This is a continuation of a post I first made at the conclusion of 2014,
where I ranked and reviewed the conventions I’d attended in 2014 and compared
them against one another, as well as giving some general advice and information
about conventions and ticket types in the United Kingdom. As I’ve written
extensively detailed reviews of all of these conventions already, this will
simply be a place to list the pros and cons of each event, as well as a place
to make direct comparisons between them. It’ll cover some of the highlights of
the convention year, some of the best guests, some of the biggest advantages
and disadvantages of each company, and, of course, most importantly, the best
convention of the year. So, theoretically, this will be much shorter than my
average convention review or article.
There are two types of convention: genre-specific weekend conventions
and signing events. There used to be a time where genre-specific weekend
conventions were referred to as ‘conventions’, while signing events were
referred to as ‘signing events’. But, alas, signing events started putting the
word ‘convention’ or ‘comic-con’ in their title and everything got confusing.
Therefore, for the purposes of this review, I’m going to call them ‘weekend
conventions’ and ‘signing events’. These terms aren’t technically correct, as signing events often take place over entire
weekends and also include activities other than guests signing autographs
(photos, talks, Q & A’s, Cosplay competitions, etc.), but I’m too lazy to
come up with better terms. Everybody clear?
Weekend conventions are smaller and more intimate
than signing events. The ones I’ve attended before have ranged from 200-700
people, with 400 being the mean number. They usually take place over a Friday
evening, a Saturday, and a Sunday (sometimes there’s no Friday evening), and
you always get much more time with the guests...if you’re willing to pay
for it. If you attend a weekend convention as a standard ticket holder, you can
attend the talks and get an autograph with the guests (bonus and special guests
come with an additional charge), but you can also do that at signing events.
However, it’s rare that signing events have parties at the night time.
Sometimes, if you’re very lucky, the guests (or some of them) will attend the
parties and interact with you. They’ll dance with you, have conversations with
you, and maybe, if you’re very lucky, let you grind against them on the dance
floor, which is the case with someone I know. I actually got to dance with
Eliza Dushku and sing to her at “Vampire Ball” (grind-free), but more on that
later. Therefore, the first major difference between signing events and weekend
conventions is that weekend conventions are often smaller, more intimate, and
gift you the opportunity of spending more time with the guests. If you go to a
weekend convention as something other than standard, you get more perks. These
perks and ticket options vary from company to company, so I’ll discuss them
later when it’s relevant.
Signing events have some similarities with weekend conventions, such as
autographs, professional photographs, and talks, but they also have a few key
differences. Firstly, entry is cheap in comparison. Whereas you might pay £100
for a standard ticket to a weekend convention, a signing event may be £15
(note: that’s £100 to attend all the days of the weekend convention, whereas
signing events are usually paid for with individual days). Signing events are
much larger...especially with the growth of signing events in the past few
years. There are more signing events in the U.K. than ever before and they’re
only continuing to grow in popularity. I believe that both ‘MCM London’ and
‘London Film and Comic Con’ topped 130,000 people over their respective
weekends, while “Wales Comic Con” achieved record-breaking numbers of roughly
13,000 people at their events in 2016 as well. Due to this volume of people,
you get less time with the guests. This obviously depends on a few factors.
Firstly, the size of the guest’s queue. Secondly, the guest’s preferences and
temperament. Some guests might not like to talk much. Some guests might be shy
and nervous...or some guests might talk your ear off. It really depends on the
person and the situation. Whereas a weekend convention may have 5-10 guests,
decent signing events can top 50 or 100. Therefore, you have a wider range of
guests, covering a large number of fandoms, and you’re only paying for the
people that you want to meet. One of the biggest downsides is that queues are
way longer. Queues to get into the building (I thankfully avoided quite a few
of these for the first time in 2016 due to press passes), queues to meet
guests, photo queues...it’s all going to be much longer on average than a
weekend convention, which is why organisation
is so important (we’ll get on to that topic later). There are many more
differences and similarities between the two convention types, but I’ll address
some of those later as they’re relevant. Plus, I’ve written about a lot of them
in depth during various convention reviews already, so check someof those out for a more detailed analysis #CheapPlug.
Before the countdown begins, there is one last thing to mention. In my
experience, there are three types of convention guest. I have labelled them and
given a brief description of each :-
·
The Responder: This type of guest is often polite and friendly. If you ask
them a question, they’ll happily answer. If you give them a comment, they’ll
respond or smile gratefully. However, they won’t carry the conversation forward,
you have to. Examples include David Yost, Andy Umberger, Lena Headey, Summer
Glau, Jim Parrack, Amy ‘Lita’ Dumas.
