Once again, IT’S ON LIKE COMIC CON!
There aren’t many weekends that we look forward to in the year more than MCM Comic Con weekend, and, after a sensibly-sized return in 2021 post-COVID, 2022’s event went bigger and better than ever.
This year saw a marked increase in the number of vendors, exhibitors, interactive zones, and, of course, guests and major brand presence – Netflix, Marvel, Pop Asia, Sega, Hasbro, plus many more – and just like that, the BUZZ of Comic Con was back at ExCel London. It’s also the little things that count, as we got closer to the venue via a network of overground, underground, and DLR trains, the normal day-to-day commuters began to be replaced by Mandalorians, stormtroopers, Scarlet Witches, Poison Ivy’s, and a whole cavalcade of anime characters that this guy is still learning about. It’s always a beautiful thing to behold.
We kicked off the weekend – post-coffee – by making a beeline to the Anthony Daniels Spotlight panel on the Main Stage. Now, we knew Anthony loved to talk, he loves it, but we hadn’t seen him command an audience before and it was genuinely fabulous to watch – he’s a true showman. With the majority of the panel being audience questions, Matt leapt at the chance – his question relating to what Anthony would have done career-wise had the role of C-3PO gone elsewhere (a good question it was too, preceded by the iconic line “Hello Tony mate” – classic Sessions). That wasn’t a bad way to begin the Con until Luke was able to make his way on stage with the man himself and grab a few golden minutes with 3PO which ended in him receiving a copy of Anthony’s book, I Am C-3PO – The Inside Story. What a start!
On the subject of kings, Brian Herring‘s Master Puppeteer panel was a delight and gave a fascinating insight into what goes on behind the scenes – it helps that Brian is a great bloke as well.
The High Republic was also represented in force this weekend with the presence of authors Charles Soule and Cavan Scott, as well as The Rise of Kylo Ren (amongst others) artist Will Sliney. Hearing how the era began in its infancy was extremely interesting and it was immediately obvious how much passion the guys had for the stories they were telling, for Star Wars, and also how much they wanted to please the fans. We chatted with Charles during the event and this can be found via the link at the end of this article! (Cavan, we’ll get you eventually!)
Back in 2019, we had the chance to chat with Patrick Schneider and Sam Smith from Hasbro, and, joined by The Collectors Guild co-host Dave Dunne, this year gave us another opportunity to chat about Hasbro products with the team again. Patrick (Marketing Director – Hasbro Star Wars) was on hand to discuss the latest product reveals from the Hasbro panel, as well as answer our questions and tolerate our Session-isms once more. Patrick is a king, we love him. Additionally, we were also able to grab some time with Alex Shropshire (Regional Commercial Manager – Hasbro Pulse) which gave us the chance to chat more about the business and delivery aspect of the company alongside a Woolworth’s reference too.
No Con would be complete without the collection of cosplayers and franchise fans and Star Wars was extremely well represented this year (always a wonderful thing). During the (extremely busy) Saturday, we headed outside (finally) to join in with the Star Wars meet-up organised by fab artist (and now fab cosplayer) Venture Pictures. Picture it, the sun is shining, it’s unseasonably hot, blue sky, green grass, good vibes in the air, and all around you are STAR WARS COSPLAYERS AND FANS. Honestly, Mandalorians, Nightsisters, Cal Kestis’, Sith Twi’leks, MORE Twi’leks, Boba Fetts, Luke Skywalkers, Anakin Skywalkers, Darth Vaders, clone troopers, and so many outstanding costumes and fans adorned the area outside of the ExCel, it really was something. We genuinely could have just stayed outside all afternoon chatting the Wars with everyone outside, such was the atmosphere, but, hey, Star Wars Celebration isn’t far away now…
The crowning moment of MCM Comic Con London 2022 for us was our first-ever live appearance at a major convention. At 3:20pm on Sunday 30th October, Star Wars Sessions went LIVE at MCM to deliver fifty minutes of Star Wars hot takes buoyed by a packed-out audience at the Creator Stage. Not just content to deliver our own spicy opinions, we invited members of the audience up to deliver THEIR hot takes before enticing another to come up and debate it – we had such fun performing for a wonderful audience and everyone was amazing with the interaction, engagement, and naughty hot takes as well. We also think we might have been the only panelists to spend their entire slot standing up and pacing the stage. It felt like an amazing culmination to a special weekend spent with our stellar community – including some new friends made throughout the weekend too. To hear the panel in its entirety, head here for a good time (*coming soon*)
Finally, MCM Comic Con would not feel complete to us without a sweaty night at The Fox for the afterparty and this year’s Friday event was insane – even though the ticketing and entry system employed over the weekend was abysmal, thankfully the night was a blast.
The only downside of MCM Comic Con is when it’s all over and normality returns for another few months, but, if 2022’s event has proven anything, it’s that we can expect 2023 to go even harder and we cannot wait!
Check out our stacked gallery here for all of the images from our adventures!
For our Hasbro interviews, check out The Collectors Guild – Episode 3 (*dropping shortly*)
For our short audio roundup of the event, head over here! (*dropping shortly*)
Major thanks to Reedpop and MCM Comic Con for the accreditations and panel opportunity. Legends.