London, a city of renowned culture and diversity and Comic Con, a mecca for all things comics, heroes, Star Wars, Star Trek and everything else with huge fandoms. Two worlds collide in the form of MCM Comic Con London 2021 and for the first time ever, I got to attend it in its entirety.
It all began with your typical day, my partner came home from work, told me he had the weekend off and then proceeded to ask me if I fancied a day-trip to London. When I asked why, he simply responded with “Let’s go to Comic Con.” At first, I thought he was joking, but then he booked a ticket for me, booked our train tickets and a couple of short days later, off we went, our little family of three, on a day trip into a post-covid world.
With a Thomas the tank engine loving son, our train ride was an easy one, there were plenty of seats available, a sense of calm amongst all of us and making all necessary connections was a doddle, thanks to a well-behaved three-year-old. Upon our arrival at the venue, we followed the crowds round the building, did our the covid checks and check ins, before finally making it to a large hall, easily filled with hundreds of fans and multiple lanes to traverse and the road to collecting your event passes.
With wristbands on wrists and lanyards holding badges around necks, in we went, into the EXCEL itself, discovering an endless sea of fans in all sizes and shapes, cosplaying instantly recognisable characters, to characters so niche, only those among the truest of fans would be able to appreciate. We began our Comic Con experience by first admiring all of the Star Wars cosplays and photo opportunities, before taking the time to admire some fast-paced lightsaber battles. Filled with excitement and amazed by everything around us, our legs itched to run and run we did.
Going hall to hall, seeing Deadpools, Spider Gwens, Gokus, Bananas in Pajamas, and so many other brilliant costumes, there was just an insane number of things to take in other than the attendees. Comic book art has come a long way and each comic book stall offered something vivid, relevant and worthy of discovery. Then there were the talks with notable actors, each one talking so vividly and passionately about their craft and the food. God bless the food.
Everything looked fantastic and smelled so good. When it came time to eat, we found ourselves bouncing between the many food carts and stalls, trying to find something that appeals to us the most. It was a struggle, but well worth it in the end as the grub we did end up consuming was scrumptious. A little on the pricey side as you would expect from a convention but still tasty nonetheless.
In short, even with minor mishaps here and there that you can expect from any family outing, the day was perfect and it flew by very quickly. There was plenty for all of us to enjoy and the three of us all walked away, with something to take with us.
So, for a fantastic time that can be shared with friends, lovers, frenemies and family, MCM Comic Con London is well worth the trip. Here’s hoping the 2022 events have at least one DeLorean, as it was the only thing missing!