·
The Groucho/Big Guest: There are two aspects to this category. Firstly,
you have the groucho. The groucho is there for monetary purposes or is
generally just having a bad day, or is a bit of an ass. If you meet enough
people, one of them is bound to be an ass! The grouchos aren’t interested in
conversations above a few words. They’ll say ‘hi’ (sometimes they don’t bother
with that), sign, say ‘bye’ (sometimes), and you’re on your merry way. Of
course, in certain situations this is relevant and expected, which brings me to
the second part of this category, the ‘big guest’. Some guests are going to be
insanely popular. Such as Stan Lee at LFCC ‘14, who had an entire building to
himself basically. When you get a huge queue like that, the guest can’t take a
lot of time with everyone. If they did, many people would go home disappointed
at not getting to meet them at all. Therefore, the convention company and the
guest want to get through as many people as possible. If one was being cynical,
one could also mention that the more people a guest gets through, the more
money the guest and the organisation makes. You cannot have a huge guest and expect
to get above a minute or two with them, which is perfectly fair.
·
The Conversationalist: This is easily
my favourite type of guest. They’ll answer your questions with a smile, ask
you questions in turn, and are happy to chat for an extended period of time,
regardless of where the conversation leads or how long you’ve been talking.
Obviously, there has to be some cut-off
point if there is a queue behind you, but you leave the experience feeling
euphoric and like you gained a lot more than just the autograph you queued for.
Examples include James Marsters, Jonathan Woodward, DDP, Aimee Richardson, Kerry
Ingram, Anthony Head, Ian McElhinney, George Hertzberg, Edge, and Natalia Tena.
Keep these three categories in mind while I run through the countdown.
Comparing weekend conventions to signing events is unfair as they’re so
different. You can’t compare, say, a gold ticket for “Vampire Ball” to a
standard entry ticket for “LFCC”. They’re two entirely different experiences and trying to fairly compare the two would be difficult. Therefore, “Vampire Ball
7” and “Prophecy”, the two weekend conventions I attended in 2016, shall be
compared and contrasted to each other, but not to the signing events.
Finally, over the years, I’ve developed close friendships with
convention organisers, crew, photographers, and guests alike. Trying to remain
objective while critiquing (in some cases) the hard work and organisation of
some of my friends is tough. However, it’s my job to do so at all costs, so I
shall remain as objective and honest as possible throughout.
Weekend Conventions
As I only attended two weekend
conventions in 2016, Prophecy unfortunately looks good and bad for the wrong
reasons. It looks bad because it came 2nd out of two and looks good
because it came 2nd. Alas, my inaugural Rogue Events convention was
really, really good. In fact, I’ve only ever marked two weekend conventions
higher than it, one of which just so happens to be “Vampire Ball 7”, which also
took place in 2016. Bad luck for Rogue.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5
VENUE QUALITY: 5/5
CREW QUALITY: 4/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 3/5
TOTAL: 28/35
Positives
·
Pretty much everything
·
A very good line-up of guests, including Marc Blucas’ first ever convention anywhere in the world.
The first event on the schedule was the meet and greet. I happened to be the
first person to speak to Marc at the first table of the meet and greet, so technically I broke Marc’s convention
cherry. Something I shall always cherish, I’m sure.
·
Venue. I love the Hilton in Birmingham. It’s my favourite convention
hotel in the world. So many great memories there!
·
The guests themselves were all
fantastic. Not a single dud in the bunch, which happens to always be the case
for actors associated with Joss Whedon shows. They’re always amazing.
·
Relatively cheap meet and greet ticket that was good value for money
(£20 each).
·
Tremendous photographers, virtually instant printing, awesome customised
8” x 10” pictures to choose from that were taken over the weekend of the event.
·
The crew were fantastic.
·
“Once More With Feeling” sing-along organised. Always fun.
·
Marc Blucas’ speech at the end of his last solo panel. Very
inspirational guy.
·
Flash’s jokes.
Negatives
·
A smattering of high-profile cancellations, including Alyson Hannigan,
Alexis Denisof, and Christian Kane. Cancellations cannot be helped and are not
the fault of the organisation (usually), but they do still damage the enjoyment
of the event if those particular guests are the ones you were looking forward
to meeting most.
·
Programme guide errors. Wrong dates on the front, lots of grammatical
errors inside. The O.C.D. inside of me disapproves.
·
The schedule meant that photos took place during the talk panels,
meaning you had to miss sections of talks and awkwardly leave while someone was
talking on stage. Hate that. Also meant that there was little to do in the
evenings.
·
First two photos taken were way too bright and had to be digitally
altered by me afterwards (the male photographer’s section).
·
Flash’s jokes. Yep, it’s on both the positives and negatives list.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Anthony Head -
Conversationalist
2nd) J. August
Richards - Conversationalist
1st) Marc Blucas -
Conversationalist
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 9.5/10
Man, what an event! A bonafide incredible
experience from start to finish.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5
VENUE QUALITY: 5/5
CREW QUALITY: 5/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5
TOTAL: 32/35
Positives
·
Near-flawless weekend convention.
