Published on October 25, 2016 | by Alexander Handziuk Photography by Jouisonn Coloma
2Comic-Clubbing for Beginners
A high turnout for Ignite’s annual comic expo begs the question, why is there no comic related club at Humber?
Hundreds of students flocked to the cafeterias at Humber North and Lakeshore campuses on the week of October 5 for the expo, at times making it difficult for people to get through. The event, put on by student group Ignite, let students try out new video games, buy some art and even meet Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D star, Brett Dalton, free of charge.
The screams of students surged through Humber as Dalton made his way to the autograph area. He had a grin on his face and was noticeably excited when he heard the theme song for Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D playing.
Dalton personally knows about the power of clubs. At his Q and A he said that it was a theatre club in his first year of university that awakened his love of acting.
“I went home and changed my intended major because I really wanted to do theatre,” said Dalton. “There were lot of things that really just clicked once I found myself in front of people with similar views,”
There is currently no club for students passionate about the comics medium to meet at either Humber north or Humber south campuses. And Ammar Abdul-Raheem, the VP of Student Affairs at Humber North Campus, said that it’s time for that to change.
“The money, the tools, the space is all provided. I’ve been preaching… trying to get a comic club to happen” he said, “What’s important is for all the students who love comic books, who love this culture to start a club, where we [Ignite] actually fund you up to $1,000 to follow the passion” he said.
Ignite offers club allowance to organize meetings, plan special events and keep the club running year round. According to Abdul-Raheem, as long as there is passion a club can thrive.
Dayna Kenworthy is a Guelph-Humber student and passionate cosplayer. She dresses up as fictional characters from comics, TV shows and movies and creates a new cosplay every month. At the event she was decked out in full armour, for her portrayal of Maiev Shadowsong from the popular video game series, World of Warcraft.
“It takes me about three hours to get dressed and a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get my cosplay together,” she said.
Even with all the effort she says she loves to cosplay and having a place to interact with people with similar passions makes all the work worth it.
“You meet a lot of different people cosplaying, and I’ve met some of my best friends while doing so,” she said.
Kevin Hickey, owner of Stadium Comics in Brampton and sponsor of the event, loved seeing the passion that students have for comics and is proud of being able to create a space for them to interact.
“I’m proud to give the Humber students a representation of the cool stuff that’s going on in the comics scene,” he said. “The passion is definitely there.”
There are currently 28 clubs at both Humber campuses and anybody who’s interested in creating a club at Humber can visit the clubs page.
Abdul-Raheem stressed that although school is a main priority, students should not forget the things they love.
“You’re here to learn and a lot of times we leave our passion behind and that’s why clubs are so important,” he said.
About the Author
Alexander Handziuk is a Journalism student who loves comics, Star Wars and Hamilton. He aspires to be a lot of things, but mostly a journalist. You can find him on twitter at @axehandziuk.
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