Geeking Out at MCM London Comic Con

What time is it again? It’s only bloody time to Comic Con!

Yep, the bi-annual MCM London fest rolled around again recently, and as per usual I went along to check out all the geeky antics and activities taking place. To be frank, I feel like my mid-twenties are starting to kick in hard. I only went for one day this year, but by the end I felt like a broken women. I need to start gobbling some vitamins methinks.

ANYWAY, let’s start at the beginning. I decided not to go for a cosplay this year, instead putting together an outfit with (what I like to call) a ‘space-queen’ aesthetic. I was originally quite self-conscious traipsing through North London in my loud leggings, silver boots and buns, but the closer I got to the ExCeL, the more cosplayers I saw which made me feel right at home.

The new doctor?

I travelled along with my usual crew of misfits, making my way through the (unusually fast) queues of geeks. We started the day off by exploring the vendors of the hall, walking the length and checking out everything on offer.

I have to admit, I did feel like there was less choice on offer this year. Lots of room was taken up big corporations, who weren’t actually getting a lot of visitors. Whilst there was some cool stuff to be seen on this side, I think that a lot of floor space was spent on this part of the convention, and as a result some of the indie sellers lost out. For me, the independent market is what makes Comic Con, and we shouldn’t lose the true heart of the event to big brands.

Regardless, I still managed to pick up some very cool pop art. I’ve come to the revelation that I want my room to incorporate more geekiness than just Harry Potter. Watch this space for a future interior design post in the future.

It's little touches like this that I just bloody love

This year had possibly the best panel line-up of any MCM, period. Two of my absolute favourites - Sebastian Stan and Misha Collins - had spots in the main stage of the hall. Admittedly, this did mean that a good few hours of my day were dedicated to #queuelife. However, if we’re being honest with ourselves, did you even go to Comic Con if you didn’t spend an extraordinary amount of time waiting in line?

Sebastian Stan was up first, interviewed by the very bubbly and lovely Claire Lim. He answered questions about Marvel, his career, his personal life and thoughts on the fanbase. Seb has lived a really interesting upbringing, having originally come from Romania and putting everything on the line to pursue his dream. Whilst Bucky didn’t get a great deal of screen time in Endgame, I’m so stoked to see the future antics in the upcoming Falcon & Winter Soldier series on Disney Plus.

Seb in deep thought about something...

I actually decided to live-tweet the panel as we watched, and boy I was not expecting the reaction that followed. Seb stans managed to get hold of my account, and before I knew it my phone was literally blowing up. There was one tweet in particular that caused quite a stir in the community. I hope the Disney overlords aren’t too cross with me.

After that madness, we decided to mooch on out into the sunshine to see all the cosplayers in their glory. Every year I’m never disappointed with the level that everyone goes to. It’s honestly insane.

Also as a pro-tip, I really should have listened to past Hannah and brought my own food. We had a bit of a disaster trying to find some grub that wouldn’t take us hours to get. Honestly in the future either eat off-peak, or bring in your own sandwiches. It’s not worth the hassle people, TRUST ME.

I can't even begin to describe how HOT it was out here

Anyway, back to the panels. The queue for the Misha panel was surprisingly MORE manic than Sebastian’s. I think it has something to do with all the Supernatural fans who flocked to MCM because of the lack of UK conventions in the past year. But even still, it was pure madness.

Misha knows how to work a stage, having done probably over thirty conventions a year (or more, don’t @ me). So whilst the panel did start off with a two-way conversation on the couch, it wasn’t long before Misha abandoned his seat and took control of the panel, telling all kinds of weird and wonderful stories of his life and career.

Misha in his element

There’s definitely a sadness to the Supernatural fandom now that the juggernaut of a series is coming to a close after a fifteen year run. In all honesty, I kind of thought the show would just be something that’s around forever. Like the news, or the sky, or bad politicians (ey-oh!). But now that we know the end is near, there’s a real anticipation to how they’ll finally close it out. Misha discussed the day that they broke the news to the rest of the crew, which was a touching moment.

With that panel done, I reunited with my group for a few drinks and photos, mulling on my action-packed day. I believe that MCM are stepping it up every year with their guests, and I can’t wait to see who they bag for October. But if it’s bigger than Sebastian or Misha, then I’m sure those tickets will sell like gold dust.