·
Tremendous line-up of guests, including the rare Eliza Dushku and the really rare Robia LaMorte (her first
convention worldwide in a decade). Amy Acker’s cancellation is still a sore
point with me as it was caused by fans, not by her schedule. Mercedes’
cancellation also hurt.
·
My second time at the Renaissance Hotel in Heathrow, London, and it was
as impressive as it was the first time around. Well organised, friendly staff,
clean room.
·
Good value for money entry ticket. £160 for a gold ticket, I believe.
This included 1x autograph with Eliza Dushku, 1x autograph with Robia LaMorte,
1x autograph with Clare Kramer, 1x autograph with Jonathan Woodward, and 1x
autograph with Miracle Laurie (James Leary was a ‘bonus’ guest), a meet and
greet, entry to all talks and parties, priority seating, etc.
·
All guests were once again great. Arguably the most interactive and
accessible bunch I’ve ever met at a weekend convention. Eliza danced and sang
with me after the closing ceremony on Sunday night, Jonathan Woodward danced
with me and re-tied my tie while drunk, Miracle was downstairs dancing every
night until 1-2am, I had great conversations with everybody...
·
Communion. That is all. Those of you that know will know why. Those of
you that don’t will never understand...or you can go and read the review
#JustSaying.
·
Sean’s speech on equality and acceptance to close the whole event,
including an “in memoriam” for Andy Hallett, Ron Glass, and Jerry Doyle.
·
Family atmosphere and the well-organised crew.
·
Free 8” x 10” picture if buying it as an additional autograph.
·
Only £15 for Eliza’s autograph or £10 for everyone else! Cheaper than anywhere else I’ve ever seen.
·
Drunken corridors of death.
·
Schedule allowing you to basically do everything if you so wished.
Photos in the morning, panels in the afternoon, autographs in the early
evening, party at night.
Negatives
·
Amy Acker’s cancellation and the reason for it.
·
Didn’t have Robyn there with me.
·
Needing a TARDIS to attend the opening ceremony according to the event
guide (20:30-20:00).
·
No free ‘guest encounters’ like last year.
·
Cosplay Competition and closing ceremony started 30 minutes late.
·
That’s pretty much it! Barring a few minor niggling issues, it was
basically the perfect convention.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Jonathan Woodward
- Conversationalist
2nd) Eliza Dushku -
Conversationalist
1st) Miracle Laurie -
Conversationalist
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 10/10 (One of only two ever! The other
being “Vampire Ball 5”)
Signing Events
As mentioned, an entirely
different style of event and incomparable. Over the course of 2016, I attended eleven signing events, which might be a
new personal best in one year! One of these signing events, “Gloucester Comic
Con”, I shall omit from the ranking as I helped organise the event and would be
totally biased. “Gloucester Comic
Con” was a tremendous amount of fun, taking place at GL1, which is a
five-minute drive from my house. It was bliss. Hard work, but thoroughly
rewarding...and damn good for a first-time event, if I may say so myself. Presales
sold out both days! The review for “Gloucester Comic Con”, written from an
organisational standpoint, can be found here. Of the ten that remain, I’d attended four of the previous incarnations
at some point or another (2x Wales Comic Cons, 1x LFCC, 1x Film & Comic Con
Cardiff), while the other six were entirely new to me (1x LFCC Spring (the
Spring edition is the new bit), 1x Em-Con, 1x Worcester Comic Con, 1x Stars of
Time, 1x Film & Comic Con Bournemouth, 1x Reading Comic Con).
Will “Wales Comic Con” retain its
crown for the third consecutive year? “Wales Comic Con” has been the winner and runner-up for signing events in my
recapping of both 2014 and 2015. Will the trend continue for 2016? Let’s find
out!
I’d like to start out by saying
that the lowest ranked signing event of the year, “Stars Of Time”, still scored
a respectable 6/10. No signing event was below average and every single one had
something to offer. “Stars Of Time” took place at the Tropicana in
Weston-Super-Mare in August. One thing that “Stars Of Time” had going against
it from the offset was that I was only really there to see two people and had
limited time, so my experiences at the event were part of a very small window
of time. While limited studio-quality photos were being offered, I didn’t buy
one, so I can’t comment on the quality of the photographer or the service.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: N/A
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 3/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 3/5
VENUE QUALITY: 1/5
CREW QUALITY: 3/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5
TOTAL: 17/30
Positives
·
Entry for the day was just £6. Good value for money!
·
The effort was certainly there. Lots of props were scattered throughout
the venue, including superhero replicas, Fawkes from Harry Potter, “Alien”,
Davros, a TARDIS, and various Daleks.
·
Only an hour from my house!
·
Decent variety of merchandise stalls, particularly given the size of the
event.
·
Two former Doctor Who’s in attendance, which is a relatively decent haul
for a smaller event.
·
Both guests I met, Colin Baker and Miltos Yerolemou, were gracious and
talkative, while not being quite the level of conversationalists on this
occasion.
