So it’s Manga Monday again (seriously, it feels like Monday comes around much more than any other day), and instead of talking about manga or my inability to hold my alcohol, I will talk about my adventures that I had this weekend to London Movie, Comic, and Media (MCM) Expo.

London MCM Expo started in 2005 and is now one of the UK’s biggest entertainment expositions, attracting tens of thousands of people to pass through it’s doors every May and October at Excel in the Docklands in London. As you would expect from an entertainment expo is has lots of different elements: anime, manga and cosplay from some of the biggest, along with sci-fi, comic books, movies and video games.

Anime, manga and cosplay have several events created around them. Manga Alley features Sweat Drop, the UK’s leading producer of manga from UK artists. Stalls from Tokyo Pop, Manga and Neo Magazine, and cosplay is HUGE. A million skwarking 15 year olds descend upon the expo, dressed as Naurto and squealing all too frequently. Admittedly, I could have happily set most of these on fire but there were, as always, some amazing cosplayers that leave you picking your jaw up off the floor.

Video game companies like Atari, Capcom, Edios, Koei and Activision (to name a few) were showing their wears, while trading card game masters, such as Upper Deck (Yu-Gi-Oh) and Magic the Gathering, were also present holding tournaments.

Guests at the expo included Craig Charles (Red Dwarf), Gareth David Lloyd (Ianto from Torchword), and Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor from Terminator) to name but a few. Don’t get to excited, however, as autographs cost at least £15.

As for comics….well, everyone knows I don’t know all that much about them. But, since I was in London, I thought I’d call the lovely Matt so we could meet up and he could share with me some of his wisdom. I called him at midday and he was in bed and didn’t bother getting out. So yeah, there was comic book stuff there, I just didn’t know anything about it.

I’ve been attending Expo since 2005 considering it’s location in London provides for a great place to meet up with many friends- this is often the basis for a fantastic weekend. Expo is getting bigger ever bloody year, and while it’s not a convention (stark difference between a convention and an expo in the UK), it is the first experience many fans have here. It’s a great day out (tickets are roughly £10) but as previously warned, you may feel the urge to set the younger cosplayers on fire. I do.

Hollie ‘Pheonix’ Bennett

Hollie@comicimpact.com