A Recap & Ranking Of Conventions I Attended In 2016

This is a continuation of a post I first made at the conclusion of 2014, where I ranked and reviewed the conventions I’d attended in 2014 and compared them against one another, as well as giving some general advice and information about conventions and ticket types in the United Kingdom. As I’ve written extensively detailed reviews of all of these conventions already, this will simply be a place to list the pros and cons of each event, as well as a place to make direct comparisons between them. It’ll cover some of the highlights of the convention year, some of the best guests, some of the biggest advantages and disadvantages of each company, and, of course, most importantly, the best convention of the year. So, theoretically, this will be much shorter than my average convention review or article.

There are two types of convention: genre-specific weekend conventions and signing events. There used to be a time where genre-specific weekend conventions were referred to as ‘conventions’, while signing events were referred to as ‘signing events’. But, alas, signing events started putting the word ‘convention’ or ‘comic-con’ in their title and everything got confusing. Therefore, for the purposes of this review, I’m going to call them ‘weekend conventions’ and ‘signing events’. These terms aren’t technically correct, as signing events often take place over entire weekends and also include activities other than guests signing autographs (photos, talks, Q & A’s, Cosplay competitions, etc.), but I’m too lazy to come up with better terms. Everybody clear?

Weekend conventions are smaller and more intimate than signing events. The ones I’ve attended before have ranged from 200-700 people, with 400 being the mean number. They usually take place over a Friday evening, a Saturday, and a Sunday (sometimes there’s no Friday evening), and you always get much more time with the guests...if you’re willing to pay for it. If you attend a weekend convention as a standard ticket holder, you can attend the talks and get an autograph with the guests (bonus and special guests come with an additional charge), but you can also do that at signing events. However, it’s rare that signing events have parties at the night time. Sometimes, if you’re very lucky, the guests (or some of them) will attend the parties and interact with you. They’ll dance with you, have conversations with you, and maybe, if you’re very lucky, let you grind against them on the dance floor, which is the case with someone I know. I actually got to dance with Eliza Dushku and sing to her at “Vampire Ball” (grind-free), but more on that later. Therefore, the first major difference between signing events and weekend conventions is that weekend conventions are often smaller, more intimate, and gift you the opportunity of spending more time with the guests. If you go to a weekend convention as something other than standard, you get more perks. These perks and ticket options vary from company to company, so I’ll discuss them later when it’s relevant.  

Signing events have some similarities with weekend conventions, such as autographs, professional photographs, and talks, but they also have a few key differences. Firstly, entry is cheap in comparison. Whereas you might pay £100 for a standard ticket to a weekend convention, a signing event may be £15 (note: that’s £100 to attend all the days of the weekend convention, whereas signing events are usually paid for with individual days). Signing events are much larger...especially with the growth of signing events in the past few years. There are more signing events in the U.K. than ever before and they’re only continuing to grow in popularity. I believe that both ‘MCM London’ and ‘London Film and Comic Con’ topped 130,000 people over their respective weekends, while “Wales Comic Con” achieved record-breaking numbers of roughly 13,000 people at their events in 2016 as well. Due to this volume of people, you get less time with the guests. This obviously depends on a few factors. Firstly, the size of the guest’s queue. Secondly, the guest’s preferences and temperament. Some guests might not like to talk much. Some guests might be shy and nervous...or some guests might talk your ear off. It really depends on the person and the situation. Whereas a weekend convention may have 5-10 guests, decent signing events can top 50 or 100. Therefore, you have a wider range of guests, covering a large number of fandoms, and you’re only paying for the people that you want to meet. One of the biggest downsides is that queues are way longer. Queues to get into the building (I thankfully avoided quite a few of these for the first time in 2016 due to press passes), queues to meet guests, photo queues...it’s all going to be much longer on average than a weekend convention, which is why organisation is so important (we’ll get on to that topic later). There are many more differences and similarities between the two convention types, but I’ll address some of those later as they’re relevant. Plus, I’ve written about a lot of them in depth during various convention reviews already, so check someof those out for a more detailed analysis #CheapPlug.

