Politics, Comic Books and Coins

The intermittent silence on Politico over the weekend stemmed from my time covering the National Fan Expo in Toronto for one of the culture vulture websites I get paid to write for. For those unfamiliar with Fan Expo, I basically describe it to the less nerdy as Canada's Comic Con, an expansive event for all things nerdy including science fiction, horror, comic books, and video games. But since synergy is synergy, the occasion offered a compelling opportunity, for politics and nerdery to mix.

The picture above is of Peter Van Loan, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, and Patrick Hadsipantelis, Vice-President of Marketing and Communications for the Royal Canadian Mint. The kids are Van Loan's, his daughter Caroline and his son John, and as a family they unveiled four new Superman collector coins from the Royal Canadian Mint. The original seven coins were introduced last year for the Man of Steel's 75th anniversary, and they were so popular that the Mint minted more, this time featuring famous covers from the superheroes comic book exploits.

“Generations of people in Canada and around the world have come to know the legend of Superman,” Van Loan said from his prepared remarks. “His countless fans have been inspired by his selfless and unshakable character, and you can clearly see at events like Fan Expo that people are proud to identify with a hero who, though fictional, embodies so many qualities we respect and admire.”

And clearly the government is proud to descend on a nerd-friendly event to sell nerd-friendly merchandise, essentially making themselves another retailer at the Expo next to One Million Comics and EB Games. On the other hand, this event, despite the fact that its political in nature, was refreshingly non-partisan. In fact, I later saw Van Loan with his kids taking in the LEGO display at the Expo, which featured a life-size LEGO Batman and Groot & Rocket from Guardians of the Galaxy.

I don't think it's a big secret that my personal politics don't line up with the Conservative Party of Canada's, but maybe beyond politics, we're not that different after all.

You can read my article about the unveiling at Nerd Bastards.com