How to Recapture Your Youth in a Single Day #Event #Review #ComicCon

How to Recapture Your Youth in a Single Day #Event #Review #ComicCon

There are some things I’ve always wanted to do and visiting a Comic Con event is one of them. I’m usually a day too late and end up devouring all the Instagram pictures of incredible Cosplay or retweeting the reviews from people who got themselves organised and bought a ticket!

As I’m still on my personal development drive to reclaim my mojo and feel like I’m living life instead of watching from the sidelines, I was so proud when I spotted the Facebook ad for the Collectormania: Film and Comic Con event before it happened and grabbed myself a couple of tickets.

 

The event was held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, fifteen minutes from my house, so transport was quick and easy. I’d booked an early bird ticket for my eldest son and me so we could scope out the venue, where to go for signings and talks, and enjoy a relaxing coffee before the masses descended.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the iconic Ghostbusters car and a rather large Groot! As an excitable ‘mature’ woman when it comes to all things film and TV I’m sure you can imagine how enthusiastic I was to whip out my camera and photograph everything!

 

 

 

 

The atmosphere was lovely, and fans from a variety of shows mingled, chatted, and swapped favourite anecdotes from the screen. Star Trek, Doctor Who, The Walking Dead, and Buffy fans were out in force, and I was sooooo glad I’d worn my Grr…Argh… t-shirt.

 

 

When I’d purchased the entrance tickets, I’d also booked both my son and me in for a photo shoot with Charisma Carpenter and Julie Benz (who played Cordelia and Darla in Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I was so excited to meet them in real life that I didn’t take much notice of who else was attending.

 

 

Until that is, I was standing in front of a sea of faces from my youth. In the space of five minutes, I was whisked back twenty years. On one side of me was Nana Visitor from Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica. She sat next to Helen Slater who played the original Supergirl, Colin Baker (Doctor Who), and WWE legend, The Honky Tonk Man (who told me he’d put a little weight on but was still able to squeeze past me to get back to his signing table).

On the other side was John Barrowman (Torchwood, Arrow), Dean Cain who played Superman in the show Lois and Clark (1993) – and is still a hottie! Bonnie Langford, Michael Shanks from Stargate SG1 (I had such a crush on him!), and Robert Patrick who played the scary dude in Terminator 2.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, I spotted Charisma Carpenter and Julie Benz signing autographs and chatting with fans, and as the crowd parted, I saw Ernie Hudson sitting next to them. To see an original Ghostbuster in the flesh was pretty epic and I dashed over to meet him and get an autograph. He is a legend! We chatted about the Cosplay costumes, and he told me I’d love the London or America Comic Con because the costumes are awesome. After doing a little rendition of ‘who ya gonna call?’ I walked away with a stupid grin on my face.

 

Milling around the merchandise stalls and stopping for photo ops with various Cosplay characters was a delight. Everyone was so upbeat and friendly.

We joined the Q&A session with Charisma Carpenter and Julie Benz where the audience got to ask the ladies questions about their time on Buffy, Angel, and Dexter which was both insightful and entertaining.

Following the talk, we walked past the football legends and spotted Jack Charlton, Peter Beardsley, Ian Wright, Geoff Hurst, Gordon Banks, and Dennis Law. Pele was also in attendance, but unfortunately, we didn’t get to see this iconic star.

As a first time Comic Con goer I was incredibly impressed and will definitely be returning in the future – who knows, I might even dress up as Wonder Woman!

If you’re interested in attending a Showmasters event, then take a look at their website for details of upcoming shows. London Film & Comic Con runs 28th – 30th July 2017.