Next month sees the arrival of a fairly young event with rapidly increasing popularity, Wales Comic Con, on Sunday 28th April. The first event took place in June 2008, under the name North Wales Film Exhibition. Since then, events have been held annually and the convention is fast becoming one of the biggest of it’s kind, particularly in the North West.
Held at Glyndwr University in Wrexham, Wales Comic Con is easily accessible via many transport links, with it being close to the city of Chester. Being a local Chester girl, I first attended Wales Comic Con in September 2012 and was utterly astounded at the amount on offer and how busy it was. By the time the doors opened to the public, the event quickly filled to maximum capacity and many were turned away at the door.
However, this year’s event is taking over a much bigger space to allow for more attendees, special guests and exhibitors, promising to be quite a day.
Some of the fabulous displays this year include Supernatural’s Chevy Impala (swoon), Knight Rider‘s KITT and a Tardis from the current series of Doctor Who. There will even be a 1.5 hour Jedi Training class with International Stuntman and Star Wars Stunt Co-ordinator, Nick Gillard. It’s costly at £95 and places are extremely limited, but an interesting offering for any hardcore Star Wars fan!
The guest list at this year’s Wales Comic Con rivals even larger and longer established events in the UK, boasting a huge variety and amount of stars from Film and TV, artists and writers, even wrestling legends! Buffy fans can meet Nicholas Brendon (Xander), a popular edition after last year’s popular guest, Anthony Head, who was just simply charming. There’s plenty on offer for fans of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, with actors Billy Boyd, Adam Brown and Jed Brophy. Billy Boyd’s band, Beecake, will also be playing at the afterparty, kicking off at Wrexham’s Central Station venue at 7:30pm.
Red Dwarf cast member Danny John-Jules, Chris Barrie, Robert Llewellyn and Craig Charles will be appearing along with a large number of the Game of Thrones cast. Kristian Martin, Josef Altin, Gemma Whelan, Ross Mullan and Eugene Simon will be at the event, as well as Ian Whyte, who has also appeared in films such as AVP and Prometheus.
The list of Film and TV guests just goes on, with actors from Star Wars, 300, ALIENS, Merlin and the twins from The Matrix Reloaded. Robert Picardo from Star Trek will appear, as well as John Challis from Only Fools and Horses.
Wrestling fans will also enjoy the day, with Goldust, Mick Foley, Tommy Dreamer and Million $ Man signing at the event. On top of all of these guests, there will also be a large number of artists and authors at Wales Comic Con, offering signings and drawing original artwork for you on the day. A favourite from last year who is back in April is Neil Edwards, who’s most notable work is on Spiderman, Avengers and Fantastic Four. Definitely one to check out.
The guests aren’t the only thing on offer at Wales Comic Con, which is host to a huge amount of stalls selling a vast array of goods. From replica jewellery (Buffy, Supernatural, True Blood etc), collectible cards and figurines to posters, cupcakes, cuddly things and t-shirts, there promises to be a great deal on offer.
The cosplay element of Wales Comic Con is also a great feature. In September I decided against cosplaying, unsure of how many people would actually turn up in costume. I was rather surprised to find that a huge proportion of attendees took part in the cosplay and there were some amazing costumes on display. As I’ll be attending this year on behalf of Geek Pride, I’m going for something simple and wearing a gorgeous Totoro kigurumi. With friends attending as Gotham City Sirens, Ripley from Alien, an NCR Ranger and True Blood’s Sookie Stackhouse, it will be a rather interesting day!
This year’s Wales Comic Con on Sunday 28th April really does promise to be a great event. Tickets are only £6, but unfortunately you can no longer order them online and must buy them on the door. Doors open at 11am and from previous experience, I urge you to get there rather early if you need to buy a ticket, as it’s an extremely popular event.
Autographs range from about £10, with photoshoots with some guests also available. There’s plenty of merchandise on offer and the chance for comic artists to draw you a piece of original work.
If you do attend the event, be on the look out for myself and any other members of the Geek Pride team. We’ll be there to talk to some of the stars at the event, attendees and take some fabulous photos of cosplayers. If you can’t make it, fear not, as we’ll have some lovely interviews and coverage on Geek Pride following the event. However, if you’re considering attending, I really urge you do to so. This is one convention not to miss.
For more info, check out www.walescomiccon.com or take a look at their Facebook page.
