I was forunate enough to work at a few of the Winter Comic Cons here in the UK.
LFCC, Earls Court
First was London Film and Comic Con. I had been earlier in the year but just as an attendee, it was a whole different experience as part of a retail team. But I loved it. I cosplayed on both days we were there for. The first day was Judge Death from 2000AD/Judge Dredd comics. Unfortunately I had a few malfunctions with that so I didnt wear it for very long. Managed to get some photos of me wearing it though, but more adjustments are needed if I'm to wear that costume again. The second day was Tauriel. Which was pretty fitting as that was the day I met Billy Boyd (Pippin from LOTR). I was incredibly happy and a little emotional afterwards as my dad was a massive fan of the books and the movies, I think he would've been a little jealous if he knew I had met him. Later on towards the end of the show, Billy Boyd came over to our stall. He picked up a tshirt and a phone case and even agreed to do a little video for us. Here's a link to it if you'd like to watch:
Billy Boyd Loves Hard Times Clothing
He even gave Matt (My boyfriend and owner of Hard Times) a signed CD from his band Beecake, go check it out. We are going to make him sing for us next time :P
MCM, London
Next, literally a week later, I was at MCM London Comic Con. This one was crazy busy. My feet killed me by the end of it, but I can't deny that it was a lot of fun. It occured to me that Comic Cons are the best events to work at, purely because everyone is so friendly, the attendees and the retailers. There's no competition and infact, it just feels like a huge family all in one place . Obviously you get the occasional dick head, but compared to Music Festivals, well, give me a comic con anyday (Since working at a few music fests, I now depise them). The comic con scene has such a positive vibe and the organisers always do their upmost to make sure your time there is the best it can be.
MCM was 3 days long. I didnt cosplay for this one as we had to get up much earlier and I was still exhausted from the previous week. I did get to wear my ultimate Middle Earth outfit though, which consists of a tshirt I designed for Hard Times Clothing and a handmade custom skirt that I had purchased at LFCC the weekend before. I think one of my favourite things from working at these is when someone sees my design, loves it and promptly buys its. I'm constantly questioning myself as to whether I'd make it as an Illustrator. The feedback I've recieved from my design spurs me on. I still question myself and tell myself I'm not good enough, but I remember those people who loved my design without knowing I'd done it, and that brings me back up.
There was so many incredible cosplayers at MCM. I was rushing around trying to get photos with as many of them as possible. Its hard to pick a favourite as these guys clearly put a lot of effort in. They've inspire me to keep at it with my costume making. Lots of room for improvement though, but I'll get there.
It was an exhausting few days as it was one of the busiest comic cons I had worked at or attended (other than San Diego). I think it took me a week to fully recover from it all.
Collectormania, Milton Keynes
Last but not least, Milton Keynes Collectormania 22. It was a much smaller comic con compared to the previous two, but by no means any less fun. It was also a completely free entry event for attendees and the turn out was pretty good. There were guests from Games of Thrones, Star Wars and Stargate. I decided, as it was a little less crazy, thats I would dress up for this one, you may or may not have seen the photos. The first day was Han Solo, it was a pretty simple costume but I loved it. I was rushing about all over the place that day getting sneaky Xmas presents for the boyfriend. Other events of the day consisted of me waving to strangers stood on the balcony (no one waved back which was disappointing) and disco dancing with a couple of R2D2's. That was epic and a video should be available soon. Infact, I was so distracted with doing that and generally just working (kind of), that I completely forgot to turn off the headlights on my car. They were left on ALL day (despite the trips back and forth to my car). so, as you can imagine, at the end of the first day when we were tired and ready to go home, we didnt actually go anywhere. had to wait for RAC to come and give me a jump start. They tried to con me into buying a new car battery for £80. Fortunately my intuition was correct on that occasion and I said no. Had my battery checked out the next day and all was fine. Cheeky fucks.
The second day I dressed up as Tauriel again. Matt even got to meet Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), and if that didnt make his day enough, Jeremy even grabbed the Fett inspired tshirt for himself and signed one for Matt too. Such a lovely chap. Amanda Tapping fell in love with the phonecases we had on sale (like a lot of people) and grabbed one too. It was a very good second day but still not without it's mishaps, all my fault again though, obviously. This time, I had lost my coat. I had accidentally forgot/left it in the toilets at the beginning of the day when I went to put my Tauriel wig on. it wasnt until we were packing down and getting ready to go home when I realised I had left it there, ALL DAY! I went back and of course, it wasnt there. I checked with all the staff to see if anyone had handed it in. Nope. I was tired and angry and thought to myself "Of course it hasnt been handed in, it was a free event, all sorts of scummy theiving cunts have probably been in here!!" . Then I cried, mostly because I was tired but also because I couldnt believe, that for a second day in a row that I could do something so dumb. Luckily I have an amazing boyfriend who actually bought me a new coat. :)
I've mentioned to Matt that I would love to do a comic con road trip, attend as many Comic cons as possible within a month or 2. Next year is going to be eventful. London Film and Comic con are moving locations back to The Olympia (because Earls Court is going to be demolished). And they are going BIG for their summer event, including a Back to the Future cast reunion. Below are the websites for next years cons. Have a look. It may not be as epic as San Diego, But it's a lot of fun and you don't have to queue up for a week to hopefully get a seat at panel :P
Showmasters (organisers of LFCC, Collectormania & more...)
I'm also taking suggestions for future cosplay ideas, Let me know what you think I should try and dress up as for next years comic cons...
