Supanova Comic Con & Gaming (also known simply as Supanova) is a

fan convention A fan convention (also known as a con or fan meeting) is an event in which Fan (person), fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some also inc ...

focusing on

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

and TV,

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

gaming Gaming may refer to: Games and sports The act of playing games, as in: * Legalized gambling, playing games of chance for money, often referred to in law as "gaming" * Playing a role-playing game, in which players assume fictional roles * Playing ...

and

collectables A collectable (collectible or collector's item) is any object regarded as being of value or interest to a collector. Collectable items are not necessarily monetarily valuable or uncommon. There are numerous types of collectables and terms t ...

. It is held annually in the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

cities of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

and the Gold Coast. The first Supanova was held at the Sydney Showground on the weekend of 20–21 April 2002. It was the successor to comicfest!, four similar conventions under the same management held between March 2000 and November 2002 in

. On the weekend of 13–14 September 2003, Supanova held its first convention in the city of Brisbane at the RNA Showgrounds. In 2008, Supanova expanded to include Melbourne (back-to-back with Brisbane) and Perth (back-to-back with Sydney). In 2012, the convention expanded again, arriving on the Gold Coast and Adelaide for the first time. As of 2013, the combined annual attendance across Supanova's six events was estimated at 160,000 (From 11,600 to 39,400 in 2013 across all cities) with the largest attendance of 50,800 fans participating at the Sydney expo, June 2014.

Convention

Supanova is an Australian-made, independent event not affiliated with foreign exposition producers. It is managed by a team of permanent staff, and was founded by Daniel Zachariou, who also served as Event Director until 2021. There are also a large number of volunteers, generally appointed on an event-by-event basis, who assist with the on-site running of the convention. One of the major attractions at Supanova is the special guests - often well-known personalities of interest to convention attendees who participate in signing sessions and panel discussions with their fans. Other notable attractions at Supanova include the

cosplay Cosplay, a blend word of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and Fashion accessory, fashion accessories to represent a specific Character (arts), character. Cosplayers often i ...

competition, the "Artist's Alley" where aspiring artists can display and sell their work, and the anime theatre. On many occasions Supanova has also hosted, as satellite events, artwork masterclasses, film screenings or similar activities. There is a large exhibitors area at Supanova where attendees can purchase merchandise from one of the many traders present. As of 2014, Supanova is held at the Melbourne Showgrounds and Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre in April, followed by

Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Parramatta, City of Parramatta Council. It i ...

and Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre events in June, and finally at the

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) is a convention centre in Brisbane, Australia. It is located in South Brisbane and occupies most of the block formed by Grey Street, Melbourne Street, Merivale Street, and Glenelg Street. The centr ...

and

Adelaide Showground The Adelaide Showground holds many of Adelaide's most popular events, including the Royal Adelaide Show. The Showground (also popularly known as the Wayville Showgrounds) is located in the inner-southern Adelaide suburb of Wayville, just ...

in November. Supanova's Sydney event was formerly held at the Wharf 8 Function Centre in

King Street Wharf King Street Wharf is a mixed-use tourism, commercial, residential, retail and maritime development on the eastern shore of Darling Harbour, an inlet of Sydney Harbour, Australia. Located on the western side of the city's central business distri ...

, from 2003 to 2005, before returning to Olympic Park in 2006. 2013 was the last time the event was held in Brisbane at the RNA Showgrounds (2003–2013) and Perth's Claremont Showground (2008–2013) having outgrown both venues. In 2017, Supanova announced that they had rebranded from ''Supanova Pop Culture Expo'' to ''Supanova Comic Con & Gaming'', citing that the video games industry had made significant strides within the industry, and the ambiguity of the "pop culture expo" branding.

Events

Past

Controversy

In June 2016, founder Daniel Zachariou shared on his

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page a petition calling for all transgender education to be stopped in schools, and claimed that the Safe Schools program forces children to "learn about sex, gender fluidity and transgenderism at ages as young as 5 without the supervision of parents". This led to outrage and criticism from many convention goers and personalities, and they called for a boycott of the convention. Zachariou later apologized in a post for sharing the petition, by saying "I want to express my sincere apologies to all staff, volunteers, guests and attendees of the Expo, and especially those who identify as LBGTQIA+". He further stated "in no way did I intend to express transphobic or homophobic views, which would not align with the values of acceptance and camaraderie that I hold and aim to demonstrate through Supanova". At Supanova Sydney in June 2021, a stall in the artist hall was found to be selling items including

rising sun flag The is a Japanese flag that consists of a red disc and sixteen red rays emanating from the disc. Like the Flag of Japan, Japanese national flag, the Rising Sun Flag symbolizes the Sun. The flag was originally used by daimyō, feudal warlords ...

s, merchandise with

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

s, fascist and homophobic statements, and shirts proclaiming pride in a "Christian, heterosexual, pro-gun, conservative identity". Upon alerting staff Friday evening all products featuring Nazi and Rising Sun symbols were removed by Supanova staff prior to the convention opening to the public Saturday morning. The stallholders had been removed previously a number of years ago but had continued to exhibit annually as they had been given a 'second chance' by Supanova under threat of permanent removal. Despite this the stall continued to operate throughout Saturday however the stallholders were eventually evicted Sunday morning when fresh concerns surrounding their behavior on Saturday were raised. Supanova issued a statement stating that they "thoroughly investigated the matter with the assistance of the information provided by attendees overnight, and the exhibitor was subsequently removed from the event". However the slow response and lack of oversight by the organisers resulted in criticism from convention goers and the media, and led to renewed calls to boycott the convention. In response to the poor handling of the Sydney 2021 stall incident, Zachariou stepped down as Event Director in July 2021, though he still remains with the company.

References

External links