Before the countdown begins, there is one last thing to mention. In my experience, there are three types of convention guest. I have labelled them and given a brief description of each :-

·       The Responder: This type of guest is often polite and friendly. If you ask them a question, they’ll happily answer. If you give them a comment, they’ll respond or smile gratefully. However, they won’t carry the conversation forward, you have to. Examples include David Yost, Andy Umberger, Lena Headey, Summer Glau, Jim Parrack, Amy ‘Lita’ Dumas.

·       The Groucho/Big Guest: There are two aspects to this category. Firstly, you have the groucho. The groucho is there for monetary purposes or is generally just having a bad day, or is a bit of an ass. If you meet enough people, one of them is bound to be an ass! The grouchos aren’t interested in conversations above a few words. They’ll say ‘hi’ (sometimes they don’t bother with that), sign, say ‘bye’ (sometimes), and you’re on your merry way. Of course, in certain situations this is relevant and expected, which brings me to the second part of this category, the ‘big guest’. Some guests are going to be insanely popular. Such as Stan Lee at LFCC ‘14, who had an entire building to himself basically. When you get a huge queue like that, the guest can’t take a lot of time with everyone. If they did, many people would go home disappointed at not getting to meet them at all. Therefore, the convention company and the guest want to get through as many people as possible. If one was being cynical, one could also mention that the more people a guest gets through, the more money the guest and the organisation makes. You cannot have a huge guest and expect to get above a minute or two with them, which is perfectly fair.

·       The Conversationalist: This is easily my favourite type of guest. They’ll answer your questions with a smile, ask you questions in turn, and are happy to chat for an extended period of time, regardless of where the conversation leads or how long you’ve been talking. Obviously, there has to be some cut-off point if there is a queue behind you, but you leave the experience feeling euphoric and like you gained a lot more than just the autograph you queued for. Examples include James Marsters, Jonathan Woodward, DDP, Aimee Richardson, Kerry Ingram, Anthony Head, Ian McElhinney, George Hertzberg, Edge, and Natalia Tena.

Keep these three categories in mind while I run through the countdown.

Comparing weekend conventions to signing events is unfair as they’re so different. You can’t compare, say, a gold ticket for “Vampire Ball” to a standard entry ticket for “LFCC”. They’re two entirely different experiences and trying to fairly compare the two would be difficult. Therefore, “Vampire Ball 7” and “Prophecy”, the two weekend conventions I attended in 2016, shall be compared and contrasted to each other, but not to the signing events.

Finally, over the years, I’ve developed close friendships with convention organisers, crew, photographers, and guests alike. Trying to remain objective while critiquing (in some cases) the hard work and organisation of some of my friends is tough. However, it’s my job to do so at all costs, so I shall remain as objective and honest as possible throughout.

 Weekend Conventions

2^nd Place: Prophecy (full review located here)

As I only attended two weekend conventions in 2016, Prophecy unfortunately looks good and bad for the wrong reasons. It looks bad because it came 2^nd out of two and looks good because it came 2^nd. Alas, my inaugural Rogue Events convention was really, really good. In fact, I’ve only ever marked two weekend conventions higher than it, one of which just so happens to be “Vampire Ball 7”, which also took place in 2016. Bad luck for Rogue.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5

VENUE QUALITY: 5/5

CREW QUALITY: 4/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 3/5

TOTAL: 28/35

 

Positives

·        Pretty much everything

·        A very good line-up of guests, including Marc Blucas’ first ever convention anywhere in the world. The first event on the schedule was the meet and greet. I happened to be the first person to speak to Marc at the first table of the meet and greet, so technically I broke Marc’s convention cherry. Something I shall always cherish, I’m sure.

·        Venue. I love the Hilton in Birmingham. It’s my favourite convention hotel in the world. So many great memories there!

·        The guests themselves were all fantastic. Not a single dud in the bunch, which happens to always be the case for actors associated with Joss Whedon shows. They’re always amazing.

·        Relatively cheap meet and greet ticket that was good value for money (£20 each).

·        Tremendous photographers, virtually instant printing, awesome customised 8” x 10” pictures to choose from that were taken over the weekend of the event.

·        The crew were fantastic.

·        “Once More With Feeling” sing-along organised. Always fun.

·        Marc Blucas’ speech at the end of his last solo panel. Very inspirational guy.

·        Flash’s jokes.

