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Mon: Hello and welcome to a new episode of Stereo Geeks. Today, we’re sharing our recap of Toronto Comicon 2026. I’m one of your hosts, Mon, an entertainment writer with bylines in Bam Smack Pow and Huffpost, to name a few.

Ron: And I’m your other host, Ron, a pop culture critic and managing editor at Women Write About Comics, now on hiatus.

Mon: Before we start our episode, we would like to acknowledge that the land we are recording on is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples. It is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

Ron: While we are making this land acknowledgement, we understand that this is not enough and that positive action is required by the people of Canada to make substantive change for the Indigenous nations and communities whose lands we now reside on.

[Music]

Mon: Our 2026 Toronto Comicon started with some mild drama in the hotel. There was a leak on our floor and to avoid any potential discomfort, we got moved to another floor. 

Ron: Only problem was that we had just checked in and unpacked. We had to repack everything in a hurry so we could move. Much excitement! And that was all the evening before the Con even started.

Mon: The day of the Con, the weather was horrendous. We got drenched on the way to breakfast, and even more drenched on the way back! We just about managed to dry off before heading down to the main event. 

Ron: The one thing that always drives me a bit bonkers about the first day of the convention is that we invariably need to exit the building and then re-enter. Which is terrible in the cold! We were dressed for the inside and those few minutes outside were painful. 

Mon: But soon we were back inside and warm. We had a pretty light first day planned. There weren’t any major celebrities or artists we were trying to see, so our first planned stop was the vendors.

Ron: But before then, we began the Con in the most quintessentially Toronto way. We stood in a long line with no idea why we were queuing. 

Mon: But of course. We did eventually figure out what the line was for. We were at the M&M stall. They were promoting their new collaboration with Marvel. The installation involved us meeting Agent Paul, who offered us M&M samples. We tried the peanut butter versions. Which are delicious, by the way. We then signed up to be updated about the official launch of the Marvel M&Ms collab.

Ron: We ended the installation with getting our photo taken for our Agent badges. And we got free packets of M&Ms. It was actually a lot of fun. 

Mon: It was, wasn’t it? We were stuck with open cups of M&Ms, which wasn’t ideal. They were really tasty though. 

Ron: Yea, the open cups were not easy to walk around with. It’s a miracle we didn’t drop any. And they gave us massive samples. No way we could have eaten all that first thing in the morning. We’d have got a sugar rush. However, chocolate cups in hand, we then headed to the Disney Plus activation for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2. 

Mon: Yeah. I was initially confused thinking they were still setting up because the Daredevil side was quite a mess. But no, that’s just New York. 

Ron: Hey! They were in the midst of a riot against Mayor Fisk. Of course it’s a mess. 

Mon: The activation volunteers were darlings. So kind and chatty. Lovely ladies. 

Ron: The activation was divided in two halves. One side was Mayor Fisk’s pristine office with his desk. There was a picture of Vanessa on it. His suit at the back. We got to sit in the big chair. So cool. 

Mon: Bet you loved that, you Fisk fan. The other side was like a back alley with cartons and what looked like rubbish…

Ron: It was Daredevil posters. 

Mon: Yeah! The rubbish was posters. And they had Daredevil’s suit. We got our pictures taken, and got a free poster. 

Ron: The activation was quick and nice but really special because we loved the second season. 

Mon: And for more of our thoughts on Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, listen to our episode from last week. 

Ron: We then travelled up and down the aisles looking at all the beautiful art, stickers, keychains, and charms. I had already planned to go to some artist vendors I follow on Instagram but finding them was not easy. Despite the immense size of the North building of the MTCC where the Comicon is now held, the aisles are tiny. 

Mon: I found navigating the artist vendor aisles very annoying. The aisles were crammed full of people and there was no room to manoeuvre around them. And people had these massive backpacks which made it even harder to get around. We kept getting hit.

Ron: It was March Break so the number of people on Friday morning was ridiculous. By the end of Friday we were wondering what sold-out Saturday would look like.

Mon: Yeah. Cramming people into small spaces makes no sense. It seems to be getting worse every year. 

Ron: Despite that, we wandered around the artist vendors for the entire morning. But it’s weird how we didn’t recognize most of the characters. The art was gorgeous but we aren’t familiar with a lot of anime fandoms. 

Mon: That just means there are worlds and worlds that you and I haven’t discovered yet. We may find them someday. But for now, we can bask in the fantastic talent on display. 

