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MCM London ComicCon Experience

I took a trip to the London MCM ComicCon in May, and this is my experience of the weekend.

By Three of Seven Tue 29 May, 2018 6:16 PM
Conventions are always a lot of fun but can also be problematic if you have various forms of anxiety. As someone who has problems with depression and anxiety, a convention gives me a chance to take a massive leap outside of my comfort zone, something I feel is beneficial in a number of ways. This is my own experience from the MCM convention this past weekend in London.

Friday
This was my trip into London, so mostly a day of travelling. By the time I had arrived at my hotel room, unpacked and got changed, it was already around 2:30pm. This did mean I had missed a fair few panels, and shows already at this time, however I had already planned to make Saturday and Sunday my focus.

If one of your main things to do at a convention is shop, then Friday is a good day to scout around all the tables, there will be some exclusives that will disappear on the first day, but there will be other items that are well stocked, allowing you to sleep on the idea. Myself, I did a fair bit of shopping, although the bulk of it was on the Saturday, I did pick up some nice things on the Friday.Name:  cardholder.jpg
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The hotel I stayed in had also gotten into the spirit of ComicCon, being very close by this would make sense. They had a wall decorated, and the card holders had the MCM sticker over them. I did reach out to the hotel for comment on a few questions on how they prepare, however they were unable to provide information about hotel operations.

Saturday
This was a very busy day, I had previously looked around, so I wanted to know what I wanted to buy, or who I wanted to talk with. One of the people I met up with is Johnathan Lewis, from Shades of Vengeance, in which I will be coving one of his comics The Bug War in the coming days (when I have read it!). The stall next to them was Humon Comics, of which I picked up Animal Lives and Love and Tentacles, but less about that!

On the live stage, I saw John D'Maggio, known for his role as Bender in Futurama, and a number of other shows. He did say a fair few voice lines, shared some insight into his relationship with other actors and crew, he also made sure to inform everyone of the correct pronunciation of Matt Groening, very insightful! Following him was Felicia Day, well known as an actress in many shows, as well as a voice actress in a few games, she was a big fan of the Royal Wedding that happened in the UK, and one of the most notable things she spoke about was her experience with anxiety, and how she has worked to overcome it.

Sunday
This was the last day of the convention, doors opened at 9, and closed at 5. The first thing I did here when I got in was head to the signing area for Lucie Pohl, the voice actress for Mercy in Overwatch. There were two other voice actors there as well, Gaku Space (Genji) and Dolya Gavanski (Zarya), they would appear on the centre stage later in the day, which I headed to. In the queue for the autograph, I someone who was running a stall, selling prints (a nice one of Mercy) which she brought back to the queue for me, as she wanted her place saving!

Before the Overwatch panel however, was the Anime LTD panel, which was discussing a number of upcoming titles in the UK that they had the licence for, and also talking about a plan for the company to expand into viynal distribution. Which would be very interesting, some anime soundtracks on viynal, such as Your Name, or one I would really like to have, Love Live!

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Size:  42.7 KBThe last panel I went to visit was the previously mentioned Overwatch one, on the centre stage, the hall was really packed. The three voice actors were mainly taking questions from the audience, they didn't have anything scripted to go from. They were asked some interesting questions, and the usual tips on voice acting, of which Gaku likes to drink apple juice to keep his voice healthy! One person asked who their least favourite characters were, Lucie and Dolya refused to answer, while Gaku went straight up saying Hanzo.

There were some questions which need the audio to explain, such as the pronunciation of Brigitte, and Gaku doing his voice lines, as he likes to stand up for doing his ultimate line. He was also asked to do some tricks with a cosplay sword someone handed to him, which he did. All three of the actors really looked, and sounded like they enjoyed their roles, and engaging with fans.

You can also see a photo I took of the panel to the left, however, it's not very good, partly because of the lighting in the centre stage, given some time, and skill at photo editing, I could probably make it look much better!

Final Thoughts
The weekend was very good, system that were in place last year for checking bags became more streamlined, and the area around has always been kept clean. The majority of people who attend have been polite, and well mannered, and if you ever go to a convention, you should try and interact with the people behind the stalls, some of them really enjoy talking with others, it is after all a much longer weekend for them, than it is for the visitors!

Some things you should always remember is to bring snacks and drinks with you, as you will get thirsty as you walk around. You will also want to plan at least a little as to what you want to do when you get in the area, and if I can do it, you can too! If you've ever been to a convention, please share your own experiences!

WRITTEN & EDITED BY Three of Seven - rena.hobden@ufplanets.com
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