Negatives

·        A smattering of high-profile cancellations, including Alyson Hannigan, Alexis Denisof, and Christian Kane. Cancellations cannot be helped and are not the fault of the organisation (usually), but they do still damage the enjoyment of the event if those particular guests are the ones you were looking forward to meeting most.

·        Programme guide errors. Wrong dates on the front, lots of grammatical errors inside. The O.C.D. inside of me disapproves.

·        The schedule meant that photos took place during the talk panels, meaning you had to miss sections of talks and awkwardly leave while someone was talking on stage. Hate that. Also meant that there was little to do in the evenings.

·        First two photos taken were way too bright and had to be digitally altered by me afterwards (the male photographer’s section).

·        Flash’s jokes. Yep, it’s on both the positives and negatives list.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Anthony Head - Conversationalist

2^nd) J. August Richards - Conversationalist

1^st) Marc Blucas - Conversationalist

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 9.5/10

 

1^st Place: Vampire Ball 7 (full review located here)

Man, what an event! A bonafide incredible experience from start to finish.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5

VENUE QUALITY: 5/5

CREW QUALITY: 5/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5

TOTAL: 32/35

 

Positives

·        Near-flawless weekend convention.

·        Tremendous line-up of guests, including the rare Eliza Dushku and the really rare Robia LaMorte (her first convention worldwide in a decade). Amy Acker’s cancellation is still a sore point with me as it was caused by fans, not by her schedule. Mercedes’ cancellation also hurt.

·        My second time at the Renaissance Hotel in Heathrow, London, and it was as impressive as it was the first time around. Well organised, friendly staff, clean room.

·        Good value for money entry ticket. £160 for a gold ticket, I believe. This included 1x autograph with Eliza Dushku, 1x autograph with Robia LaMorte, 1x autograph with Clare Kramer, 1x autograph with Jonathan Woodward, and 1x autograph with Miracle Laurie (James Leary was a ‘bonus’ guest), a meet and greet, entry to all talks and parties, priority seating, etc.

·        All guests were once again great. Arguably the most interactive and accessible bunch I’ve ever met at a weekend convention. Eliza danced and sang with me after the closing ceremony on Sunday night, Jonathan Woodward danced with me and re-tied my tie while drunk, Miracle was downstairs dancing every night until 1-2am, I had great conversations with everybody...

·        Communion. That is all. Those of you that know will know why. Those of you that don’t will never understand...or you can go and read the review #JustSaying.

·        Sean’s speech on equality and acceptance to close the whole event, including an “in memoriam” for Andy Hallett, Ron Glass, and Jerry Doyle.

·        Family atmosphere and the well-organised crew.

·        Free 8” x 10” picture if buying it as an additional autograph.

·        Only £15 for Eliza’s autograph or £10 for everyone else! Cheaper than anywhere else I’ve ever seen.

·        Drunken corridors of death.

·        Schedule allowing you to basically do everything if you so wished. Photos in the morning, panels in the afternoon, autographs in the early evening, party at night.

Negatives

·        Amy Acker’s cancellation and the reason for it.

·        Didn’t have Robyn there with me.

·        Needing a TARDIS to attend the opening ceremony according to the event guide (20:30-20:00).

·        No free ‘guest encounters’ like last year.

·        Cosplay Competition and closing ceremony started 30 minutes late.

·        That’s pretty much it! Barring a few minor niggling issues, it was basically the perfect convention.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Jonathan Woodward - Conversationalist

2^nd) Eliza Dushku - Conversationalist

1^st) Miracle Laurie - Conversationalist

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 10/10 (One of only two ever! The other being “Vampire Ball 5”)

 

Signing Events

As mentioned, an entirely different style of event and incomparable. Over the course of 2016, I attended eleven signing events, which might be a new personal best in one year! One of these signing events, “Gloucester Comic Con”, I shall omit from the ranking as I helped organise the event and would be totally biased. “Gloucester Comic Con” was a tremendous amount of fun, taking place at GL1, which is a five-minute drive from my house. It was bliss. Hard work, but thoroughly rewarding...and damn good for a first-time event, if I may say so myself. Presales sold out both days! The review for “Gloucester Comic Con”, written from an organisational standpoint, can be found here. Of the ten that remain, I’d attended four of the previous incarnations at some point or another (2x Wales Comic Cons, 1x LFCC, 1x Film & Comic Con Cardiff), while the other six were entirely new to me (1x LFCC Spring (the Spring edition is the new bit), 1x Em-Con, 1x Worcester Comic Con, 1x Stars of Time, 1x Film & Comic Con Bournemouth, 1x Reading Comic Con).

