It was a beautiful afternoon in Manchester on Saturday 21st July 2012. A rarity I might add. It was also the second MCM EXPO Manchester Comic Con to be held and with over 11,000 visitors that day at Manchester Central, it was the place to be.
The building was chock full of cosplayers, both young and old, in every costume you could think of, from the popular to the obscure in TV, Film, Videogames and Comics. I even stumbled across Team Fortress 2 – both red and blue teams!
The hall was decorated with film banners hanging from the ceiling and rows upon rows of stalls selling t-shirts, bags and posters, along with jewellery, themed cupcakes, comics and other memorabilia.
At the centre of the venue a queue started and travelled all around the back. It was, of course, for Warwick Davis, famous for his roles as Wickett the Ewok in Star Wars, Leprachaun and Willow, not to mention his own series with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, “Life’s Too Short”. Other stars signing autographs and posing for fan photos were the cast of Merlin and Young Dracula, voice over artist Vic Mignogna and famous footballers from years gone by.
Guests were treated to sit-down Q+A sessions with comic book artists whilst at the other end of the venue contestants battled their robots in the Robot Wars enclosure. Models and helmets from Star Wars were on display, created by some very talented people. A gentleman brought his ‘Kitt’ car project, which was a work in progress to replicate the car from Knight Rider. Film weapons, as well as cosplay weapons, were on display and for sale.
Gamers had plenty of opportunity to try out the new games on the Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS. Cosplayers happily posed for photographs for other cosplayers and visitors at the event, each admiring the effort put into the costumes. Lots of teenagers in Pikachu romper suits and a Pidgey roaming around at the event proved Pokemon is as popular now as it ever was.
Not many Batman costumes, I must admit, but I did encounter a few Jokers and Harley Quinn
As with any event, the Manchester Comic Con Expo 2012 was overseen by the Stormtroopers
The event was a roaring success and proved to be the perfect day out for the entire family. With a record number of visitors, MCM Expo will surely come back with a bang next year for their third annual Manchester convention.
For more info on the MCM Expo’s, visit www.mcmexpo.net
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