Review: ReedPop’s First MCM London Comic Con!
With a very warm con out the way, ReedPop’s first London MCM ran smoothly, with a clear difference now that an American company has taken charge. Despite yet another price rise in tickets, the weekend proved to be as popular as ever.
There were minimal changes in regards to entering the venue and queueing. Everyone I managed to speak to throughout the weekend said that even Saturday’s queues were moving smoothly, at least as smoothly as they could with over 100,000 in one hall. They even introduced an MCM app to personalise your weekend and a digital map!
MCM promised guests galore this year with guests such as James Purefoy (Altered Carbon, Rush, The Following), Letitia Wright (Black Panther), Tom Ellis (Lucifer, Save Lucifer), and Rosario Dawson (Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, The Defenders). Even three voice actors from Blizzard’s hit game Overwatch attended: Gaku Space (Genji), Lucie Pohl (Mercy) and Dolya Gavanski (Zarya). Speaking of Blizzard, they also came and visited us from their Europe base, where they sold exclusive Pop Funkos and merchandise that wasn’t yet available on the online store. Pop! also sold their own exclusives, and as ever, they all sold out in a flash!
Along with exclusive booths, the usual sellers were about, along with an impressive display at the Artist’s Alley. What was really nice was that they now aren’t stuck at the back of the hall, and are instead front and centre with the more well-known artists such as DestinyBlue with her own stand!
The gaming area this year was a nice size, although it seems that they have the same demo games as October of last year. Nintendo ran a competitive area for the Switch where audience members can compete in games like Quick Draw and others that really showcase the entertainment value of the console. Of course there were also sales of the console as well as pre-order exclusives.
Another big area this year was movie booths. Cineworld was one of this years sponsors, which meant interactive green-screen clips with an upcoming summer film “The Meg”, and an interactive digital shooting range for “Jack Ryan“. This seemed to be a big hit, with constant queues for the experience even on Friday!
Outside boasted even more entertainment, with a Krispy Kreme van serving donuts, Warner Brothers serving up free Justice League burgers for nothing more than a selfie shared on social media (saved many a fortune on food!), and of course plenty of ice cream vans. There was also a stage with J-Pop, K-Pop and performances by various groups! One of our own, a cosplayer dressed as Hermoine, even managed to go viral as a result!
All in all it was a very, very hot convention, but with the Excel FINALLY sufficiently air-conned (something us brits clearly don’t know how to work most of the time), it made for an extremely enjoyable and plentiful con!
Summary: as a veteran con-goer, I would always recommend MCM London Comic Con. They seem to have a lot of the routines down to a fine art now, and for con newbies, there is always a member of security to attempt to help you. Although, asking a fellow con goer is always more recommended, this year security didn’t seem to know what was going on outside the West Entrance!
As a first con, it’s a huge challenge. For anyone that struggles with big crowds I definitely wouldn’t recommend the Saturday, although if you attend the whole weekend, a lot of the veterans use Saturday for cosplay and chilling outside the West Entrance (nicknamed by us as the “main” entrance). It’s the perfect plan!
Photos by Cobalt Cosplay and DemoraFairy Photography
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