Will “Wales Comic Con” retain its crown for the third consecutive year? “Wales Comic Con” has been the winner and runner-up for signing events in my recapping of both 2014 and 2015. Will the trend continue for 2016? Let’s find out!

 

10^th Place: Stars Of Time (full review located here)

I’d like to start out by saying that the lowest ranked signing event of the year, “Stars Of Time”, still scored a respectable 6/10. No signing event was below average and every single one had something to offer. “Stars Of Time” took place at the Tropicana in Weston-Super-Mare in August. One thing that “Stars Of Time” had going against it from the offset was that I was only really there to see two people and had limited time, so my experiences at the event were part of a very small window of time. While limited studio-quality photos were being offered, I didn’t buy one, so I can’t comment on the quality of the photographer or the service.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: N/A

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 3/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 3/5

VENUE QUALITY: 1/5

CREW QUALITY: 3/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5

TOTAL: 17/30

 

Positives

·        Entry for the day was just £6. Good value for money!

·        The effort was certainly there. Lots of props were scattered throughout the venue, including superhero replicas, Fawkes from Harry Potter, “Alien”, Davros, a TARDIS, and various Daleks.

·        Only an hour from my house!

·        Decent variety of merchandise stalls, particularly given the size of the event.

·        Two former Doctor Who’s in attendance, which is a relatively decent haul for a smaller event.

·        Both guests I met, Colin Baker and Miltos Yerolemou, were gracious and talkative, while not being quite the level of conversationalists on this occasion.

Negatives

·        The venue was dreadful. Black walls, chipped paint, stiflingly hot, lots of people in a narrow space. Black walls meant that the pictures taken on my phone at the autograph table were a pretty poor quality as well. This venue is not suitable to hold a convention, particularly as the event starts to grow.

·        Very few windows inside the venue. It felt like a cellar. The “Stars Of Time” events used to take place at the Helicopter Museum, which is way more fit for purpose.

·        The event ended up being pointless for me personally. As I’d met Miltos numerous times before, and Colin Baker was ultimately announced for “Gloucester Comic Con” a couple of months later, I could have avoided this trip entirely, as I largely attend events for the guests.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) -

2^nd) Colin Baker - Responder

1^st) Miltos Yerolemou – Responder (On This Occasion)

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 6/10

 

9^th Place: Film & Comic Con Cardiff - October Edition (full review located here)

Taking place at the end of October at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, “Film & Comic Con Cardiff” was a definite mixed-bag of an event.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 3/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 3/5

VENUE QUALITY: 2/5

CREW QUALITY: 4/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5

TOTAL: 24/35

 

Positives

·        No selfie charges! Sometimes you’ve just got to give the Devils their due. Showmasters don’t allow guests to charge attendees for pictures at the autograph table. They can choose whether or not they want to partake at all, but if they do want to partake, it’s free. If you’re meeting a lot of guests, this could save you £50 or more!

·        I attended this event as press, so my entry was covered.

·        Balcony. Lots of seating up there, good view of the event. Love a balcony.

·        Decent quality studio photos, all of which are instantly printed. Showmasters have the best photo printing in the U.K.

·        Autograph prices at the event were the industry standard. I didn’t see any outrageous prices, nor any bargains of note. The lack of ‘selfie’ charge sure does help though.

·        The guests I met (not that many at autograph tables, to be fair) were all approachable and talkative. Pip Torrens was especially great, while Oliver Ford Davies and Jimmy Vee were just a notch behind him. Gemma Whelan was also as brilliant as she usually is.

·        The talks were great. The talk hall is perfectly sized and the fact it’s on the 2^nd floor means that you don’t get any noise from the main hall permeating the talks.

·        Well organised! The crew were great and everything ran on time, which is rare.

Negatives

·        The guest line-up was decent, but was once again hit by the “Cardiff Curse”, where virtually all headliners cancel right before the event. Always seems to happen! Hannah Waddingham, Faye Marsay, Christopher Fairbanks and Maya Stojan all pulled out right before the event.

