Convention Report: MCM Birmingham March 2019
It’s the first BIG date in the UK convention calendar so this past weekend we set off to Birmingham for MCM’s spring instalment at the NEC.
The Line-Up
On the guest list this year were two of the stars of arguably the biggest show around at the moment, the one EVERYONE is talking about; Tom Hopper and Emmy Raver-Lampman from Netflix’s Umbrella Academy.
I’ve seen Tom at a number of UK events in the past but never actually got his autograph. However I recently binged Merlin AND Umbrella Academy so I was all in for that one. This was Emmy’s first ever convention appearance, so I was excited to chat to her. The other Merlin guests, Alexander Vlahos, Rupert Young and Asa Butterfield were also big draws for the crowd. Having both Mordred actors there together was rather awesome. Supernatural stars Felicia Day and Osric Chau were present and I really wanted to talk to Osric about working on Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Rounding out the list were Tom Hopper’s Black Sails co-star Mark Ryan, Game of Thrones star Ian Beattie and voice actors Veronica Taylor (Ash from Pokemon), Patricia Summersett and Charles Martinet (aka the voice of Mario!).
Quality over Quantity
Regular MCM attendees may look at that list and think it’s a little scant compared to their usual line-ups and I was surprised there weren’t more. Obviously there had been a couple of cancellations due to filming changes, with Arnas Federavicus and Mark Rowley from The Last Kingdom being called up to film. A VERY last minute change saw Tom Hopper having to cancel his Sunday appearance, meaning that his line was probably the busiest of the convention on Saturday.
Umbrella Academy’s Tom Hopper taking time with his fans
The other consistently packed line over the entire weekend was Charles Martinet. He took his time and seemed to be having an absolute ball with attendees, taking pictures and breaking out the Mario voice regularly! All the guests I met over the weekend were a delight; funny, engaging, spending time with the attendees in what felt a truly genuine fashion. Yes there were fewer guests than one might have expected, but it felt like MCM was aiming for quality rather than quantity this year.
Organisation
One thing that wasn’t quality was some of the organisation in the signing area. Asa Butterfield had a table away from his actual signing desk where you paid and picked up 10x8s to be signed before becoming part of the queue, meaning his line was well managed. This was not the case for any other guest.
Tom Hopper was undoubtedly one of, if not THE busiest guest of the weekend, due to only being there for one day. When I joined his queue there was not a steward to be seen. A short while later, the queue having grown still further, stewards asked us to “snake” the queue so as not to encroach on the trader stalls that faced on to the signing area. We duly did this, only for the snaked part to basically merge with the first part of the queue meaning those who had been behind us were now close to the front. Meanwhile other attendees were joining behind the first part of the queue until they were told that wasn’t the end by those already waiting.
The rest of the signing area seemed to be better managed so I hope it was just the sudden change in the schedule that threw things off. Virtual queuing from the start of the day, given that Tom was only there for one, would have made much more sense. It would also have freed attendees up to experience more of the convention rather than spending hours standing in line.
Comic Village
After dropping off some of my kit in the press office and saying hello to a few familiar faces I headed off to my usual favourite haunt at these things – Comic Village. I stopped by and said hello to FN faves like the Reckless Hero crew, Mike Garley and Big Punch Comics.
I also had a special mission to finally meet, in person, Nick Gonzo, creator of Corsair. Since we’ve been chatting on twitter for what seems like years now, it was great to meet him at his first MCM Comic Con AND get my copy of Corsair signed! I also spotted a few creators who I had spoken to at True Believers in February but not bought from as I couldn’t remember which issues I had. I came home with a reasonable haul from the comic village this year, but nothing like I have in previous years.
Attendee numbers
I returned to the Comic Village numerous times over the weekend (top tip, bring sweets, offer them to hardworking artists, they appreciate it) and one thing that stood out was that it seemed quieter in terms of attendees than in previous years. In fact it was rare this weekend that I felt crowded anywhere on the convention floor. In contrast, out in the atrium that runs along in front of the exhibition halls you could hardly move ten steps without having to stop to avoid interrupting a cosplay photoshoot.