Negatives
·
The venue was dreadful. Black walls, chipped paint, stiflingly hot, lots
of people in a narrow space. Black walls meant that the pictures taken on my
phone at the autograph table were a pretty poor quality as well. This venue is
not suitable to hold a convention, particularly as the event starts to grow.
·
Very few windows inside the venue. It felt like a cellar. The “Stars Of
Time” events used to take place at the Helicopter Museum, which is way more fit for purpose.
·
The event ended up being pointless for me personally. As I’d met Miltos
numerous times before, and Colin Baker was ultimately announced for “Gloucester
Comic Con” a couple of months later, I could have avoided this trip entirely,
as I largely attend events for the guests.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) -
2nd) Colin Baker -
Responder
1st) Miltos Yerolemou
– Responder (On This Occasion)
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 6/10
Taking place at the end of
October at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, “Film & Comic Con Cardiff” was
a definite mixed-bag of an event.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 3/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 3/5
VENUE QUALITY: 2/5
CREW QUALITY: 4/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5
TOTAL: 24/35
Positives
·
No selfie charges! Sometimes you’ve just got to give the Devils their
due. Showmasters don’t allow guests to charge attendees for pictures at the
autograph table. They can choose whether or not they want to partake at all,
but if they do want to partake, it’s free. If you’re meeting a lot of guests,
this could save you £50 or more!
·
I attended this event as press, so my entry was covered.
·
Balcony. Lots of seating up there, good view of the event. Love a
balcony.
·
Decent quality studio photos, all of which are instantly printed.
Showmasters have the best photo printing in the U.K.
·
Autograph prices at the event were the industry standard. I didn’t see
any outrageous prices, nor any bargains of note. The lack of ‘selfie’ charge
sure does help though.
·
The guests I met (not that many at autograph tables, to be fair) were
all approachable and talkative. Pip Torrens was especially great, while Oliver
Ford Davies and Jimmy Vee were just a notch behind him. Gemma Whelan was also
as brilliant as she usually is.
·
The talks were great. The talk hall is perfectly sized and the fact it’s
on the 2nd floor means that you don’t get any noise from the main hall
permeating the talks.
·
Well organised! The crew were great and everything ran on time, which is
rare.
Negatives
·
The guest line-up was decent, but was once again hit by the “Cardiff
Curse”, where virtually all headliners cancel right before the event. Always
seems to happen! Hannah Waddingham, Faye Marsay, Christopher Fairbanks and Maya
Stojan all pulled out right before the event.
·
Out of all the ‘big’ (read: non-indie) events I attend, “Film &
Comic Con Cardiff” has the worst venue. Disappointingly, it’s not because of
the structure itself. The main hall is well organised and has a decent layout,
but the lighting is atrocious. Half
of the area has yellow lights, the other half has white. Neither are bright
enough to light the hall below, resulting in shitty phone pictures....sometimes
the flash is even needed, blinding you and the guest! The other gripe (although
more minor) is that the corridor on the first floor where you queue for studio
photos is very, very narrow. If there’s a big queue, it’s going to get hot and
claustrophobic fast.
·
No 5-star conversations all weekend. Some great ones, but none at that
very top level.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Jimmy Vee -
Conversationalist
2nd) Oliver Ford
Davies - Responder
1st) Pip Torrens -
Conversationalist
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 6.5/10
‘LFCC Spring’ took place over the
last weekend of February at the Olympia in London. This event was brutal for me personally as I’d just
been in bed for a week straight with pneumonia. 24 hours before departing, I
could barely lift my head off the pillow. I was dizzy, shaky, drowsy,
sweaty...sexy image, no? Nevertheless, I didn’t know when my next opportunity would
be to meet Kurt Angle or Nick Frost, so I dosed myself up with medication,
slept like a log, and left home the next morning. Walking around killed me. I
had to stop every 30 or 40 steps to recover. Nonetheless, a pretty decent time
was had.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 3/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 3/5
VENUE QUALITY: 4/5
CREW QUALITY: 4/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5
TOTAL: 26/35
Positives
·
No selfie charges! As with all Showmasters events, that lack of selfie charge
is terrific.
·
I do like the Olympia as a venue. It has a great upstairs balcony, ample
space (if Showmasters hire enough of the Olympia out, which they did for all
2016 events I attended), decent air conditioning for the summer...the only
downside is that London is a few hours away from me, so the drive is always a
bitch.
·
The line-up of guests was decent. Nick Frost is a rarity and was
relatively cheap at £25 per autograph/studio photo. Kurt Angle is a huge name in the wrestling community and
I’d been waiting to meet Kurt for years. Those were the two big draws for me,
but it was great to meet Clare Higgins too, as she’s a psychology graduate,
like myself, so we had a lot to talk
about. Probably the best conversation of the day. It was also grand to see Jess
Henwick and Mark Stanley again.
Negatives
·
For some reason the photo quality was worse than it usually is for a
Showmasters event. All three of my studio photos were darker than usual and
just a little bit blurry! Not a big deal at all, but a little disappointing.