·        Out of all the ‘big’ (read: non-indie) events I attend, “Film & Comic Con Cardiff” has the worst venue. Disappointingly, it’s not because of the structure itself. The main hall is well organised and has a decent layout, but the lighting is atrocious. Half of the area has yellow lights, the other half has white. Neither are bright enough to light the hall below, resulting in shitty phone pictures....sometimes the flash is even needed, blinding you and the guest! The other gripe (although more minor) is that the corridor on the first floor where you queue for studio photos is very, very narrow. If there’s a big queue, it’s going to get hot and claustrophobic fast.

·        No 5-star conversations all weekend. Some great ones, but none at that very top level.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Jimmy Vee - Conversationalist

2^nd) Oliver Ford Davies - Responder

1^st) Pip Torrens - Conversationalist

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 6.5/10

 

8^th Place: London Film & Comic Con - Spring (full review located here)

‘LFCC Spring’ took place over the last weekend of February at the Olympia in London. This event was brutal for me personally as I’d just been in bed for a week straight with pneumonia. 24 hours before departing, I could barely lift my head off the pillow. I was dizzy, shaky, drowsy, sweaty...sexy image, no? Nevertheless, I didn’t know when my next opportunity would be to meet Kurt Angle or Nick Frost, so I dosed myself up with medication, slept like a log, and left home the next morning. Walking around killed me. I had to stop every 30 or 40 steps to recover. Nonetheless, a pretty decent time was had.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 3/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 3/5

VENUE QUALITY: 4/5

CREW QUALITY: 4/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5

TOTAL: 26/35

 

Positives

·        No selfie charges! As with all Showmasters events, that lack of selfie charge is terrific.

·        I do like the Olympia as a venue. It has a great upstairs balcony, ample space (if Showmasters hire enough of the Olympia out, which they did for all 2016 events I attended), decent air conditioning for the summer...the only downside is that London is a few hours away from me, so the drive is always a bitch.

·        The line-up of guests was decent. Nick Frost is a rarity and was relatively cheap at £25 per autograph/studio photo. Kurt Angle is a huge name in the wrestling community and I’d been waiting to meet Kurt for years. Those were the two big draws for me, but it was great to meet Clare Higgins too, as she’s a psychology graduate, like myself, so we had a lot to talk about. Probably the best conversation of the day. It was also grand to see Jess Henwick and Mark Stanley again.

Negatives

·        For some reason the photo quality was worse than it usually is for a Showmasters event. All three of my studio photos were darker than usual and just a little bit blurry! Not a big deal at all, but a little disappointing.

·        CANCELLATIONS! Emily Kinney cancelled on me for the second time in a year, Charles Dance cancelled on me for the second time in a year...I was heartbroken at those two cancellations. Charles and Nikolaj are the only two actors I need to complete my Lannister collection! That’s right, actors are nothing more than collectables to me now.

·        No other huge negatives to be honest. Just shitty circumstances as I was feeling dog-rough. It’s only ranked relatively low because the other signing events were better, not because this one was bad.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Jessica Henwick - Conversationalist

2^nd) Mark Stanley - Conversationalist

1^st) Clare Higgins - Conversationalist

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 6.5/10

 

7^th Place: Reading Comic Con 2016 (full review located here)

This is the first of the really good signing events on the list. Unlike “LFCC Spring”, which was an established event taking place in a different season, “Reading Coming Con” was a genuine first-time event, taking place at the Rivermead Leisure Complex on the last weekend of November. Obviously, a smaller first-time event won’t have the budget or the means to bring in A-list of expensive guests, nor should they try to. I think we’ve all learned from “Blackpool Comic Con” that over-stretching your budget is a disaster. Even within these confines, the team at “Reading Comic Con” did a great job and put on an event that was more enjoyable than established conventions such as “Film & Comic Con Cardiff” and “LFCC Spring”. They had a zombie area, complete with specialised actors portraying the zombies. They had a decent line-up of guests, including Andrew Lee Potts and Hannah Spearritt from “Primeval”, and four “Game Of Thrones” guests...three of which happen to be friends of mine, hence the journey to Reading.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5

VENUE QUALITY: 3/5

CREW QUALITY: 4/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 3/5

TOTAL: 26/35

 

Positives

·        No selfie charges! Even though all five guests I met were at an event where they could charge for pictures at the autograph table, nobody did. I love that. Granted, everyone I met except Clive Russell were friends, but it was still cool.