I did notice that some of the art vendors which have, in previous years, been in the Comic Village seemed to have moved out on to the main con floor. I wonder if, given the fact a lot of these lean towards more anime styles, that removing them from the Comic Village has meant that those attendees who would normally go looking for those vendors and then discover the comic artists has adversely affected the numbers visiting the green carpet.
Overheard at our table at the edge of the Comic section at a comicon this year from two people in comic character cosplay:
“No, that’s the comic area, we don’t go in there”
Infinite sadness – Glad I told security I heard them say they had a ton of drugs on them. pic.twitter.com/yPL2WItEEt
— Andy CT – @MCM Birmingham CV42 (@superandyt83) March 24, 2019
(NOTE: He’s kidding folks. Andy did NOT in fact report those people to security. The rest is true though.)
Show them some love
This saddens me. A chance encounter with the wonderful Jon Laight in the Comic Village at a previous MCM Birmingham that proved to be my gateway into the Small Press scene. It’s been my happy place ever since. Just ask anyone I’ve dragged along with me. The fact that when I told my best friend I only spent about £40 in there she asked if I was telling the truth is evidence of my usual propensity to spend more time (and money) there than anywhere else!
The big name for the Comic Village this weekend was Eisner winner Geof Darrow. Sadly though I heard over the course of the weekend that he was so quiet at his table that he was doodling ON IT and that he left part way through Sunday. I wonder if this is due to the fact the announcements for the comics guests were left so late that people missed out on attending the event. Now I know MCM London is somewhat a different beast, but the Comic Village there last October was heaving and the invited guests had queues at their tables.
I also heard from a few of the creators that they had been told they couldn’t display certain things, such as pin badges or t-shirts even with their own work on, yet these were present on neighbouring tables. I found this odd as I’m sure I’ve seen comic creators with their art on shirts etc before, but also because of the apparent lack of enforcement of these stipulations.
Cosplay
MCM is always an amazing place to check out cosplay and this year was no exception. I knew several people who were debuting new cosplays at this event. I made sure to track them down and photograph them.
One thing I noticed was an explosion of Umbrella Academy cosplays over the weekend. Klaus seems to be the go to, but I saw everything from a Number 5 with half a mannequin, sorry, Delores, in his backpack to a couple of Hazels! I even spotted a couple of Bens, one of whom, together with his Klaus, was handing out little baggies of “not drugs” which contained sweet little messages once you opened up the capsules. Other notable cosplayers I found were the Lucifer (with wings) playing a piano in the atrium, the Ensign Tilly who helped me with my Hogwarts homework and the wonderful Toothless and Hiccup who I bumped into a couple of times.
Panels
Due to press commitments and not being able to be in multiple places at once, sadly I only managed to make it to the Merlin Live Stage panel on Sunday. I’m glad I did though; Alexander Vlahos and Rupert Young are worth the price of admission on their own. I live tweeted the panel as best I could in between fits of hysterical laughter. Highlights included Alexander ‘stealing’ a phone from a young lady in the front row who was face-timing a friend in Canada and running around with it, introducing said friend to the crowd.
I did join the press room for Merlin and The Umbrella Academy. Transcripts/videos of those will be coming soon.
Summary
Overall, I’d say this this was a far more subdued kick off to the UK convention year than normal, but it was still an enjoyable event. None of the queues were unbearable, even if their management was a little sketchy. I managed to get everything I wanted to do, done, and in good time. I was surprised by how quiet the Comic Village was, and how little coverage it gets from the organisers. This is especially odd in light of their recent acquisition of London Super Comic Con, a very comic-centric event. I hope that maybe this was just teething issues for the first event of the season, but hopefully the organisers will listen to any feedback they get this year.
