[Feature] Hazbin ExCeL | MCM London Comic Con -

“Oh, this will be fun!”

This May, MCM Comic Con graciously returned to its home away from home, London ExCeL. With plenty of notable actors, artists and many more in attendance, plenty of fun was to be had, autographs to be purchased and more. One enjoyable highlight for us that we weren’t expecting, was seeing the vast quantity of Hazbin Hotel cosplays we saw.

While Hazbin Hotel dates back to October 2019, when its pilot first debuted on YouTube, the show, created by Vivienne “VivziePop” Medrano, would not see its first full season release until Hazbin Hotel finally premiered on Amazon Prime in January 2024 and what a show it was. As a musical animated comedy, made for adults, and comprised of eight episodes, Hazbin Hotel certainly left its mark on those of us who watched it, thanks to a voice cast full of talented actors, (which includes Keith David, a man of great talent with many credits to his name,) and plenty of addictive tunes and easy-to-remember lyrics.

There is a reason why the first episode of season one, not to be confused with the pilot, surpassed more than 100 million views when the episode was released on YouTube the same day the series was released on Amazon Prime. So, after months of seeing YouTube Shorts and TikTok videos of Hazbin Hotel theories, scene clips and cosplays, the time had finally come to see the cosplays in person and they didn’t disappoint.

Having only been able to attend just one day of MCM London Comic Con’s three-day span, I dare not to speak for May 24th or May 26th, but when I made that journey to London ExCeL on May 25th, I honestly didn’t expect to see how many Hazbin Hotel cosplays as I did. Normally, Star Wars and anything Marvel or DC-related, would typically account for the majority of cosplays I’d see normally, but this time, there were fewer Marvel and DC cosplays than I usually encounter and I can honestly say, I was encountering a new Hazbin Hotel cosplay every few minutes.

Personally speaking, I was happy to see it and happy to see the love. Hazbin Hotel is in and it was certainly making its mark on MCM Comic Con, but in terms of the characters people were cosplaying as, it wasn’t all just Charlie Morningstar and Alastor. Don’t get me wrong, both are great choices and seeing couples or groups pairing the two characters together was nice to see but plenty of other Hazbin Hotel characters were popping up left right and center.

From Lucifer Morningstar to Mimzy, Carmilla Carmine, Cherri Bomb and Rosie, there was a lot of love for the lesser featured characters and as for the more prominent cast, I can happily confirm Vaggie, Emily, Sir Pentious, Lute, Adam, Nifty, Valentino, Vox, Husk and Angel Dust cosplays were alive and well. In fact, there were so many Angel Dust cosplays, that we got to see many different versions and variations of the same character. Some had the furry chest, some had the furry outfit and some looked makeshift, but the people wearing the ensemble all managed to create something to be proud of and my only regret is not getting the chance to photograph every cosplay I did encounter.

You’ll also be pleased to know that while some couples favoured pairing cosplays of Charlie and Alastor, there were a few who couldn’t resist pairing Angel Dust with Husk and rightly so. Something else that was enjoyable to see, was one of the Charlie and Alastor cosplay couples, taking to the karaokee stage to duet “More than Anything.” It’s a shame there wasn’t an Angel Dust and Husk singing “Loser, Baby” as that would have been incredible, the Hazbin Hotel love even extended to a Doctor Who exhibit, where a Cyberman was adapted into a Cyber-Nifty and it looked brilliant.

One downside to some of the cosplays, however, is due to the age of some of the people seen dressing as Alastor. For a show that’s catered to adults, there were a few young and teenaged cosplays who came to represent and it makes one wonder, was the costume their choice, or their parents? Of course, the real traversty is that during an entire day at MCM Comic Con, I never saw a Velvette cosplay.

It’s a true shame, but with a season 2 on the way and more Comic Cons to come, there is always next time, but it does make me happy to see how much the Hazbin Hotel fans came to represent. The love for a show set in hell, centered around redemeption, is strong and a promising future sits on the horizon.