Ron: The highlight for me was finding Polar Bear, a Toronto-based artist whose account I’ve been following for a while. She’s focused on DC, particularly the Batboys and I absolutely love her style. 

Mon: I had no idea you had a mission. I was just dragged along. Not that I can complain. We do not have enough DC stuff. 

Ron: Yes, we’re sorely lacking DC art at home so I was even more excited to find her. I bought some sticker sheets I’d been eyeing for a while. Polar Bear had a buy 3, get 1 free offer, but the one free sheet I wanted was less expensive so she gave me two from that section. I also bought some washi tape of Batgirl. 

Mon: Her art is so cute. And I love how there’s so much Batboys-love out there. 

Ron: And then, once I was done making my purchases, Polar Bear asked me whether we wanted to participate in the stamp rally. Now, here’s the thing. I had only just heard about stamp rallies. A different artist I follow was talking about how fun it had been at an event she was vending at. But I couldn’t figure out what it was.

Mon: This is totally new to me. But you were so excited when she mentioned the stamp rally. 

Ron: Basically, a stamp rally is a stamp card; you make purchases for a certain amount at participating vendors. You collect their stamps and then you win something. And thus, we had our mission for Day 1. 

Mon: And we needed to complete this mission at Warp speed. 

Ron: We did! Having collected the first stamp from Polar Bear, we went to the next stall who was also participating.

Mon: I had been eyeing that stall so I was delighted to buy some stuff from there. We got four stickers, three of the Batboys and one of Batman. 

Ron: Then we had to race past a few more aisles to the next vendor, Nines. Getting to the front was so annoying. People were taking their time! But we ended up getting just three photocards. They were beautiful and my hope was that they were stickers. Even though they weren’t, the photocards were too pretty to pass up. Plus, it just reached the $5 threshold to participate in the rally. 

Mon: We can make something with them. No worries.

Ron: We made our final stop at Tamikanisushi and they had the most adorable keychains. We got a CD-shaped K-Pop: Demon Hunters keychain and collected the last stamp. 

Mon: We then had to head back to Polar Bear with the completed stamp card. She was a bit surprised at the speed at which we completed the card but we are nothing if not dedicated to a mission. 

Ron: As our prize, we got a Justice League shaker keychain. When I tell you I could have screamed. It is beautiful! I’ve been envying people who’ve got these shaker keychains. They’re keychains that have little items inside so you can shake them. I’m so delighted that we won that. 

Mon: I’m so happy for you, dude. 

Mon: Alongside the DC stuff, I love that we were able to get some K-Pop: Demon Hunters goodies. We got stickers, charms and two gorgeous art prints of Huntrix and the Saja Boys with their music. 

Ron: That was another little mission of ours. We were very late on the Demon Hunters bandwagon. It was months before we saw the film and so we couldn’t really enjoy the art prints and stickers we saw at events last year. So, at Comicon, we really wanted to get something to pay homage to the film.

Mon: The reason we had to complete our stamp mission that fast was because we had a panel to attend. NuTrek is Great Actually was a panel about the new shows in the Star Trek universe and all the wonderful things about them. 

Ron: The shows get so much unnecessary bigoted hate so this panel was much-needed. I got kind of emotional listening to the panelists talk about how wonderful the new shows are and how important the representation has been. I also liked what they said about Star Trek shows being a response to the political climates they were made in. 

Mon: Yes, same here. It was a very measured panel. They weren’t fanboying. Nor being overly critical. They contextualized NuTrek’s place within the franchise, and how these shows continue the legacy that Roddenberry envisioned. 

Ron: We also got to attend the TMNT sketch duel featuring Mike Rooth and Adam Gorham. I liked how Gorham gave us an impromptu lesson on sketching anatomy. He breaks it down in geometric shapes and then takes it from there. 

Mon: Continuing with the TMNT theme, we ended the day with a screening of the first live-action TMNT film. 

Ron: A movie we were sure we had seen before. 

Mon: Had we? Every single scene was brand new. None of the songs were familiar. 

Ron: Right? It was a whole new movie for us. I was sure we’d caught it when we were kids. And we watched a bit before realizing it wasn’t the TMNT movie we liked, which was the time-travelling sequel. But I didn’t recognize anything. 

Mon: There were certainly fans at the screening. They were dancing to the music. And repeating some of the dialogue.

Ron: Yeah. That’s not a surprise. This film was a huge commercial hit. The sequel, which we used to enjoy, was not as well received. Thoughts on the film?

Mon: Uhhhhh. Wow, it was slow. Nothing happens in it. 