·
CANCELLATIONS! Emily Kinney cancelled on me for the second time in a
year, Charles Dance cancelled on me for the second time in a year...I was
heartbroken at those two cancellations. Charles and Nikolaj are the only two
actors I need to complete my Lannister collection! That’s right, actors are
nothing more than collectables to me now.
·
No other huge negatives to be honest. Just shitty circumstances as I was
feeling dog-rough. It’s only ranked relatively low because the other signing events
were better, not because this one was bad.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Jessica Henwick -
Conversationalist
2nd) Mark Stanley -
Conversationalist
1st) Clare Higgins -
Conversationalist
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 6.5/10
This is the first of the really
good signing events on the list. Unlike “LFCC Spring”, which was an established
event taking place in a different season, “Reading Coming Con” was a genuine
first-time event, taking place at the Rivermead Leisure Complex on the last
weekend of November. Obviously, a smaller first-time event won’t have the
budget or the means to bring in A-list of expensive guests, nor should they try
to. I think we’ve all learned from “Blackpool Comic Con” that over-stretching
your budget is a disaster. Even within these confines, the team at “Reading
Comic Con” did a great job and put on
an event that was more enjoyable than established conventions such as “Film
& Comic Con Cardiff” and “LFCC Spring”. They had a zombie area, complete
with specialised actors portraying the zombies. They had a decent line-up of
guests, including Andrew Lee Potts and Hannah Spearritt from “Primeval”, and
four “Game Of Thrones” guests...three of which happen to be friends of mine,
hence the journey to Reading.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5
VENUE QUALITY: 3/5
CREW QUALITY: 4/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 3/5
TOTAL: 26/35
Positives
·
No selfie charges! Even though all five guests I met were at an event where
they could charge for pictures at the
autograph table, nobody did. I love that. Granted, everyone I met except Clive
Russell were friends, but it was still cool.
·
The quality of the studio photos was great. The photographer was
definitely trying to give everybody the most pleasing photograph he could
because he was taking three or four each time and then choosing the best.
·
The line-up, given that this was a first-time event, was tremendous.
Made even better by the fact that all five guests I met were talkative, lovely,
interesting, and then offered free pictures.
·
Strong first-time event!
·
Every guest I spoke to was a ‘conversationalist’. Never happened at a
convention before, will likely not happen again unless I only meet one or two
people at that convention. Five guests, five awesome conversations.
·
I like the Rivermead Complex as a venue. Everything is either contained
in one hall or located in a room just off of that main hall. There was a decent
amount of space, nothing felt crushed, and it was a relaxing day, which is a
rarity at a convention. Ordinarily, large crowds, queuing and organisational
stupidity can cause a convention to feel claustrophobic and stressful as
opposed to relaxing. Thankfully, this one was great.
·
Great crew throughout!
Negatives
·
Trying to acquire the digital versions of the studio photos post-con has
been challenging.
·
The talk panel area will need to be totally re-thought as the event
starts to grow. It was perfectly fine for this event, but in the future it will
become problematic as there’s very limited room for people to sit in the talk
area.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Clive Russell -
Conversationalist
Co-1st) Aimee
Richardson – Conversationalist & Kerry Ingram - Conversationalist
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 7.5/10
“Film & Comic Con
Bournemouth” took place over the first weekend of September at the Bournemouth
International Centre. This was my first time attending “Film & Comic Con
Bournemouth” and was actually my first time ever going to Bournemouth!
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 3/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 4/5
VENUE QUALITY: 4/5
CREW QUALITY: 4/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5
TOTAL: 27/35
Positives
·
Location! I loved the
International Centre. It was across the road from the beach, the event was
largely split across two big halls, everything had a lot of space around it,
and I never felt overwhelmed by people, even though it was pretty busy.
·
This was the first convention I ever attended as press. It felt good.
·
Even though the guest line-up fell apart due to cancellations (more on
that below), the remaining guests that I met were all decent to extraordinary.
Angelina Love was cool, Danny Webb was talkative and informative, Ray Park is a
legend (so funny, so interactive), and Maya Stojan is one of my favourite
convention guests ever.
·
MAYA STOJAN.
·
Both studio photos turned out great and were printed instantly.
·
MAYA STOJAN.
·
Decent crew and well-organised. All photo shoots and talk panels I
attended started on time.
·
MAYA STOJAN.
·
Ray Park’s talk was damn entertaining.
Negatives
·
The strength of the event and the thing that drew me towards it was the
quality of the guest list. Showmasters have, at times, been accused of not
putting enough effort into the guest lists for its regional shows, but this one
looked really good on paper...until the cancellations started. One of the worst hit events I’ve ever seen or
experienced. All headliners but Ray Park pulled out, plus others too. Julie
Benz was my reason for attending. She has a habit of cancelling, but I’ve still
yet to meet her, so I wanted to give it a shot. Julie cancelled. As did Lance
Henriksen, Carl Weathers, Kristanna Loken, Lisa Wilcox, Catrin Stewart, Robert
Llewellyn, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, and more! Brutal.
