LONDON FILM & COMIC CON | 28-30 July 2017
This weekend just gone saw the return of the ‘London Film and Comic Con’, which ran from Friday 28th to Sunday 30th at the London Olympia.
This was my second “Con”, having previously accompanied my fiancée to ‘Walker Stalker Con’ earlier this year – and funnily enough at the exact same venue.
I am not a “Con-goer” by any means, although I must admit I was curious to see what all the fuss was about with this “Comic Con” thing – it’s just become such a well-known name in recent years that I had to check it out. I invited along a friend – and together we took a train to London to investigate.
The signs that the metaphorical circus is in town are clear from the moment you step onto the Shepard’s Bush platform and begin to set foot towards the Olympia. It starts off quite subtly – a ‘Soldier 76’ symbol emblazoned on the coat of a passerby catches your eye – a young boy in a leather jacket is across the road, and he’s giddily swinging a barbed-wire baseball bat above his head. That unmistakable excited chit-chatter about Pokémon from a trio of older teens.
As you get closer to the venue, you begin to spot the old staples. The classics. Superman is stood over there, under a bus shelter, texting. Batman is on the street corner, all stiff-necked and sheepish. Spidey is taking a selfie with a fan.
Nearer still, and rounding the corner of the imposing Olympia to the entrance, you are greeted with a crowd of people who look in their element – and there is a surprisingly social vibe to the proceedings. Inhibitions go out the window when you’re dressed as Optimus Prime.
Making our way through the bustling crowd and into the venue, I was surprised to see just how large the space was. Unlike Walker-Stalker Con, it seemed that a second equally large exhibition hall had been opened up for business.
Rows upon rows of stalls selling all sorts of geeky wares. The standard fare of action figures, t-shirts, and replica props were in abundance as usual, but among these things you can find the odd diamond. I was delighted to see original Game Boys for sale, along with hundreds of games. I saw a copy of Wario Land 2 running for the first time in about 20 years.
We decided to scope the place out and possibly try to spot a few “special guests” while doing so. Unfortunately, it seemed that most of the big names had been partitioned away in a walled-off section of the building – with huge lines waiting to meet them. Pass. However, I did spot a couple of old ‘Doctor Who’ actors whose faces I recognised, so that was a victory.
I’m currently a bit obsessed with ‘Overwatch’, and was hoping to spot someone dressed as my absolute favourite character, Symmetra. Sadly, I didn’t find anyone – although I saw a fantastically dressed Tracer. Looked just like her and all.
I’m also really into ‘Star Trek: TNG’, so couldn’t pass up the chance to have my photo with this lovely chap who had dressed up as Data.
Overall – it was exhausting.
