When is a Comic Con not a Comic Con? When it has absolutely no comics creators as guests but still calls itself a comic con. There are a few of those around across the UK and, annoyingly, some people are wrongly assuming all comics events are like that.
Thankfully that isn't the case. This year I've had the pleasure of being a guest at Comic Book Day in Liverpool, Sonic the Comic Con in York, Lawless Comic Con in Bristol, Macc-Pow! Comic Festival in Macclesfield, and the London Film and Comic Con in London; all of which featured a good number of comics creators and panel discussions about comics. (Yes, LFCC features actors too, but with nearly 80 comics guests and about the same number of actors it was a fair balance that no one could fault.)
The next event on my schedule is the Bedford Comic Con known as NICE on September 2nd and 3rd. This is completely dedicated to comics with guests from the UK, USA, Spain, Greece and more. Follow this link to find out more about it and buy tickets...
After that, my next event (and final one for this year I think) will be the one-day Comic Expo Bristol on Saturday 7th October. Again, totally devoted to comics! To find out more, visit this link:
https://comicexpobristol.my-online.store/
I know that some of you have never attended a comic con, or may be cautious about doing so. If you have any questions or thoughts about it, please leave a comment below. I've been going to cons since 1979, and always enjoy them. There's never any pressure to "join in" if you just want to keep to yourself, but it you do want to mingle you'll find some like minds to talk to.
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Thought Bubble in Harrogate is a great one, comics people only, loads of independent creators, very welcoming, fantastic atmosphere. Would love to see you there Lew!
ReplyDeleteI'd go if they invited me as a guest, Leo. Unfortunately they never have.
ReplyDeleteAnything calling itself a Comic Con when it's got nothing comics related is just trying to cash in on San Diego Comic Con's brand. They really should call themselves a Film and TV Con instead.
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