Hundreds of anime fans returned to downtown Winnipeg this weekend as Ai-Kon took place at the RBC Convention Centre for the first time in two years.
“I got what I came for, scum and villainy,” said Scott Tackaberry, owner of GameKnight Games and Cool Stuff, taking a break from his table to buy an art print of an old-school mustachioed villain, “everyone needs a good monster.”
The print is from award-winning comic creator GMB Chomichuk, who is tabling at the long-running anime convention for the fourth time. Chomichuk works full-time as an author and artist, selling his comic books, novels, and art at conventions across North America. “It’s as much a compulsion these days as it is a profession,” he said.
Ai-kon is the first locally-run convention to return post-pandemic, something Chomichuk does not take for granted. “Even though my work doesn’t feel exclusively anime, the themes that are centred in it: magical women, gigantic robots, fighting evil against all odds, all that stuff is present in my work so I think that’s why it connects here.”
The convention runs until Sunday at 6:00 p.m., with guests, panels, costume contests and other events taking place 24 hours/day at the convention centre. More information can be found here.
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