Supanova; do you feel welcome?

Supanova, a pop-culture convention held across Australia has attendees gushing over the expo, but a prominent comic book store has other views.

Today geeks and nerds are classed as the epitome of “cool”, no longer are they stuffed in lockers or made fun of; pop-culture conventions like Supanova have exploited these terms to make them universally accepted and celebrated.

Supanova provides pop-culture addicts with interests in cosplay, films, games, Japanese manga, anime, comics and art with opportunities to express themselves, meet famous people and explore new hobbies whilst maintaining a “cool” factor.

Kaylah Wanny, cosplayer and Supanova attendee describes the convention as “a welcoming environment for the passionate consumers of such interests”.

 “I have always felt comfortable cosplaying at the convention as it attracts like minded and creative people who share the same hobbies and interests”, she says.

Kaylah Wanny, cosplaying anime character Nagiza Hazuki from 'Free!' in front of her figurine and game collection.

Cherie Lynch, an artist represented at the expo in the ‘Teens on Acid' stall earlier this year agrees about the safe and welcoming environment saying, “I like that everyone has a weekend to chill out and dress up however they want without the feeling of being judged”.

“It brings people together and you can meet other people with similar interests whether its in art, gaming or cartoons, I find that a lot of people who come along are all creative and open minded people, and they have a different appreciation of art”, Cherie says.

A Supernova volunteer from 2009, Bethany McConachy, thinks Supanova is great for pop-culture enthusiasts saying, “It provides a convention where they can express their passion with like minded individuals”.

On the contrary to this belief, popular Brisbane comic book store, Comics Etc., has a different point of view.

A spokesperson from the 35-year-old business says, “Supanova very much tailors themselves to a target audience, but if you are on the fringes of Geekdom we have been told it can be quite daunting”.

Customer Maddie Walsh, browses the wide selection of comic books available at Comics Etc.

Comics Etc. says that 5 years ago the convention was a highlight for their store, but “Now the focus of Supanova has become almost exclusively about spending your money on Signatures, Supanova Merchandise, Vendor Food, and even entry that most retailers are lucky to break even”.

The store that features regularly at Supanova explains the conventions popularity in Brisbane; “They have a monopoly on the market and it’s the only convention in Queensland”.

The convention is held regularly in Queensland, with the next Supernova pop-culture weekend planned in Brisbane for November.

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Hey guys! This story is another assessment item for my reporting course for university; we had to focus on an 'event', but we needed an angle and we couldn't just broadcast the event. Just a quick disclaimer to say that my opinion may or may not be different to those expressed here, it's important objective reporting took place so I tried to get as many perspectives and varying opinions as possible. 

I'd like to say a humongous thank you to the guys at Comics Etc., who helped me out a lot with their insight and allowing me to take photos in their store, to Kaylah Wanny (Instagram: @kaylahsan) for letting me photograph her fantastic cosplay, to Cherie Lynch (Instagram: @cheriebuttonss) and her incredible answers to my many questions and to Bethany McConachy for giving me her opinion as a volunteer.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this story; I'd love to hear your own opinions so feedback is welcome. 

Love you all, Tayla oxox