·
Cancellations left me with very little to do for the day.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Danny Webb -
Conversationalist
2nd) Ray Park -
Conversationalist
1st) Maya Stojan -
Conversationalist
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 8/10
The start of the truly top-tier
signing events. “Em-Con”, now called “Em-Con: Nottingham”, took place over the
weekend of the 30th of April and the 1st of May at the
Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. This was my first “Em-Con” event, whether the
Nottingham edition or the plethora of other events that have cropped up over
the previous 12 months. I was excited, trepidatious, and very curious to see
what an “Em-Con” event was like as I’d heard very good things, and direct
comparisons between “Em-Con” and “Wales Comic Con”. Unfortunately, I was only
able to attend the Sunday, which only gave me half a view of what the event was
like, but I had a great time overall nonetheless. I shall be attending both
days in 2017.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 5/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5
VENUE QUALITY: 4/5
CREW QUALITY: 4/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5
TOTAL: 29/35
Positives
·
One of the two studio photo areas was immaculate. Every photo from that
area turned out great.
·
FREE DIGITALS. I love that. For instance, if you bought six studio
photos at “LFCC” and wanted to buy the digital versions later, that’s another
£30 (£5 each). If you bought the same amount at “Em-Con”, the digitals would
total £0. It’s a real money-saver.
Off the top of my head, “Em-Con” are the only company I can think of that offer
free digitals in the U.K., so it’s a big selling point for them for me
personally.
·
The crew were tremendous. All of them.
·
Every photo shoot I attended started on time, which was really useful as
my day was so busy.
·
The Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, unlike the Motorpoint Arena in
Cardiff, is a great venue! Big, but not too big, plenty of space to move
around, even though it’s busy, and a nice big aisle way between the guests and
the merchandise stalls.
·
Most guests I met were really impressive. I had five or six really decent conversations throughout
the course of the day, including with Joe Altin, who has gone on to become a
friend.
·
The line-up of guests was stellar and
only comparable in the U.K. to “LFCC (Summer)” and “Wales Comic Con” for this
type of event.
·
The map of the venue they release before the event is great. It tells
you where everything is, including
each individual stall.
Negatives
·
Selfie charges. 10 of the 11 guests I met charged for pictures at the
autograph table. I hate this American tradition that has entered the U.K.
convention scene over the past couple of years! With a passion! I totally
understand a selfie charge if the person isn’t buying an autograph, but if
you’re getting an autograph anyway, it should be free. It takes a matter of
seconds and you’ve already contributed to the guest’s financial rewards for the
day by buying the autograph. Worse still, Austin St. John was charging £30 for a selfie! Da fuq! The
professional-quality studio photo was the same price! The autograph and
‘selfie’ prices are almost always set by the guest and/or their agent, so it’s
just money-grabbing on their part.
·
The studio photos were taken in two different areas. While one of those
areas was perfect and the photos
turned out tremendously, the other area created photos that had a very odd
contrast to them and all needed to be altered once the digitals were released.
It’s an easy fix for next time.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Neve McIntosh -
Conversationalist
2nd) Ian Beattie -
Conversationalist
1st) Joe Altin -
Conversationalist
David Bradley and Shaun Parkes
were especially tremendous too.
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 8/10
“LFCC” will forever remain a
positive and negative experience. The positive is that they can get guests that
nobody else currently can in the United Kingdom. The negative is that due to
this, it’s like a cattle market. People everywhere.
130,000 of them over the weekend. It’s the only
convention all year that I get anxious and stressed about during the weeks
leading up to the event. I’m sure a lot of the volunteer crew feel the same
way. “LFCC” took place over the last three days of July at the Olympia in
London.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 5/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 4/5
VENUE QUALITY: 4/5
CREW QUALITY: 4/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5
TOTAL: 29/35
Positives
·
I’m grading ever-so-slightly on a curve for the “organisational quality”
because it’s so much bigger than every other event I usually attend, so there’s
bound to be a few more little issues than the norm. However, compared to “LFCC”
2014 and 2015, the 2016 edition was tremendously organised. The layout of the
venue was vastly improved, there was
room to move, the air-conditioning was working and could be felt all
weekend...compared to 2014 and 2015, it was bliss.
·
NO. SELFIE. CHARGES.
·
Starting queuing at 6am is never easy. Three hours of boredom isn’t fun.
However, unlike the previous years, queuing was taking place inside the venue! Love, love, love this!
The cold and potential wind and rain get taken out of the equation
significantly more, which is a big help.
·
I believe I had 22 studio photos over the weekend of “LFCC”. More than
any other single event of my life. All 22 turned out great (to varying
degrees). Technically, they were all decent to spectacular. None were overly
bright, none were overly dark, none were slightly out of focus or cutting off
the top of my head...they were a great standard throughout.
