Well, we haven’t been to an MCM event since our 2019 trip (link here) https://www.midlandsmovies.com/midlands-movies-at-birmingham-comiccon and this time my partner in crime was film trailer music designer and friend Damon Baxter (known as the Deadly Avenger and who was also providing press photos – big thanks for the pics on this blog, mate).

Grabbing some coffee and hitting the motorway early we arrived at the conference venue and things got off to a great start straight away. Helpful stewards directed all cars direct to car parks and as we pulled up, we saw our first glimpse of the excellent costumed patrons. Next to us on our right was a Deadpool and a Spider-man and turning to our heads the other way was, er, another Deadpool and Spider-man! If only the two Peter Parkers pointed at each other they could have created the famous meme.

The covid checks were thorough and swift and before long we were entering the arena at the door opening time of 10am. Even this early the crowds were large, and very passionate to get in. (But by 12pm the place was rammed with more coming in by the second).

As per usual, there’s a whole host of merchandise and stall holders selling everything from the obligatory Funko Pops to more eclectic fare like autographs, film-related Christmas jumpers and LEGO.

Although there were plenty of Deadpools and Spider-men (along with an authentically-dressed Ghostbuster or two), there’s certain joy from spotting a more obscure character. Some we glimpsed included a General Hux from the Star Wars sequels, Wayne from Wayne’s World, Grotbags (ask your parents) and even a Mrs. Doubtfire which offset a plethora of Heath Ledger Jokers and Harley Quinns.

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Although the surplus of merch stands are always a good chance to grab a piece of memorabilia from your fave comic, TV show or film, for us there was some great independent creators from the Midlands and the UK in the artist areas which is always a pleasure to see a focus on smaller up-and-coming creatives.

These included the excellent African-inspired comic art of Kugali, West Midlands author Robert J Marsters promoting his fantasy new novels and the independent emporium of obscure films Strange Vice.

Birmingham-born illustrator Charlotte Palmer was there with her unique character designs and comics, the talented Mythir promoted a huge range of cool gothic artwork, Jon Turner’s amazing black and white pen drawings stood out from the crowd and Greatest Minifig showcased exclusive convention replica sets.

Finally, Clockwork Arcana created items designed for tabletop gaming and Little Bat Blue had homemade collectibles and plushies that would make awesome gifts this Christmas.

Do please check out all the links from these independent creators and your help really does support the local and UK creative scene and the stars of the future!

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Continuing along, also at the event were the famous 501^st Legion – a worldwide volunteer Star Wars group who promote the costumes, attend events and do charitable work to take the franchise legends out into the community. Here they had plenty of groups dressed up from Sand People to Tie Pilots as well as a working R2-D2 and a fantastic tall Chewbacca whose animatronic mouth growled at any passer-by. Next door was the lightsaber school, where attendees had the chance to wield a lazer sword (safely with a prop of course) and practice their Jedi moves. (Although I did get worried that VIP guest Hayden Christensen would come out of retirement to wipe the lot of them out in anger but luckily no such tragedy occurred. Ha ha).

Speaking of which, one of the tiny disappointments was the small number of actors and celebrities from TV and film that were there. And those that did show were hidden behind curtains for the duration as they signed autographs and posed for (rather expensive) photos with fans. Previously the Birmingham (and Sheffield) event had seen a range of cool people right out in the throng with the crowds. I suspect this situation was due to extra Covid precautions, which is understandable, but it was still slightly sad to see so many people miss out on seeing their heroes – and perhaps couldn’t afford the high price to meet them as well.

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As we continued to head around the auditorium there were speeches due at various points throughout the day, the food prices were mostly reasonable and there were really no huge queues for things like toilets and snacks. The parking could be cheaper though as £16 for a day (whether you stayed a few hours or the full day) was a standard price that seemed a little steep. This was probably the venue’s cost no doubt rather than an MCM event to be fair.

However, it didn’t spoil the overall day and we grabbed some more photos with the brilliantly dressed cosplayers whether they had film-accurate costumes or something homemade – it’s always special to see the fans get involved from the old to the young. We couldn’t grab a “snap” with Thanos (arf arf) but we did see an exquisite Queen Amidala and a very apt Annakin Skywalker from the prequels, which again linked to the star’s own appearance this weekend.

And with that, we left the arena with people still pouring in and were highly satisfied to see that the passion and support from fans was still there after such a long period of uncertainty due to the pandemic. With hopefully more tweaks coming to the format - and some greater availability to stars of movies and TV - MCM sure did a well-earned job of bringing back an event so sorely missed from film-fan’s calendars.

Michael Sales

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