Ottawa Comiccon 2025 is coming at us Sept. 5-7 at the EY Centre, and it’s gonna be awesome! The organizers promise “hordes of fabulous fans and more than 300 exhibitor booths spread across 100,000 square feet of shopping madness,” along with great celebrity guests, speaker panels, gaming of all kinds, and and and… Fantasy, sci-fi, horror, anime. I’m practically drooling.
Just for you, I talked nerdy with Comiccon spokesperson, Jason Rockman, to find out more about the con’s 12th edition. The core team behind the convention is less than ten people, and the planning is complex and challenging.
“It’s bananas,” he says. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s rewarding because―when you get to the event―you see how happy it makes people.”
It’s a meetup point for people that have like-minded interests that can build friendships, build a community,” Rockman says. “It’s where pop-culture fans can gather together and can celebrate everything that’s pop-culture.”
Poster provided.
Comiccon shows everyone that geeks are now the in-crowd.
“Anyone that’s been bullied in high school, or that went through a phase―and we all go through it―where you don’t feel like you’re in the cool club… We’re the cool club, and we want everybody to be members.”
If you don’t believe it, just look at the numbers. The first Ottawa Comiccon drew in 25,000 fans, and the con keeps growing. Alongside it―literally―public transport has grown. The Uplands Line 4 O-Train, which opened in January 2025, will drop you right at the doors to the EY Centre.
“I’m curious to see how that’s going to impact attendance this year,” Rockman says. “It’s a great added bonus.”
This will also help the con’s army of volunteers.
“Our volunteers are so important,” Rockman tells me as he welcomes fans to apply. “We have a great program for volunteers…with a few hours work, they get a weekend ticket, and a lot of people love that.”
It’s insane how much Ottawa’s just taken to this event.” – Jason Rockman, Ottawa Comiccon Spokesperson
“Ottawa kind of always feels like the little brother or little sister. We’re just as good… but sometimes we’re in the shadow of some other shows,” Rockman says referring to pop-culture cons like the ones in Montreal in Toronto. But Ottawa has proven itself to be a heavy hitter, and Rockman says he thinks last year “was a big turning point.”
Ottawa Comiccon 2024 put on an event called ‘A Night in the Shire’ with guests Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan whom you might know as the four hobbits from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings franchise.
A Night in the Shire at Ottawa Comiccon 2024. Photo provided.
This year, I’m super excited about Vincent D’Onofrio. You might know him as Kingpin from Marvel’s Daredevil and Daredevil: Born Again TV series. He also starred in Stanley Kubrick’s iconic Full Metal Jacket and Tarsem Singh’s deeply disturbing yet visually stunning The Cell.
The list of celebrity guests is loooong, but that’s not even half of what’s planned.
“There’s all kinds of programming that happens over the weekend that’s really interesting, and it’s all in the EY Centre, and it’s part of your ticket.”
Part of that programming includes panels from each guest.
So how do you decide what to attend and how do you keep track of when it’s happening? Rockman tells me that ticket holders can download an app to “build out” their weekend.
“Look at it and plan out what you want to do so that way you don’t miss anything,” he says.
Tickets are available at the con, but Rockman has one big piece of advice: “To avoid disappointment, get your tickets in advance.”
Ottawa Comiccon 2025 will take place at the EY Centre (4899 Uplands Dr.) from Sept. 5-7. For more information about the convention, check out Ottawa Comiccon or click here for ticket information.
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