The heads of HobbyStar Marketing, Inc. have informed me (and authorized me to share) that the attendance for Fan Expo Canada 2010 was 64,992 – representing a 9.7% increase over the 2009 numbers.

The figure is derived from a straight addition of all passes sold – regardless of pass tier – Basic, Deluxe, Child, Premium and Horror VIPs.  Each pass sold counts as one person.

The number does not include exhibitors, guests, volunteers and staff.

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As many of you know, for the sake of complete disclosure – I also do work for the company as their Canadian Comic Book Guest Coordinator. My involvement includes – among other things – primarily offering advice and input, as well as recruiting, coordinating and looking after Canadian comic book creators invited to participate in the shows and in doing so make sure their interests are looked after at our events and voiced to show management. I’ve also recently done similar work with the last Montreal Comic-Con (which is not a HobbyStar event).

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As such, we’re also announcing the upcoming 2010-2011 schedule for the Toronto ComiCONs which we firmed up a couple of weeks ago (Note: All HobbyStar events take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre):

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2010
11am-5pm
Admission $6 (tax included), FREE for Fan Expo Canada VIPs
Guests:
Jamal Igle, Artist – Supergirl (DC)
Francis Manapul, Artist – The Flash (DC)
Anthony Del Col & Conor McCreery, Writers – Kill Shakespeare (IDW)
Andy Belanger, Artist – Kill Shakespeare (IDW)
Kagan McLeod, Cover Artist – Kill Shakespeare (IDW)
Alvin Lee, Artist – Birds of Prey (DC)
Marcus To, Artist – Red Robin (DC)
Agnes Garbowska, Artist – Girl Comics (Marvel)
Jim Zubkavich, Writer – SkullKickers (Image)
Scott Chantler, Cartoonist, Two Generals
More guests TBA

Due to space considerations, we can only invite a limited number of guests to each of the one day events so I’ve tried to include creators who have some big releases coming up this fall – for example – IDW will be releasing the first trade paperback collection of KILL SHAKESPEARE, which is the perfect jumping on point for new readers so we’ve invited the ENTIRE creative team of Del Col, McCreery, Belanger and McLeod! Scott Chantler’s graphic novel TWO GENERALS is due in stores in late October/early November so we’ve invited him to come down to the event to promote the release. Jim Zubkavich’s SKULL KICKERS is a run away hit and we’re honoured to have Jim come down to the one-day show to meet with fans and discuss his upcoming plans for the series. Alvin Lee is currently wowing the fans with his work on BIRDS OF PREY for DC Comics and he’ll be joining the popular trio of Francis Manapul (THE FLASH), Agnes Garbowska (GIRL COMICS) and Marcus To (RED ROBIN). There will be a few more guests invited as the space fills up.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2011
11am-5pm
Admission $6 (tax included), FREE for Fan Expo Canada VIPs
Guests TBA

SATURDAY & SUNDAY, APRIL 9-10, 2011
Times TBA
Admission: FREE
Guests TBA

The big news is that the 2-day April 9-10 Fan Appreciation Toronto ComiCON will be 100% free admission in 2011. In past years, Saturday admission was $10 and Sunday admission was Free provided you had a coupon from a participating Toronto area store. However in 2011, in part to thank the fans for their understanding and patience with the last Fan Expo, the doors will be thrown open and there will be no admission charge at all – no coupons required, no hoops to jump through, no terms or conditions – it’s free admission to anyone and everyone who wants to come down and check out the show.