MCM London

Article by Demon Slayer

Starting off small, MCM London Comic Con began as an anime only event, but over the years has blossomed and now covers Games, TV, film, Comics, and Entertainment. It has also grown from a two day weekend affair to three day event.

It is slowly becoming London’s version of San Diego Comic Con, but unlike the San Diego event it is held twice a year (May/October) alongside “London Film and Comic Con,” which is also held twice a year (July/November).

One of the main attractions is an artist alley where you can meet amateur to pro artists/inkers, and writers, who will sign/sell artwork/merchandise, or draw for a fee if they have time (best go to them first thing on first day, as their book of requests fills up very fast)

Then there is the games and movie companies who are there to show trailers/ advance play of up and coming Games and Movies releases.

A highlight of the con is the Cos-Play area where people will take professional photos of you in your cos-play outfit. I really appreciated that there is also a place to repair your costume as it could fall apart from wear and tear/ collisions, and first try out revisions. In this area also is the registration area for if you want to enter the cos-play masquerade at end of day. As part of the Cos-play area they even sell Japanese food and drink.

Lastly there is an area to meet the stars from all the genres. Here you can get to meet the star of your choice, and get their autograph.  If you paid a little more you could have a professional photo you with your star. Throughout the weekend, some of the stars will also go and do a panel (sometimes free/sometimes pay) to reminisce on their past, talk about present or future projects.

I mainly go to these events to admire the Cos-Players feet of ingenuity and imagination, on transforming a fictional character into real world creations. Some of these Cos-players I have known over the years, and are friends I meet up with only at these events. I take photos (for myself, not as a professional) of good and original costumes to share with my friends who cannot attend, and to maybe see how things are done for when I get around to doing my first complete cos-play costume.

The second reason I go is to have a photo with my fav stars that are attending. I used to get an autograph, but anyone can get you an autograph. A picture is proof that you were there in person!    A few of the autographs/photoshoots was sold out before the event started, so if you really want one, your best bet is to book as soon as possible. I didn’t, and missed out on having a picture taken with Felicia Day L

Thirdly I go to see what is coming out in the future of games and movies.

There was only one major problem with the event this time, and that was the collection area for your photos with the stars. Most of the time it would be a large circle table with pictures laid out for you to pick up and hour after photoshoot, but this time it was just a small crowded booth. The time it took me to gather all my photos, was the same amount of time I was queuing in total for each of the photoshoots.

Star Attended: (does not include the 100+ artist in artist alley)

Sophie Aldred – Dr Who

Gillian Anderson - X-Files

Nick Blood – Agents of Shield

Moon Bloodgood – Falling Skies

Kristian Bruun - Orphan Black

Iain De Caestecker - Agents of Shield

Raffey Cassidy – Tomorrowland

John Challis – Only Fools and Horses

James Cosmo – Game of Thrones

Felicia Day – Buffy/Dollhouse/Supernatural/Eureka/The Guild

Merrin Dungey – Once Upon a Time

Gideon Emery – Mass Effect/Dragon Age

Cheryl Ferguson - Eastenders

Barrett Foa - N.C.I.S. Los Angels

Rila Fukushima – Arrow

Stephen full – Dog with a Blog

Virginia Hey – Farscape

Ali Hillis – Mass Effect/Dragon Age

Sue Holderness – Only Fools and Horses

Willa Holland - Arrow

Sean Kelly – Storage Wars

Sara J Mass - Author

Sylvester McCoy – Dr Who/The Hobbit

Mark Meer – Mass Effect/Dragon Age

Jessica Nigri – Pro Cos-Player

John Noble – Fringe/Game of Thrones/Lord of The Rings

Will Patton – Falling Skies

Andrew-Lee Potts - Primevil

Alix Wilton Regan – Mass Effect/Dragon Age

Shane Richie - Eastenders

Drew Roy – Falling Skies

Jon Schnepp – Voice Actor/Producer/Director

Renee Felice Smith - N.C.I.S. Los Angels

Victoria Smurfit – Once Upon a Time

Hannah Spearritt - Primevil

Hidetaka Tenjin - Japanese mecha anime artist

Hynden Walch – Adventure Time

Jessie Wallace - Eastenders

Annie Wersching – 24

Emily Wickersham – N.C.I.S.

Tyler James Williams - The Walking Dead

Jayden Wong – Scorpion

Karle Yune - Arrow