Ron: I wouldn’t say nothing happened but the second act was surprisingly slow. That’s when the action is supposed to happen. At one point, Splinter repeats his entire backstory with a couple more details. What a bizarre writing choice. 

Mon: Also, the nineties dialogue and delivery was… an acquired taste. Lots of weird sensibilities as well. But it was fun to just sit and watch some nostalgia fare in a room of fans. And the animatronics and stunt work were stunning. 

Ron: Brilliant work indeed. Making the Turtles come to life pre-CGI and still getting audiences invested so many years later is outstanding work. 

Ron: It was a nice way to end the first day. We’d been running around, getting jostled by crowds. After all that, it was good to just sit in a room and watch a movie without high stakes. 

Mon: We arrived a bit early for day two of Toronto Comicon 2026 so we had to wait for the doors to open. You’ve experienced that before. 

Ron: Yes, last year at Fan Expo, while you held our place for John Boyega, I waited to enter the retail section. It wasn’t a big deal but you were quite anxious about it. 

Mon: There were a lot of people and we kept hearing about how Saturday had been sold out. Considering the day before, we’d been jostled so much, I was worried it would be worse. But the morning was calmer than expected and we managed to walk around the retailers and see more of the artist vendors.

Ron: And yet, we still couldn’t see everyone. Because we had a deadline again. At 11:30, we needed to be at the main stage to join the K-Pop: Demon Hunters sing-along. 

Mon: We have never been to one of these sing-alongs before but we couldn’t pass this up. We arrived right on time and brought up the end of the line. 

Ron: We were expecting thousands of people but the room was empty. Is 11:30am on a Saturday early?

Mon: Not for us. I thought it would be high energy. People jumping and dancing in the aisles. Singing loud and proud. Not what happened. It was tepid. Barely anyone danced; and the singing was soft.

Ron: There was one guy who was jumping up and down and a few cosplayers danced on stage but nobody was matching the energy of the host. 

Mon: But it didn't really matter because we sang our hearts out. We’ve enjoyed this film and we’re making up for lost time at this Con.

Ron: So true. And, another belated bandwagon we’ve joined is the Wicked one. We attended the Wicked trivia. 

Mon: And lost terribly. 

Ron: We did better than we thought we would. We only got 10 questions wrong even though we haven’t seen the musical, you’ve read only one of the books, and we’ve only got the movies to go by. We surprised ourselves with the amount of information we had retained of the films and the musical just from osmosis. 

Mon: Agreed. But I was disappointed by how tepid this room was as well. 

Ron: Yeah. Really quiet. No rowdy pub quiz here. 

Mon: But it gave us a moment to chill. And we learnt some new facts.

Ron: After grabbing a quick, and half-cold bite, sadly, we made our way to another sketch duel. This was between Mike Del Mundo, who we’d seen last year, and Boo Cook, who was participating in his very first sketch duel. 

Mon: Following the sketch duel, where we once again did not win the sketches, we headed to the Frendiverse lounge for our first ever enamel pin trading event. 

Ron: We’ve only recently learned about pin trading through Instagram videos. There are a lot of mystery boxes where people get duplicate pins from, so trading is a great way to share the love.

Mon: We didn’t have duplicate pins but we did have older Disney pins that we were hoping to trade for fandoms we’re more interested in. 

Ron: We should’ve known things wouldn’t go as planned when we arrived at the lounge and there was nothing to indicate pin trading was taking place. We asked volunteers and they had no clue either. 

Mon: We were joined by another prospective trader so it didn’t look like we’d gone mad. But the situation was not resolved. No one could figure out where it was supposed to take place. 

Ron: We got sent to another room—before learning that they were, in fact, referring to the same room the lounge was in. I’m confused as to how the volunteers didn’t know their own rooms. 

Mon: At this point we just hung about inside the doorway with our makeshift pin board and held it up to attract attention. There were what, 5-7 of us in the end interested in trading?

Ron: Yeah. Maybe TCC visitors aren’t into pin trading. We traded to get a cool Black Panther pin and a Saja Boys badge. But that was kinda it. Nothing much happened. We hung about trying to chat a little bit but the whole thing was… like everything else up to that point on Saturday, tepid. 

Mon: It was fun to participate in our first ever pin trading. But the lack of organization was a real downer. 

Ron: The disappointment of the pin trading needed to be washed away with some more wandering around the vendors. Since we’d learned about sticker books from fellow traders, we were on the hunt for one. And we managed to get a nice one with wax paper that will protect our stickers and ensure they remain reusable. What a relief. Our stickers will have a home now.

