London Comic Con - MCM Expo.

This weekend I attended London's comic con which occurs twice a year and this was in fact my second time going. If you're unsure of what Comic Con is it's all in the name - comic convention! It all started in America where such things tend to begin, and is a big celebration/meet up for all things nerdy, culty and down right awesome.

Although originally aimed at comic and graphic novel fans (thank you Stan Lee) it has grown exponentially and now includes anything you could possibly think of, video games, anime, super hero films, collectibles, TV shows (such as GOT and SPN) and everything in between.

The first time I traveled to London for MCM we only did the one day so had to do the journey twice within that day - tip: do not do it all in one day if it means having to get up at 6am! This time around we thought it out more and planned to do the entire weekend and get a room in London. I went with a work colleague who gets just as fanatic about things as I do! We got on the train straight from work on the Friday and arrived at the hotel at about 6.30pm and then went for Wagamamas which of course was stunning.

The Saturday morning was chilled and so different to Octobers counter part! We started the con at about 10.30 and left by 3.30 although we really didn't manage to see an awful lot we knew we had the following day to take our time and make the most of it.

For me one of the best parts of the day are the cosplays, people are so talented and I just love when you can identify characters from your favourite shows, games or films. This time around I noticed a LOT of Disney princesses which made me very happy.... and very jealous! Speaking of cosplay me and my partner in crime went as genderbend Thor and Loki which went down really well!

Other than some fantastic creativity there is so much to take in, there are 100's of stalls selling the most incredible and clever merchandise. I managed to hold back a bit and not go crazy, but believe me it wasn't easy. I WANT ALL THE THINGS.

I have been trying to find a funko pop Gandalf for quite sometime now and sadly still am yet to purchase one however I found this beauty and there was no way I could resist and I think you can see why! 

I do have a feeling this may become a slight obsession which my bank account will not appreciate one little bit.

Sunday was spent inspecting each and every table in great detail, and yes I bought a few more bits....

We tasted Japanese sweets and drinks which turned out to be delicious and washed them down with noodles. If there's on thing this expo is not short of it's a variety of tasty food.

Other things to expect from the day/weekend are guests, which can be voice actors, actors (Shane Richie, Sylvester McCoy, Felicia Day, Iain de Caestecker), singers, writers, cosplayers (Jessica Nigri), panels (Jekyll and Hyde and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) and even youtubers (Toms Ridgewell, Jack Howard, Dodie Clark). There's also stages where you can watch performances of other fans and also previews of up coming films and TV shows (E.g San Andreas, Jurassic World and Terminator).

We then ended the day with pizza and cake before passing out, exhausted but oh so happy!

There is always an incredible atmosphere at Comic Con and you can't help but feel at home, surrounded by 1000's of indiviuals all there for the same reason - to have fun, meet like minded people and show their love for whatever their chosen fandom may be. 

What ever your fandom you will be able to find someone that shares it and will enjoy everything that Comic Con is, The next one is in October at Excel London (there are others throughout the country) so please, please go and if you do let me know if you're cosplaying and have the best time!

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Geeking Out In London

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It's a glooomy and grey Saturday in February.... what better way to spend it than running around London with a group of weirdos dressed up in cosplay?

That is exactly what I did, it was a Big Geek Meet - which for anyone that is unsure is a coming together of a bunch of people that are never happier than when getting their nerd on. Whether you're a fan of graphic novels, games, Manga, Anime  - or anything really, you will appreciate the joy of spending time with people that have mutual interests.

Anyone in this "scene" will know that regardless of your choice of geek-ery, everyone is welcome. The meet I went to was mostly focused on gaming and I really don't play.... at all. My friend mentioned the meet to me and said that it wouldn't matter, that the group would be friendly and we would find other common ground, which we definitely did. We found that even though both me and my friend are pretty shy in new social situations and don't talk much that didn't stop the majority of these guys making a real effort to chat to and include us!

I have only ever been to one official convention before - MCM last year - and it was incredible. There were so many fantastic outfits and stalls to get lost in, but I noticed that the sheer number of bodies made the socialising aspect somewhat difficult. This is where the Big Geek Meets come in! They were started by a few lovely people that decided that it would be a good idea to have events that were purely for meeting other individuals with similar passions!

The day -

We started off meeting at Waterloo station, getting some strange looks and also free pasties because of this...

Cosplay is optional but hey it's fun and they even have a prize for best outfit!

The mob headed off to Namco (some went to Forbidden Planet and Tokyo Toys) which was a first for me and is effectively a massive arcade with bumper cars in the middle. Yup it's awesome.
Once that was done everyone moved on to Heart Of Gaming which is another arcade. The difference being that this venue requires one single entry fee and then you can play as many games as your heart desires!!
The place itself is kind of dark, fairly crowded and has a very distinct aroma BUT it is fun and the people that visit there are pretty freaking nice!

If you are in anyway interested in getting involved in the social side of geekdom then here is where you can see what's happening near you or if you have a meet you want people to know about head on over and mention it.
Let's get this community growing!

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