MCM London Comic Con 2014

The journey begins for me around 7. I then repeatedly hit the snooze button until it’s 7.30 am. But now I am awake. I live about an hour’s train ride from Central London, but even being that far from the Excel Centre, the effects of MCM Comic Con were felt; Two Narutos and a hooded Robin missed the same train I did and went into a nearby McDonalds for coffee.

The deeper I traveled into London, the more colourful it became; every anime, gaming and comic book character imaginable, some popular (way too many Narutos), others were more obscure. We filled the train to capacity as us geeks and nerds made our way to our Mecca. I struck up conversation with a (cider-typsy) Jack Sparrow and Poison Ivy about what was on for the day.

By the time we reached Custom House Station and the trains regurgitated us into Excel, the lines had already started. We were at the gates of the greatest event for loyal animation, comic and gaming fans: MCM Expo London Comic Con.

We snaked our way into the building in biblical, exodus lines, meandering through metal barriers reminiscent of the Donkey Kong /Mario arcade game until the chosen few were awarded with Priority wristbands. We were in.

Firstly, let me just say the cosplay was impressive. So much so I felt terribly underdressed. Some costumes were hand-crafted with care taken from popular and more obscure titles. Others threw precision to the high winds, like the bearded guy dressed as Robin in an orange wig.

But the atmosphere was warm, friendly, where loyal fans were rewarded with exclusives in the form of animations and film not yet available to the public, trailers and the chance to play video games set for release next year. Let the geekgasms begin.

Being a Batman fan, the first trailer I watched in full was for the Rocksteady’s game title Batman: Arkham Knight; Batman in true, brooding, terrific form (not bad for 75 years).

What followed was a haze of colour and activity, taking pictures of the cool costumes and even cooler people (to the girl dressed as ‘Matoi’ from Kill La Kill, you are awesome!). I also was one of the privileged few to play Mortal Kombat X. Scorpion and Quan Chi are obvious favourites, I went up against a casual gamer, and lost terribly 2 – 1. To be fair we were both button-bashing, but she did it faster and better. Lots of laughs.

After wondering around again, I ended up playing Borderlands: the Pre-Sequel (the Xbox controls annoyed this PS gamer thoroughly, but I eventually got the hang of it). The Shadow of Mordor looked good as well, although the gameplay felt like a fantasy Assassin’s Creed, and you already know my love/not-so-love relationship with those type of games.

I then journeyed to the real Comic-Con heroes, the independent artists and creatives who had their publications on display. Impressive artwork from digital Illustrators and Comic Artist. And after the junkie-styled purchases of graphic novels and Attack On Titan BluRays Part One and Two, with a collectible Eren figure.

I also managed to meet up with Dita Tantang, and awesome stunt chick I met awhile back. And you know you kick ass when you have an arm in a sling all casual like. She was at the ID booth promoting the online sci-fi web series Chronicles Of Syntax, which she had a big hand in crafting. You should do a solid and check it on Youtube.

I also met up with the cast and crew of the awesome Street Fighter: Assassins Fist! They were all there, in living colour, talking to fans and signing posters. We of course snagged our poster and talking to Joey Ansah, a sequel to Assassins Fist is certainly a possibility.

There was so much to do at Comic Con, I would be surprised if you got to do it all in one day. The atmosphere was vibrant, the people and staff very friendly. A true haven for avid fans to celebrate our intrinsic love for the beautiful narratives crafted from the creative primordial ooze. Narrative that continue to inspire and captivate the minds of the young and young at heart.