Mon: I was, meanwhile, on the hunt for convenient bags that included inserts to add pins. I finished the day torn by the amazing bag choices. I’m chuffed there were so many options in the vendors alley. 

Ron: I left you to that mission and headed downstairs for the K-Pop: Demon Hunters cosplay meetup. I kept my expectations low. 

Mon: Well, on day one, you’d raced down eagerly hoping to capture the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meetup, and then you called me to say no turtles even showed up. 

Ron: Ridiculous! In the first two days, we only saw one turtle. But the K-Pop meetup had a bit more participation. Unfortunately, there was nobody at cosplay HQ organizing anything. So the cosplayers were in a corner trying to get pictures taken. Then someone suggested they move to the TCC backdrop, but there were people milling about. Everyone seemed oblivious to the fact that a meetup was happening. It was impossible to take pictures. Then someone’s child insisted on blocking the photo. I finally managed to get some decent shots but I couldn’t wait to leave. Cosplay meetups were better when they were in the lobby.  

Mon: That sounds… aggravating.

Ron: It was! I needed to do some more wandering after that. And then we made our final stop of day two: Fandom Bingo.  

Mon: Ok, so I was expecting this to be about fandoms. But it was just regular Bingo. 

Ron: No, it was Temu Bingo. The host had unfortunately bought their Bingo set on Temu and it was a bit of a mess. I’m quite sure it kept repeating the same numbers every round. 

Mon: Most of which weren’t on our card at all. To no one’s surprise, we didn’t win. 

Ron: Not even one round. But we got super close right at the end.

Mon: Boo. We had fun, even though we didn’t win. 

Ron: The hosts were very chatty and giggly. And there was some crowd enthusiasm. But this subdued Bingo capped off a subdued day. 

Mon: Very strange vibes for a Saturday at Comicon. 

Ron: Day 3 started with me learning about some controversy at the Con. A disgraced voice actor was found to be running an unofficial booth at the Con, likely tied up with an official retailer. I happened to find some posts on Bluesky about this man with warnings to all female fans to steer clear of him. No idea how this escaped Comicon’s radar. 

Mon: Whoa. I missed all this. That’s terrible. 

Ron: Despite all our preparations, we strangely did not remember to bring our umbrellas. On Sunday morning, we once again got soaked to and from breakfast. What a bother.  

Mon: Fun times. 

Ron: We hadn’t really got around to seeing much of the artists alley, so Sunday morning, that was the mission. I had a quick chat with Toronto’s own Jason Loo. It had been a busy con for him, which is great. We both commiserated about the terrible weather.

Mon: So great to see Jason’s continued success in comics.

Ron: Yes, Jason’s Werewolf by Night is now available as a trade paperback. Check that out, people. I also spoke with Anthony Ruttgaizer, who’s busy making beautiful pins and stickers of Marvel and DC characters. 

Mon: I love getting merch from artists. Especially now that they’re able to make and ship more of them. All the stickers and pins and keychains we’ve gathered this Con have been amazing. We’re collecting art! And it’s comics art! A lot of which is made by local artists here in Canada. 

Ron: I know. How cool is that? We were on a pin hunt on day three and we got some lovely ones. We also made a very DIY sign announcing that we were doing pin trading. Almost the entire day, I walked around with that sign, but it was only at the end of the Con when one person saw my sign and we happily traded a pin!

Mon: The main event for us was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel with Brian Tochi (Leonardo), Ernie Reyes Jr. (stuntman for Donatello who also played Keno in the second film), Francois Chau (Shredder), and Kenn Scott (Raphael). The actors ran into the room fist-bumping the front seat audience. How sweet.  

Ron: The panellists were really enjoying themselves. I was surprised by how much Michaelangelo energy Tochi had. Shows his acting skills if he could be Leonardo. 

Mon: I found the panel very moving and touching. Kenn Scott talked about how many people favor the Turtle they want to be like. And others’ favourites are the Turtle they identify as.

Ron: Brian Tochi talked about the family aspect of the Turtles. A lot of people who come up and speak to the actors say that they correlate the Turtles with their own family. 

Mon: Yes! They have siblings and relationships and dynamics similar to those of the Turtles. How fascinating. 

Ron: But what really touched me was Tochi saying that some people don’t have families so they want to surround themselves with the Turtles. The Turtles, it seem, filled a void missing in real life. 

