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| Photos by Mark Burke |
Every film and comic book convention is different. Even conventions hosted by the same organisations usually have different guests and stall holders depending on their location and timing.
Some show exclusive movie trailers, screenings of previously unseen deleted scenes from top fantasy dramas, and some have demos of new games, or major Hollywood stars for Q&A sessions and signings.
No two conventions are the same, but it can be virtually guaranteed that somewhere in the sea of T-shirt stands and poster stalls, no matter which convention you’re at, you will meet at least one of the following kinds of people…
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| Outside the Manchester Central convention hall, Manchester UK, waiting in what is typical weather for late July here… |
1. The guy with the ironically bad costume
There’s no rule that everyone has to wear a costume to attend a Comic Con, but it’s a great opportunity to do it! The majority of convention attendees will be wearing some kind of costume, even if it’s just a themed outfit.
Some outfits are just out of this world amazing and have clearly taken months and months from someone’s life in a quest to make the perfect ensemble. One of my favourites from last weekend’s Manchester con has to be this spectacular AT-AT.
Some folks make more effort than others, and some will go out of their way to make the crappiest costume that they can.
But sometimes, those costumes are the best ones.
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| The guys that paid for this booth didn’t show up… |
2. The steampunk guys
There’s always a crowd that attend cons who are there, mostly to celebrate their niche in the alternative fashion spectrum. It’s an excellent place to showcase our best outfits, that might not be deemed appropriate for every day wear, if you’re a Steampunk enthusiast.
For some reason, these guys seem to have the broadest age range of any of the comic con archetypes, and can range from middle-aged couples walking arm in arm with their brass mechanical accessories and Victorian fabrics covered in buckles and clasps, to younger steampunk adaptations of cartoon and video game characters.
They’re always happy to talk about their outfits and where the theme comes from, so if you see them and you’re interested to know what it’s about – go ahead and ask.
3. The awkward teen trying to avoid being seen with his own parents.
So you’re 14, and you REALLY, REALLY want to go to comic con this year. All your friends went last time and told you how awesome it was, and now the time has come for you to make the same pilgrimage.
Unfortunately, you have to go with your mom; who insisted she came and that you wear the Spider-Man sweater she got you for Christmas, or worse – matching costumes.
Comic con will not be the same for you. Your friends will be there having a great time, and you will either spend the whole day trying to sneak off and hang out with them, or generally just avoid being seen with your own parent – who is also probably having a really good time.
4. The over enthusiastic emo kids
Conventions are fun! And the perfect place to act like a kid, wether you are one or not.
All your favourite things from childhood are likely to be there, represented in one way or another, so it’s totally okay to forget your age for a second and get excited when you see the most perfect ThunderCats bed sheets. Seeing one person losing their mind over how cool they think something is truly heartwarming and sometimes entertaining, but when a whole swarm of kids react to the same Finn from Adventure Time snap back hat – it can be a tad overwhelming, and even dangerous if they all rush into your flightpath at the same time.
In their dormant state, the over-enthusiastic-emo-kids are much less of a threat, as they usually sit on the floor in corners of the convention halls or reapply eyeliner in bathrooms and can be easily avoided.
5. The parents who WILL raise their children to like Star Wars
Babies in cosplay are definitely the cutest thing you will see at any comic con. Okay, so it wasn’t the baby’s choice to come to the convention dressed as Yoda today. But who cares, his parents are raising him right, and he is just.
So. Cute.
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| This is not the cosplayer you’re looking for….Move along… |
6. Harley Quinn & The Joker
MCM Manchester comic con was more like a Harley and Mr. J convention this year. This is probably following the success of The Joker in The Dark Knight, The Arkham Asylum game and the upcoming Suicide Squad movie. It was a little samey after walking around for a few hours and hitting your head on several giant mallets amidst a sea of red and black, but whether you’re excited about the new Batman movie or not; Harley Quinn is another interesting female character to bring to the cosplay table.
Sure there are plenty of great female characters worth cosplaying (there were also a few Tank Girls at MCM Manchester and they all looked AMAZING!) but not enough of them get as much of the limelight in mainstream media.
We can’t tell for sure how strong a character the new Harley will be yet, but it will be interesting to see when the movie is released next Summer.
7. The grumpy comic book guy that would like to be able to enjoy the convention, but he has to work at it instead and sell Jar Jar Binks dolls to philistines.
8. The minor celebrity that is actually a BIG celebrity in convention circles.
Film and Comic cons not only attract fans, but also a few stars! The Manchester con last weekend hosted the likes of Sylvester McCoy (The Hobbit, Doctor Who, Ki) Robert Llewellyn (Red Dwarf), the cast of Arrow, Travis Van Winkle and Bumblebee (Transformers) and a couple of other names you may recognize.
There were a few unfamiliar names that had me frantically Googling on my iPhone on the way to the lecture hall for the special guest Q&A session, but I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people who were there to listen and their insightful questions about the work they do.
Kimiko Ueno, writer of anime series Space Dandy visiting from Japan, was asked in front of a room of hundreds of people, “Did you ever think the show would be this popular?”
She replied, “I didn’t think it was this popular here. I don’t think it has ANY popularity in Japan!”
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| I think this guy may have been a Robert Llewellyn fan… |
9. The sexy cosplayer
Cosplaying is sometimes just about looking and feeling awesome in ways your every day wardrobe simply can not deliver. So at any given convention, you will see plenty of fabulous and beautiful costume interpretations.
Remember that dressing like a sexy character, does not mean they have to act like the sexy character, and too much attention might make them uncomfortable. There is still a real person underneath that costume and makeup!
Always be respectful of folks and their costumes, and don’t forget to ask first if you want to take a picture of their amazing outfit.
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| The gorgeous Ava Castle |
10. The scary cosplayer who is just way too in character the whole time and it’s absolutely terrifying.
It takes a certain degree of talent to convincingly ‘become’ a character for the sake of your cosplay. But it’s hard to tell sometimes whether your outfit and mannerisms are really as good as you think they are.
The best way to tell, is to cosplay as a character that inspires a particular reaction, screaming like a child for instance, and then every time you see that reaction – you know you’ve done it just right.
But okay, once you’ve scared the bejeezus out of us once, you can stop. Like, seriously, stop now please. Please?
Manchester events like this never seem to draw the same crowds or special guests that the London and San Diego comic cons do, but in spirit it’s exactly the same, and it’s just as fun.
The similarities between the people you see at different conventions around the world demonstrate just how close we all are despite geographical location and that the Forces of Geek will always hold us sci-fi-reading-fantasy-loving-game-playing-movie-watching nerds together.
