Hey guys! So, two weeks ago today, I was at the May 2019 London MCM Comic Con, a holy place for nerds, geeks and otaku from all over UK! While I was there, I got to meet a few amazing people, buy some awesome stuff and pay waaaay too much money on Con food. However, with this being my 12th MCM, I did notice a few things this time around that seem to have changed a little bit from previous conventions – some for the better and others for the worse. This week on our trip down the Otaku Rabbit Hole, I’ll be talking more about my most recent experience with the convention, as well as giving a small scattering of artists and comic creators that really stood out to me as, quite honestly, the talent that these people hold is worthy of so much more recognition than it receives. Without further ado, then, let’s just jump into it!
So, at this year’s MCM London, the organisation was pretty on point. Over the past few years, the organisation and crowd control has steadily improved, and this year was no different, being one of the smoothest it’s ever been. Now, while this was a great start, the convention itself was … a little lacklustre this time around, but first let’s start with the positives.
Comic Village
As per usual, Comic Village was filled to the brim with so many incredible artists and writers showcasing their various talents. For me, this is my favourite part of any comic con, seeing the work on offer and being able to blow insane amounts of cash on some original art and comics from amazing artists, hopefully finding some new favourites in the process. This time, I managed to come across some incredible talent, some of which I really want to take some time to show off here.
And finally, I also want to give a small shout-out to The Pride comic creator, Joe Glass. Getting the chance to speak with him was awesome and, as I’m already a huge fan of The Pride Comics (to see how big a fan, you need only check out my review here), here’s another slight nudge for you guys to check out this series, because it’s pretty great!
The problems
Now, this con was definitely lacking somewhat compared to usual shows and this was apparent from the first hall. Comparing the stands from both halls, the level of diversity in the stalls and their contents weren’t there, with many duplicate stalls scattered throughout the twin halls from the same companies. Now, while drinking horns are cool, five stands of this could be seen as a little excessive, and this wasn’t the only offending company. Also, many of the vendors that I personally enjoy, such as Rice Digital, were notably absent, and many people I spoke to said that this event felt smaller than usual and barer than ever before.
Now, while I’ll admit that these events will sometimes fluctuate a little in quality, I personally felt that on this occasion, something was off. And, honestly, I think that has something to do with the guest line-up this time around. For this convention, Sebastian Stan, the actor behind Bucky Barnes, was in attendance, with many other high-profile guests present, including Stephen Amell (Arrow), Misha Collins (Supernatural) and Tyler Hoechlin (Teen Wolf). While this is a genuinely fantastic draw to the convention, it did feel as though most of the marketing effort and general organisational effort were placed into securing and promoting these high profile guests. Sadly, this resulted in the sense that the attention wasn’t being split evenly across all aspects of the convention, and some parts then felt bare or unattended to as a result. I may be totally off the mark on this one, but it does leave me somewhat worried for future events with a high density of very high-profile actors present. I really hope that this won’t be the case and it was just an “off day”, but I suppose it’ll be a waiting game from now until October, where we can see what the future holds for this convention.
Well guys, this week’s trip down the Otaku Rabbit Hole was a whistle wind tour through MCM London Comic Con. My apologies that this week is a little shorter than usual, but next week we’ll be back again with another otaku treasure for you to enjoy. Until next time, keep it weeby everyone!
Loplop x
Down the Otaku Rabbit Hole! 