Supanova
Probably one of the most famous cons in Australia right now, Supanova has been generally seen for sometime as the convention in Australia. Supanova isn't just for anime fans but for gamers, comic book fans, sci-fi fans and heck anyone who likes all things geeky and pop culture related, heck even wrestling geeks get catered for. This is a convention with truly something for everyone.Supanova's rise to fame has been through it's wonderful array of special guests that come from all areas of geeky fandom. Having hit Adelaide for the first time this year, it's currently the only convention that is hitting all the major capital cities of Australia and especially in the case of Brisbane is definitely a major highlight for any anime fan.
Supanova generally takes place in April in Melbourne and Gold Coast, June in Sydney and Perth and November in Adelaide and Brisbane.
Oz Comic Con
There was a massive amount of hype and controversy about Oz Comic Con as it finally launched in 2012. Massive controversy surrounded around the usage of the name, with the event having nothing to do with the original Comic Con, while never claiming to be affiliated with the massive San Diego event, they didn't do much to distance themselves.With that aside, it's launch featured none other than Stan Lee, not via a video screen like at many other conventions in the past but actually in the flesh, a mighty drawcard for a legend in his 80's who rarely does cons anymore these days. Despite all the criticisms it was too much for many fans to resist and both Adelaide and Melbourne were packed, while extremely popular, the event suffered many criticisms from lack of organisation and teething problems (http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/07/what-happened-at-oz-comic-con/) , the event is back in 2013 in Perth and Adelaide with William Shatner, the first event is always the hardest and here's hoping that they can learn from their mistakes to put on some amazing shows in 2013.
There's a numerous amount of anime conventions around Australia, Wai-Con (Perth), SMASH (Sydney), Manifest (Melbourne), AI-Con (Hobart), Animania (Sydney and Brisbane), however rather than going through every single one, we're going to focus on our favourite anime convention of the year, AVCon in Adelaide.AVCon is a huge deal, for those in Adelaide, you'll see massive AVCon banners strewn across the city, it's officially recognised as one of the top 20 events in Adelaide by their government and the numbers are pretty much ahead of all the other cons (or on par with Melbourne) and keep in mind this is the smallest major capital city of Australia!
In 2012, AVCon effectively used the entirety of the Adelaide Convention Centre, for what was a massive convention featuring all your usual cosplay, stalls, panels, fashion parades, artists alley, maid cafe and the gaming is really something else, with literally over a hundred consoles and TV's on freeplay for all the play plus a massive stage to play Rock Band on like a real rock band complete with awesome sound and lighting! There is awesome night entertainment featuring screenings, mature age screenings and gaming, quiz nights and our favourite a free all ages Neko Nation event and a bar for those over 18! AVCon takes place in July in Adelaide.
PAX
Around 8 months out from the con, PAX launched pre-sale tickets, the 3 day tickets were sold out within a week. This is what many are claiming to be the con of the year by far. PAX is the Penny Arcade Expo, a massive gaming expo from the people behind the famous Penny Arcade comic. While we have seen the recent EB Expo which has been a great success and well loved by many goers in Gold Coast and Sydney, PAX promises a huge array of gaming in consoles, PC, tournaments, exhibitors and live music performances.While tickets are definitely pricier than other cons, this is a convention that is expected to deliver with many people going expected to travel from interstate for one of the most exciting weekends of 2013.
