It’s the MCM Expo at the Excel center this weekend. It’s a generalist geek-media show where 20,000 people or so descend to gape at actors on American shows and give each other free hugs while dressed as characters from Dragon Ball Z or – in one memorable occasional last year – nazi teddy bears. There’s also some games content. It’s mainly console stuff generally, but there’s hands on access on to. The actual page doesn’t seem particularly up to date, but scanning press releases, the big draws for RPS readers would be Borderlands and Assassin’s Creed 2. Tickets can be got on the door for ten quid (5 for 11-14s, free beneath). And relevantly, I’m there in my dual-class capacity as a comic writer in the comic village, so do come and say Hi if you’re around. If you do it quickly, I won’t even have a chance to try and sell my nonsense to you.
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I’m tempted to go, but cosplayers scare me.
It’s fun to people watch.
KG
I don’t know, there really is something creepy about nerdy guys and girls dressed up as characters from comics/games/movies, I think the girlfriend might try to kill me if I dragged her there.
On a pseudo-related note: Are any of the RPS guys going to be at the Eurogamer Expo?
I’m going to Leeds on Tuesday.
Man, I was so nearly going to go to this… I went to the one last year with some friends, and had a pretty good time. I do have to say though, the main attraction is the people – my main memory is meeting an exact Joker replica; he had the scars, he had the clothes, but most of all, he had the mannerisms down to perfection; when someone had a photo taken with him, he whipped out a (fake) knife, scaring the bejeezus out of him.
Be careful, though – when one of the girls we were with admitted she’d never seen star wars, Obi-wan gave her the worst look I’ve ever seen.
He had the scars!? Is that the next step in fan dedication? Self-scarring yourself to look more like your favourite character? Guess it can be tough if you like Spawn, for example.
Fake scars. As I recall, glue applied to the skin can look like scar tissue if you put makeup over it.
Pretty sure you can make fake scars, it's not like Heath Ledger really got a Glasgow smile just for the movie did he?
I went there in 2006 I think (edito: tell a lie, it was 2005 or 2004 actually, fuck it's been 4 or more years already!?), wasn't half bad over all (but hardly anything in videogame terms). I found the costumes mostly either amusing or creepily accurate, although there were a few that were a tad risqué (hmmm, maids…). Fortunately there were no fat hairy blokes wearing the skimpy clothes.
It's a nice expo to go to if you want to pick up a bunch of movie/anime/comic/fantasy memorabilia, lots of traders for almost everything nerdy. Which now includes Kieron so it seems, I wonder if the RPS effect will take place (write about something on the site, lots of people buy it even if they weren't thinking about buying it before…).
Quick, close your eyes before his filthy mind-words can seduce you into buying his gaudy wares! Get thee behind me Gillen!
You regret those words, malagate
But I like being sold nonsense!
I can’t make it to this one this year, so I can’t stab any backs :-(. Also, it was mighty fine nonsense you sold me last time :P
Jacques; I dragged the girlfriend there, and she loved it :P
Looks like I’m going but mostly because of the games and on the slight chance that l4d2 will be there!
Wait wait. They named a conference centre after a spreadsheet program?
And here I thought Europe didn’t like Microsoft …
</kid>
Hey, I’m planning to go to this tomorrow. I might just come and see what you’re up to Mr. Gillen.
I need to thank you for helping me rediscover the joys of Blood Bowl. :)
Haha you picked the wrong girlfriend then! Cosplay is nearly always amusing to watch – the bad ones the most ;) . Especially seeing 300 pound guys trying to get into a stormtrooper suit!
Bah, if you want to see good outfits just go to a fetish club. Atleast that way you get to see real boobies to go with the inevitable creeps (usually not wearing much more than a cock ring).
I was quite surprised to see they had Star Trek Online playable there. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to try it out.
The graphic design of their logo is absolutely horrendous.