MCM Expo - October 2010

Oh em gee! I'm sorry it has taken so long - but here it is! My MCM Post! HOORAY!!!

Right. So for the first time, MCM Expo was over three days. I had to ask for the Friday off work but it was totally worth it. In fact, although the Friday was super quiet it was nice to be able to set up in the afternoon and relax a bit. Normally, I'll get there at 8am on the Saturday, set up and then talk, talk, talk. And then collapse. But this Fancy New Friday meant I could set up, have a bit of a chat and not stress out so much. Hooray!

This MCM was a bit of a big deal in my head since, as well as being my third (!?) time there, it was also a year on since I met the lovely Lizz Lunney. Our tables were back-to-back at the MCM Expo in October 2009, so it was lovely to be just one table down from her this time. The only thing separating us was Philippa Rice. Oh! And Lizz was sharing a table with Joe List too! It was nice to have those guys next door. It also meant that I could have more of a look around than usual.

OK. So Friday was quiet. We had some food in the evening and then I went home. On the DLR! If you've never been on the DLR, it's like what would happen if someone with a rubbish imagination was in charge of designing the future.



I spent Saturday dressed as a Generic Hogwart's Student. I was going to be Harry Potter but I didn't want to dye my hair. Or do the scar. Or be Harry Potter I suppose. Anyways, the journey to the Excel Centre was a bit of a hassle since everybody was heading there. But I got there and commenced with Operation: Flyer! Which is to say, my main priority for the entire three days was to give out as many of my flyers as possible. It turned into a bit of an obsession to be honest and I apologise to the tables nearby who may have found it a bit annoying. But I would have given out their flyers if they'd have asked!

Saturday was obviously much busier than Friday. I think something like 45,000 people came to MCM across the three days - and it really felt like that on Saturday. It was nice to see familiar faces and I was mega happy when people said they'd got stuff last time or seen the website. Two people even did that dance routine! Well done everyone! And thanks for coming to visit.

Saturday also saw the start of the wrestling and the infamous Japanese drumming. I didn't catch much of the wrestling but the drumming was impossible to miss since it was so loud. I didn't mind it too much but sometimes I just wanted them to play some Lady Gaga. Or even some Beyonce. Ho hum.

It was really nice to see so many familiar faces from comic-making. I was proud to wear my Team Bing badge! I got to say hello to Warwick J. Cadwell who was a table away! Howard was debuting The Lengths! Edward Ross was sharing a table with Luke Pearson! Graham wore a dressing gown. David O'Connell came to say hello! Marc Ellerby and Adam Cadwell were opposite me. I was planning on going through everyone but I can't be arsed. In conclusion - there were lots of interesting comic-making people there. Check them out. Yeah!

Saturday evening was spent with some lovely folk at the nearby Chinese food place. I'm a mega fussy eater but I found some nice food and I even used chopsticks! Yes! In your face!

Then it was Sunday and after not enough sleep, I was back at the Excel Centre. Sunday wasn't as busy as Saturday but I still tried to give out as many flyers as possible. Lots of people from Saturday were there but in different costumes. I admire how prepared they are to be able to sort out more than one costume. I had trouble getting my own costume together and that was just normal clothes. Goodness knows how you make three different robot costumes in time...

So Sunday ended and I said goodbye to people and went home to sleep. The End! Except I just want to say thanks to everyone involved in organising the whole thing. It's a lot of comic people to organise and I have no idea how difficult it must be to sort out. But they did it and they did it brilliantly!

Also, serious thanks to everyone who came to visit my table. I know I'm not a big name but I'm still working hard. And hopefully I'll have new comics for the next MCM! And hopefully you'll come along to check them out!

IN OTHER NEWS: I wasn't the only one in costume for the event so I'm going to close this blog post with some of the amazing costumes! Prepare yourself!

This guy was around on the Friday (I can tell because the background shows a bunch of empty tables) and dressed as Kick Ass. I haven't read or watched Kick Ass - but this guy's costume was amazing. What was even better though was the fact that he had two perfect Kick Ass poses. When I asked to take his picture, he immediately assumed his first pose. Then he asked if I wanted a different pose - which is the one in this photo. That's brilliant forward-planning if you ask me.

There was also this guy who was cosplaying as Juggernaut from the (pretty rubbish) X-Men film. At first I thought he was that guy from He-Man. You know - the one that rammed stuff with his head? Rammer? Rambo? Mr. Ram? But on closer inspection, he was totally Juggernaut. And he made his costume himself! That's super impressive! Like the Kick Ass guy, he didn't need to be asked to pose - he just went for it. I think we can agree that a good pose can make a good cosplayer great. We should all work out what our poses are...




Next up, here are some wizards! Not just any wizards though - it's Lizz and Philippa! With matching cloaks, hats and knitted beards! I don't really need to say much about how brilliant their costumes are. Because you can see it with your own eyes!

And on that note! Roll on the next MCM Expo!