s expectations. Now, the goal is simple [which is to] keep building it. The success proves that people want this type of event in Brantford and has given us the confidence [where] nothing feels unattainable. We are focused on making this an annual event for the city to celebrate pop culture, comics, wrestling, and every kind of subculture of fandom. Bringing in guests like Ming last year just underscores how high we can aim,” he said. “We are currently looking at a bigger venue space which presents logistical challenges, but they are necessary…because the demand is so high. The number of vendors for 2026 is already nearly double that we had in 2025, which is fantastic news. More space is needed to accommodate more people and meet the growing demand. We feel that we set the bar quite high in the first one, and our primary goal now is to exceed those expectations in year two…and we’re committed to delivering a bigger and better experience.”
