There was a turnout of 133,156 at the MCM London Comic Con held over the three day bank holiday weekend at the Excel Centre. Organisers have confirmed the event is Europe’s leading comic con – and the third largest event of its kind in the world. The attendance tops previous records set at last year’s events (October’s 130,560 and May’s 122,600).
The weekend featured an excitingly eclectic mix of sci-fi, film, TV, online video, comic book, gaming, anime and cosplay content. The show’s Comic Village was home to over 200 talented creators — including Dave Gibbons, Bob Layton, John McCrea, Gary Erskine, Yishan Li, Lee Townsend and John-Paul Bove. Other attractions included a bustling online video zone featuring top YouTubers such as The Yogscast, Tomska and Meg Turney; the UK qualifiers for the World Cosplay Summit; a packed roster of eSports tournaments; leading videogame publishers and anime distributors; an MCM Fringe Festivaland. Hundreds of retailers and exhibitors nestled in between them.
Comic Con’s always attracted a great array of special guests and this weekend was no exception. Headlining special guest line up were Jesse Eisenberg Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network) and Big Bang Theory stars Kunal Nayyar (Raj) and Melissa Rauch (Bernadette). They were joined by cast members from a host of sci-fi, superhero and fantasy franchises, including Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, Agent Carter, 12 Monkeys, Red Dwarf, Arrow, Game of Thrones, Lost Girl, Sleepy Hollow, Being Human and Fringe. There were representatives from some of the new kids on the block such as Outcast, Preacher, Colony and Dark Matter.
There was a strong crime contingent present, with stars from NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and Murdoch Mysteries all turning up to meet their fans and be part of the spectacle. Guests from the world of animation included Adventure Time’s Jeremy Shada, Venture Bros. creator Jackson Publick, anime director Michael Arias and staff from Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin III (the European premiere of which was held at Comic Con).
MCM London Comic Con will be back at Excel in the autumn, 28-30th October 2016.
•For more information, go to: mcmcomiccon.com @mcmcomiccon
Photos: Gilly Ridlington
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