Supanova Gold Coast 2022 Wrap-Up
Australia’s long-awaited comic con & gaming expo returns to the Gold Coast in style!
Showcasing the biggest and best in gaming, pop-culture, and anime, Supanova: Comic Con & Gaming returned to the Gold Coast on April 9th – 10th 2022. This year’s expo featured some big-name guests in gaming, including some prominent voice actors who have worked on critically-acclaimed games, stars from the Star Wars and Harry Potter films, and a guest appearance and Q&A with Josh Lawson whose role as Kano in 2021’s live-action Mortal Kombat carried the entire film.
Here’s a brief wrap-up and some highlights from the expo:
Voice acting featured strongly in this year’s Supanova, with some big names in the Australian VA industry sharing their experience, skills, and insight. This was kicked off by local talent Aimee Smith, who has taken up a full-time career in voice acting.
Aimee recently featured in Humble Games‘ “Chinatown Detective Agency” and gave an insightful and informative talk on starting out in the voice acting world.
Aimee emphasised the importance of a proper recording setup, including USB microphones, using the audio-editing software “Audacity“, and even recording your audio while hiding underneath a fluffy blanket as a portable recording studio. Some really handy tips! Likewise, voice actor Ben Prendegast also spoke about his voice acting talents and shared heaps of entertaining tales from his time in the industry.
Ben Prendergast, whose voice talents feature on Hades, God of War (2018) and Apex Legends had a great session discussing his work in gaming.
The expo’s gaming star of the show was of course Josh Lawson, who both literally and figuratively killed it as Kano in the recent live-action Mortal Kombat film. Lawson spoke about his time on set working on the Mortal Kombat movie and ad-libbing many of his one-liners, as well as some of his other products as an up-and-coming film director. A very personable Q&A session and as funny in real life as he is on camera!
Josh Lawson (Mortal Kombat, Superstore) delivers a hilarious and entertaining Q&A session.
Tonnes of gaming gear was also available for purchase, including some impressive and detailed figures. Here are a few of the highlights – unlike many guests, I luckily managed to leave the showfloor with my wallet completely unscathed. That doesn’t happen often when you attend a convention.
Though it was obvious that most of the stalls were absolutely dominated by anime figures, which numbered in the thousands. One particularly impressive statue of TITANic proportions caught my eye and stood almost a metre tall, decorated with superb details.
Thousands of anime figures were available, including this detailed Attack on Titan figure.
Sunday at the expo wrapped up with the highly anticipated cosplay showcase – featuring some seriously impressive gaming cosplays and a performance from rock violinist, KATEI. My personal favourite cosplay of the day was Cloud from the Final Fantasy VII Remake in his fabulous “Wall Market” dress.
Unfortunately there was no choreographed dance sequence.
Overall, the expo featured something for everyone! Though mostly geared towards the anime fandom, there was still plenty to satisfy all fans of videogames, comics and all other forms of pop culture. If you have the opportunity to attend a Supanova near you, definitely check it out. You won’t be disappointed!
Full disclosure: a free Media Pass was kindly provided by Supanova for the purpose of this coverage.