·
There was a decent line-up of guests, particularly for a “Game Of
Thrones” obsessive like me. Even better, all of the guests were great.
·
The crew did a good job under very stressful circumstances. Unlike 2014
and 2015, nobody snapped at me once.
·
I really like the Olympia. So much better than Earls Court II...even
though I liked ECII as well.
·
Vast improvements over 2014 and 2015 in pretty much every area.
Negatives
·
Queues everywhere, people everywhere, and needing to be outside
the venue by 6:00am (doors open at 9:00am) to guarantee autographs from the
‘big guests’. I know this is to be expected, but it still sucks a lot of the
time.
·
Some autograph and photo prices are mind-boggling. I know that some
guests are rare and everything, but £65 for a squiggle on an 8” x 10” is
extreme.
·
The constraints of such a big event means that you’ll never get as much
time with the guests as you would at an event like “Wales Comic Con” or
“Em-Con”.
·
Entry tickets are more expensive than any other signing event I attend.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Paul McGann -
Conversationalist
2nd) Natalia Tena -
Conversationalist
1st) Adam Copeland,
A.K.A. ‘Edge’ - Conversationalist
Jamie Harris and Jack Gleeson
were also great.
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 8.5/10
I can’t put my finger on why I
enjoyed this event so much, I just did! Could it be because my expectations
were lower because it was a first-time event? Was it because it was only 35
minutes from my house? Was it because of two blisteringly great guests in Joe
Altin and Sarah Louise Madison? All are possible. “Worcester Comic Con” took
place on the 21st of August at the Worcester Arena. Notice below
that “Worcester Comic Con” has the same total points as both “Em-Con” and
“LFCC”. What makes “Worcester Comic Con” just that little bit better then?
VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5
VENUE QUALITY: 5/5
CREW QUALITY: 4/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5
TOTAL: 29/35
Positives
·
The event was much less crowded than the likes of “LFCC”, “Wales Comic
Con”, and “Em-Con”, giving the event a relaxed feel to it. It was busy enough
to have atmosphere (and sold-out presales, I believe), but not so busy that you
got stressed out.
·
The proximity of the event to my house was ridiculous. I didn’t even get
out of bed until 8am on a convention day! It’s the convention equivalent of a
holiday!
·
I’d never been to Worcester before. New city, new experience.
·
The venue was amazing. Perhaps my favourite of the year that wasn’t a
university campus in Northern Wales. There was a cafe upstairs, but without the
ridiculous prices that are usually associated with convention food, there was
indoor seating...and best of all, outdoor seating on a beautiful balcony
(...have I mentioned that I love balconies?...) that overlooked Worcester!
·
The crew were amazing. All good at their jobs, well-informed,
approachable, and friendly. The ‘well-informed’ part is rarer than you’d think
at a signing event.
·
Everything started on time.
·
All my studio photos turned out great. FREE DIGITALS once again, as
“Worcester Comic Con” is an affiliate of “Em-Con”. Plus, while the photos
weren’t instantly printed, they were all ready within 10 minutes. Great
service!
·
All six guests I met were varying levels of awesome, particularly Joe
Altin and Sarah Louise Madison, both of which would be on my “top 10” list of
the best ever convention guests I’ve met.
·
Smaller events means more time for conversations with the guests!
Negatives
·
Selfie charges.
·
Kerry Ingram and Sylvester McCoy’s cancellations. I was looking forward
to hanging out with my friend Kerry and seeing Sylvester again. Both terrific
people.
·
That’s all that springs to mind!
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Ian McNeice -
Conversationalist
2nd) Joe Altin -
Conversationalist
1st) Sarah Louise
Madison - Conversationalist
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 9/10
There you have it. For the third
consecutive year, “Wales Comic Con” has taken the first and second positions on
the signing events ranking! I still fully believe that they are unparalleled in
the U.K. when it comes to atmosphere, organisation, venue, that family feeling,
guest line-ups, value for money, crew quality, and studio photo quality. Plus,
I always seem to have my best conversations of the year with guests at “Wales
Comic Con”. There’s just something so intangibly magical about the event. The only thing to blemish WCC’s near-perfect
record is the time it takes to print studio photos, which became a problem for
“Wales Comic Con” at both the first and second parts of the event, even though
different companies were used. Do I wholeheartedly think that Kayte and the
team will eliminate this issue in 2017? I do. If the photo printing is sorted,
the guest line-up is the usual quality (so far it is), and my interactions with
the guests themselves are as marvellous as usual, “Wales Comic Con” could
become the first signing event in the history
of my reviews to get that coveted “10/10” final score. Somebody else could too,
but “Wales Comic Con” currently seems the most realistic. Choosing between part
I and part II was difficult because both were so great. Ultimately, it came
down to my interactions with the guests, as virtually everything else was
identical. “Wales Comic Con Part II” took place over the weekend of the 5th
and 6th of November at the beautiful Glyndwr University campus in
Wrexham, Wales.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 5/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 5/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5
VENUE QUALITY: 5/5
CREW QUALITY: 5/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 3/5
TOTAL: 33/35
Positives
·
Virtually everything!