Mon: One other thing that Tochi mentioned was that many fans could turn to the Ninja Turtles because they could be relied on. They had no one else. And they felt different and othered. So they found family in the Turtles. 

Ron: These are really similar sentiments to those of the X-Men fandom. Especially the animated show. So many people feel like they don’t belong, so they turn to entertainment for belonging. 

Mon: I felt like Francois Chau got a bit left out because he’s the villain. 

Ron: Yeah. Shredder isn’t exactly family. But he did joke about Shredder being a bad boy, and that was his appeal. Very funny. 

Mon: Chau also said that once he started going to Cons, he found his people. Sounds like he’s a nerd, just like the rest of us. 

Ron: Loved that sentiment. I’m super amused that pizza plays such a huge part in these actors’ lives. As a Turtle group, they have pizza together. Scott is a pizza connoisseur, and he researches the best pizza places for the group to eat at. 

Mon: That’s just hilarious to me. Our interest in pizza began thanks to the Turtles. I can’t believe it’s a significant part of their lives. 

Ron: A few interesting tidbits about the films. The original musical act that was supposed to be in the second film, The Secret of the Ooze, was Wilson Philips. But the studio realized that their music wouldn’t fit with the Ninja Turtles vibe. So they brought in Vanilla Ice instead. And history was made. 

Mon: For good and bad. It took four people to play a Turtle —  the voice actor, a stunt person, an animatronic suit actor and the person moving the animatronic face. I’m still gobsmacked at how they pulled it off back in the 90s. 

Ron: Yeah. The Turtles looked really great in the first movie. 

Mon: They did. And then the session came to an end. We began and ended it with a loud ‘Cowabunga’. 

Ron: Our catchphrase as children. Thanks Mikey. 

Mon: That session was great fun. Surprisingly emotional. 

Ron: I’m so glad we were able to attend. All this TMNT love makes our inner children scream. In the words of Kenn Scott, “‘Turtle Power’ is just another way to say ‘love’.”

Mon: We managed to go to another sketch duel, Dan Parent and Dax Gordine. There were wifi issues that were disrupting the artists’ research, so that wasn’t great. 

Ron: We saw some amazing sketches. But, alas, as always, we came back empty-handed.

Mon: Someday. 

Ron: We spent a bit more time walking through the artists alley and met Jeremy Simser. He’s a storyboard artist who has worked on several Marvel properties, including WandaVision and She-Hulk, our personal favourites. Simser spoke about how he enjoyed working on stories about amazing women, and it helped him meet incredible women behind the scenes.

Mon: Yes, that was delightful to hear. But even more so, he mentioned that he’s got three creators who come to him first for storyboarding. Which means he’s got steady gigs. That’s a great network to have.

Ron: Networking is very important in this industry so making those lasting impressions matters. And that’s why he’s been storyboarding for 30 years! We wished him well for another 30 years ahead. 

Mon: Indeed. He also mentioned that storyboarding combined his skills as a comic creator with his love for films. I’ve definitely heard that before from storyboard artists. 

Ron: And you can see why. I flipped through his WandaVision storyboard book and it really does look like a comic book. I loved his enthusiasm for his work and the collaboration it involves. 

Mon: Yeah. It was great to chat with him as we neared the end of the Con. 

Ron: That’s another Toronto Comicon wrapped up. What are your thoughts on the 2026 edition?

Mon: Well, we live for events like Toronto Comicon.

Ron: Yes, we are the Stereo Geeks after all. 

Mon: This Con may have been light on the big stars, but it didn’t disappoint in the geeky love. 

Ron: Since we didn’t spend all our time queuing, we got to appreciate more of the artists’ and local vendors’ work. And yes, we got to bring a fair amount of beautiful art home. 

Mon: Despite some organizational issues, the overall chill vibe wasn’t the worst. But, we can only hope that the next edition will be less lacklustre.

Ron: It was surprising how little there was to do at the Con. We usually have so many panels to go to that we’re having to choose. This time, we barely even thought about the panels. But we got to meet interesting people. On the last day, I got to chat with someone about their love of capybaras. We saw gorgeous cosplays, and of course, indulge ourselves in geeky art by Polar Bear and Nameless Ghouls, Tamikani, Illustrating Ari, and Surge. What more could we ask for?

Ron: And this is a wrap on Season 7 of Stereo Geeks. Join us in May when we’re back for Season 8. We’ll be covering new Star Wars, X-Men, and vampires. In the meantime, stay up to date through our newsletter.