It’s that time of year again when I get my geek on and head to comic con! What’s even better this time around thou is that it was my birthday weekend. This double whammy made for one hell of a trip to Manchester! I was pumped, running on one hour of sleep, let’s do this! Manchester MCM Comic Con here I come!
I absolutely love MCM. In comparison to other conventions. MCM is the brightest and most cosplay rich convention in the country, it’s all about the fans and everyone always dresses to impress and this year was no exception. There were some incredible costumes ranging from the Star Wars legion who appear at every con to a giant inflatable T-Rex just roaming the halls at Manchester Central.
With many cons, the press always seems to be treated like the red-haired stepchild of the convention world. We get a badge with no benefits other than it says press written on it and onwards we go but MCM added some lovely perks in there which made the event feel all the more special. We arrived at the venue at 8:30 am, way before the convention had opened and the second we picked up the badges we were allowed to go in. Most of the exhibitors were still finishing up the final touches on their stands and it was nice to walk around this post-apocalyptic convention hall. It was the quietest it was ever going to be so we got some pictures with some of the standees, cars and statues before the centre would become awash with all things cosplay.
Special guest artists, actors and writers were all in attendance. Harry Potter and Star Wars actor Warwick Davis and The Incredible Hulk’s Lou Ferrigno had busy lines all day. To the point where they were inaccessible for me sadly. I think some other press outlets had much better luck than I did or were slightly more brash or brave in their approach.
Manu Bennett from the TV series Arrow, Johnny Yong Bosch the Black ranger himself from The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and David Hayter, the voice of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid franchise were all in attendance also.
At this year’s convention I was representing A-BOX, a subscription box that I’m in love with. I went over to their amazing stand and threw on an A-BOX t-shirt before going around the hall spreading the good word. A-BOX is like Lootcrate on steroids and I was happy to see the stand so busy throughout the day. Half-way through the day, I was given a lifesize Facehugger that A-BOX made themselves from moulds and sported it for the remainder of the event. So many comments, people asking for pictures with it and just admiring the quality of an item that featured in a subscription box. Quality items and subscription boxes are usually two words that are never used in the same sentence but A-BOX is really switching and stepping things up.
When the con opened the crowds poured in. I was grabbing anyone and everyone for pictures. There were so many amazing cosplayers that we took close to 100 photos! The time and effort that goes into creating some of these costumes is admirable. Everyone looked amazing and the atmosphere was perfect. The venue was the right size to concentrate a large crowd without it being too overcrowded and there were enough stalls there at every turn to keep you interested. I love MCM in comparison to other cons because they always fill the venue correctly. Many cons pick a massive venue and then cuddle 15 stands in one place and then you have to walk a mile to the next 3 or 4 stands. MCM concentrate their stalls for better impact, better sales and there’s always room to breathe, which is handy.
The only issue I had with the whole con was the queuing and location of the most popular guests. Guests such as Warwick Davis and Chris Barrie were located right next to entryways and toilets. The queues were so crazy that the entrances were blocked at all times posing quite the health hazard. Better location of these guests or a ticketing system would have combated this problem but other than that minor blip the rest of the convention was perfect. I haven’t had a better time at an MCM con than I did at Manchester. It was such good fun!
Thanks to A-Box for being incredible and giving me the opportunity to come down and help spread some love of the brand and thanks to MCM for allowing me to come down and explore your wonderful convention.
