The chilly first weekend of December was the Telford-takeover for 2022’s Wales Comic Con (WCC), which it divides its time between Wrexham and Telford. Whilst two events a year may seem excessive, especially with the number of comic cons in the UK, operating from Wales means they are able to tap into a market for an accessible event in the region.
WCC presents an abundance of ever-changing talent, meaning that the special guests never become repetitive. This year’s Telford-takeover was headlined by Danny Trejo (Machete and From Dusk Till Dawn), Anson Mount (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds) and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange and Star Trek: Generations).
There were well over a hundred other special guests, including actors, artists and voice actors. There was also a rare UK opportunity to meet James O’Barr (writer and artist of The Crow), who was signing and chatting with fans. O’Barr and his team explained to me why he decided to not be involved with The Crow reboot. Apparently, he read the first three pages of the script, before putting it down and saying he wanted nothing to do with it. A damning condemnation, if ever there was one.
Throughout the weekend there were a variety of talks held by the guests, with Malcolm McDowell’s talk being especially fascinating, given his varied career. The prestige nature of the headlining guests naturally meant their panels were popular, with people queuing to get into the limited space. There was also the policy that the room had to empty after each talk, so if people wanted to listen to consecutive talks they had to leave and join the end of the queue to get back in.
Other guests included cosplayer Tabitha Lyons (AKA Artyfakes), who was debuting her Mad Moxi cosplay and running the cosplay competition. Two of most surprising guests were a pair of therapy dogs that were on hand for anyone needing a furry hug.
There was a lot of merch of offer, with an entire conference hall dedicated to merchandising stalls (with some overspill into adjoining halls). There were lots of Funkopops and loot crates on offer, as well as a variety of geeky cakes and confectionary. This made WCC an ideal destination for Christmas shopping trips. Dotted randomly amongst these stalls were some incredible artists and authors, but with effort they could be found.
Bizarrely, there was a massive display by the British Army, who brought with them a battle bus (literally a bus in camouflage colours), an armoured amphibious vehicle and a VR suite for people to try out a virtual combat arena. Sadly, there was no player-vs-player games on offer. When asked how VR effective VR simulations were, the soldiers admitted real-world exercises are more effective.
Although WCC is returning to Wrexham University in May next year, The Telford International Centre is the better venue, as it is bigger and has dedicated parking. Nonetheless, issues remain regarding the extent of queueing for photo opportunities and talks. Despite this, WCC remains a thriving convention with a fantastic series of special guests for fans to meet.
All photos are by Peter Gatehouse and are used with permission.