·
The value for money is incredible. The autograph prices and studio photo
prices are reasonable. Sometimes more than reasonable, ala a “Game Of Thrones”
group photo with eight of the cast for £25!
·
This was the first “Wales Comic Con” I attended as press, meaning I
didn’t have to queue up outside to get in. As the weather for WCC 2015 Part II
was the most atrocious I’ve ever experienced at a convention, this was a
ridiculous blessing. Furthermore, it meant I could leave my house two hours
later than I normally would. Oh, Hell yeah!
·
Kayte is the best convention photographer in the United Kingdom, bar
none. All my studio photos at both
events were a great quality. This coupled with the free digitals (due to the
printing delays) more than made up for the extra couple of hours wait in my
eyes. The wait is temporary, the photo quality is for life...that sounds like
one of those “Dogs aren’t just for Christmas” ads.
·
The line-up and guest quality were both tremendous. From James Marsters
to Tom Wlaschiha, from Joe Altin (again!) to Chris Rankin, from Mark Addy to
Ian McElhinney, from David Bradley to Ian Hanmore, everyone was great to talk
to. Some more than great.
·
The Glyndwr University campus is my second home due to “Wales Comic
Con”. I love the grounds, I love the buildings, I love the atmosphere. No event
compares.
·
Many of the crew have become extended family to me. I won’t name names
because I fear I’ll miss someone off the list, but there are so many people at
“Wales Comic Con” that I look forward to seeing twice a year and consider
friends. You all know who you are. I’ll be forever indebted to Jaime and the
team for bringing so many amazing people into my life, crew and guests
included.
·
After years of friendship, I got to hang with Bella for the first time!
·
No guest charged me for a selfie because of the press pass, even though
I offered to pay the advertised fee for every single one of them.
Negatives
·
The ‘instant printing’ didn’t go very well and took a couple of hours
longer to print everything than intended.
·
Some photo shoots started 30 minutes late.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) Mark Addy -
Conversationalist
2nd) Kristine
Sutherland - Conversationalist
1st) Joe Altin
(AGAIN!) - Conversationalist
Chris Rankin, Tom Wlaschiha, Ian
McElhinney, Ian Hanmore, James Marsters, Nicky Brendon and more were also
tremendous!
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 9.5/10
I’ve already said pretty much
everything for Part II above. Part I simply edged out Part II because I had a slightly better time interacting with
the guests. That’s it. “Wales Comic Con Part I” took place over the weekend of
the 23rd and 24th of April at the same Glyndwr University
campus in Wrexham.
VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5
PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 5/5
GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 5/5
GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5
VENUE QUALITY: 5/5
CREW QUALITY: 5/5
ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 3/5
TOTAL: 33/35
Positives
·
Everything is identical to the positives for Part II. The only
difference was that I wasn’t press for Part I (I didn’t apply), and that the
guests were slightly better at Part I
(interaction, not line-up)...and I didn’t see Bella at Part I.
·
This was probably the best signing event I’ve ever been to, closely
followed by Part II. Both of WCC’s outings in 2016 were its best yet.
·
There were a number of guests that allowed Part I to slightly edge out
Part II, but I’d like to single out a couple in particular. First and foremost,
Rachel Miner, who is an absolute sweetheart of a woman. James Marsters, Shaun
Parkes, Ricky Steamboat, Kerry Ingram, Mark Addy, and Jerome Flynn were also
great. James and Mark were actually at both events.
Negatives
·
Same two as Part II.
Top
3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)
3rd) James Marsters -
Conversationalist
2nd) Shaun Parkes -
Conversationalist
1st) Rachel Miner -
Conversationalist
FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 9.5/10
So, there we have it. The countdown is complete, the rankings have been
assigned, and “Wales Comic Con” comes out on top again...and second. Now, the
big question is, “will 2017 be as memorable as 2016?” I’m actually expecting it
to be even better. I’m just as busy in 2017 as I was in 2016, with 10-12 events
confirmed for the year thus far. 2016 was a special year for me because it was
a stand-out year for this blog, both in terms of opportunities and in terms of
blog traffic. Blog traffic tripled in 2016 compared to the years that preceded
it. I attended my first conventions as press in 2016 also. The conversations
and experiences that conventions and this blog have lent me have been
incredible. I’m currently riding the wave of my life when it comes to
professional satisfaction, both at conventions and at my ‘real’ job. With my
Master’s degree set to finish in early June of 2017, I’ll be able to dedicate
even more time to this blog, which will mean the reinstation of the Buffy and
Angel episode reviews, plus more content surrounding conventions, television
shows, and “top 10” lists. Watch this space.
Thank you for reading, thank you for supporting me, and thank you for
making it to the end of this recap. Virtual hugs and cookies for all!
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