MCM London Comic Con October 2018
Part One can be found HERE.
Autographs
I got the majority of the autographs I wanted on the Saturday. These included all of the Shadowhunters guests and the wonderful Melinda Clarke. I’ve been a fan of Melinda in her numerous roles for years, having watched her in everything from Firefly to CSI. We chatted about a bunch of her roles, and somehow I managed to not fangirl too hard. At least until after I walked away!
All of the Shadowhunters guests were so excited and enthusiastic to see the legion of fans who turned out for them. It seemed like everywhere we looked on Saturday we saw runes adorning skin. There were SO many awesome fans who had come to see their idols.
I have to give special mentions to Alberto, Chai and Jade, those three were so much fun and so chatty. Jade and I talked about fashion and music, as he’d been hanging out around Camden for a couple of days. Alberto was a bundle of energy, honestly it was like being across the table from Simon Lewis. Chai is, well, I think you’ll see from my interview with him later in this piece that he is so incredibly passionate and enthusiastic that it’s hard not to adore him! Kat was sweet, she loved the book I was using for my autographs. Eme commented on my Izzy cosplay which was so sweet of her. She seemed a little distracted on Saturday, but she had literally just flown in that morning so not really a surprise!
Cosplay
There were some awesome cosplays in attendance at MCM as always. Here’s just a few of what we saw!
Sunday
#SaveShadowhunters Panel
Again this was standing room only, but I think, as per Saturday’s The Last Kingdom panel, a huge chunk of those in the room were waiting for the Critical Role panel later in the day. Thankfully at least this one was on the main stage so there was more room, and the sound was better even for those left standing at the back and around the sides of the huge room.
I’m sure some would argue with me on this, but I think this is something MCM/ReedPOP need to look at for future events. I appreciate the commitment required by the “critters” who obviously spent the entire weekend in the main hall just to be close for the panels, but it seems a little unfair on those who wanted to experience more of the con. Clearing out the main stage between panels might make things a little fairer.
Cosplay Meet
After the #SaveShadowhunters panel we had to split up. I went to the press room for the Shadowhunters conference and left Mo and Sophie at the RWBY cosplay meet.
The Shadowhunters press call was sadly brief. I didn’t manage to ask any of the questions I’d had from fans as the few questions that were asked. The cast took such time and care to answer those that were that it took up the scant 15 minutes we had.
Chai Interview
After the Shadowhunters press call I went back down to the floor and went to see Chai. Having mentioned the day before that I’d be dressed as Sandy from New Legends of Monkey he said I had to go see him as he wanted to take a picture. I’d also arranged to have a brief chat with him and ask some Monkey related questions. After a few minutes chat he looked at me and said “What are you dressed as?” I told him and he actually facepalmed. He said he’d had a crazy busy weekend and that I could have been dressed as Monkey and he still would have asked. I was gearing up to start my questions so I had already flicked on the camera, and you can hear the rest of the conversation, and our chat, below.
Huge thanks to Dan John from DMJ Consultancy for arranging this!
My final autograph of the weekend was from Vic Mignogna. He’s a voice actor who has worked on so many things, but for me, Sophie and Mo he is the voice of Uncle (Drunkle) Qrow Branwen from RWBY. I got him to sign my RWBY calendar and then we got a selfie with him. He did the Qrow voice and called me kiddo and, well, Sophie fangirled so hard she forget to get her own autograph! We went back again so Sophie could get her auto and Mo decided to as well after finding out that Vic will sign the first autograph on your own item for free, so she got her autograph book signed.
Summary
In previous years I have only ever done one day of MCM London Comic Con, and have struggled to achieve even a fraction of what I wanted to do. This time out, I was there all 3 days and STILL missed out on some things. Whether that was due to scheduling clashes or just not having time to get round everything. It’s definitely an event where you want to check out schedules and plan your weekend out quite far in advance. Unless you are only attending for one fandom, there’s so much demanding your attention it can get overwhelming quite easily.
It’s great to see more big name guests from the world of comics being brought over for these events. I know I’ve oft heard complaints about an event with ComicCon in the title having so little to do with actual comics. I hope this is a trend that continues, especially for MCM’s regional events. People outside of the capital love their comics too!
The bad…
My biggest gripe of the weekend was something I’m not sure MCM/ReedPOP have much control over and that was the DLR.
On Friday morning when we arrived the doors opened at Custom House, despite being told the station was closed. We tried to get off, were told by staff to get back on and alight at Prince Regent for MCM. Did that, got to the entrance and said I was press to be told that I’d have to get back on the next train and go back to Custom House. So I did and while that was slightly annoying I did it. Saturday the DLR didn’t stop at Custom House so I got off at Prince Regent with everyone else. I was then told to walk all the way around the ExCel centre, with all my kit, to the West Entrance. The lack of communication and consistency meant I had to miss a couple of things off my list as I didn’t want to miss panels etc.
Would I do it again?
I would definitely attend another MCM Comic Con, whether that be in London or elsewhere in the country, and I would definitely recommend you do so too if you can. MCM Birmingham is up next at the end of November. Guests so far include Chai Hansen (Shadowhunters, The New Legends of Monkey), David Morrissey (The Walking Dead), Jason O’Mara (Agents of SHIELD, The Man in the High Castle) and Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica). For the full line up so far and to buy tickets, check out the MCM Website.