·        The quality of the studio photos was great. The photographer was definitely trying to give everybody the most pleasing photograph he could because he was taking three or four each time and then choosing the best.

·        The line-up, given that this was a first-time event, was tremendous. Made even better by the fact that all five guests I met were talkative, lovely, interesting, and then offered free pictures.

·        Strong first-time event!

·        Every guest I spoke to was a ‘conversationalist’. Never happened at a convention before, will likely not happen again unless I only meet one or two people at that convention. Five guests, five awesome conversations.

·        I like the Rivermead Complex as a venue. Everything is either contained in one hall or located in a room just off of that main hall. There was a decent amount of space, nothing felt crushed, and it was a relaxing day, which is a rarity at a convention. Ordinarily, large crowds, queuing and organisational stupidity can cause a convention to feel claustrophobic and stressful as opposed to relaxing. Thankfully, this one was great.

·        Great crew throughout!

Negatives

·        Trying to acquire the digital versions of the studio photos post-con has been challenging.

·        The talk panel area will need to be totally re-thought as the event starts to grow. It was perfectly fine for this event, but in the future it will become problematic as there’s very limited room for people to sit in the talk area.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Clive Russell - Conversationalist

Co-1^st) Aimee Richardson – Conversationalist & Kerry Ingram - Conversationalist

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 7.5/10

 

6^th Place: Film & Comic Con Bournemouth – September Edition (full review located here)

“Film & Comic Con Bournemouth” took place over the first weekend of September at the Bournemouth International Centre. This was my first time attending “Film & Comic Con Bournemouth” and was actually my first time ever going to Bournemouth!

VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 3/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 4/5

VENUE QUALITY: 4/5

CREW QUALITY: 4/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5

TOTAL: 27/35

 

 

Positives

·        Location! I loved the International Centre. It was across the road from the beach, the event was largely split across two big halls, everything had a lot of space around it, and I never felt overwhelmed by people, even though it was pretty busy.

·        This was the first convention I ever attended as press. It felt good.

·        Even though the guest line-up fell apart due to cancellations (more on that below), the remaining guests that I met were all decent to extraordinary. Angelina Love was cool, Danny Webb was talkative and informative, Ray Park is a legend (so funny, so interactive), and Maya Stojan is one of my favourite convention guests ever.

·        MAYA STOJAN.

·        Both studio photos turned out great and were printed instantly.

·        MAYA STOJAN.

·        Decent crew and well-organised. All photo shoots and talk panels I attended started on time.

·        MAYA STOJAN.

·        Ray Park’s talk was damn entertaining.

Negatives

·        The strength of the event and the thing that drew me towards it was the quality of the guest list. Showmasters have, at times, been accused of not putting enough effort into the guest lists for its regional shows, but this one looked really good on paper...until the cancellations started. One of the worst hit events I’ve ever seen or experienced. All headliners but Ray Park pulled out, plus others too. Julie Benz was my reason for attending. She has a habit of cancelling, but I’ve still yet to meet her, so I wanted to give it a shot. Julie cancelled. As did Lance Henriksen, Carl Weathers, Kristanna Loken, Lisa Wilcox, Catrin Stewart, Robert Llewellyn, Jodi Lyn O’Keefe, and more! Brutal.

·        Cancellations left me with very little to do for the day.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Danny Webb - Conversationalist

2^nd) Ray Park - Conversationalist

1^st) Maya Stojan - Conversationalist

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 8/10

 

5^th Place: Em-Con (full review located here)

The start of the truly top-tier signing events. “Em-Con”, now called “Em-Con: Nottingham”, took place over the weekend of the 30^th of April and the 1^st of May at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham. This was my first “Em-Con” event, whether the Nottingham edition or the plethora of other events that have cropped up over the previous 12 months. I was excited, trepidatious, and very curious to see what an “Em-Con” event was like as I’d heard very good things, and direct comparisons between “Em-Con” and “Wales Comic Con”. Unfortunately, I was only able to attend the Sunday, which only gave me half a view of what the event was like, but I had a great time overall nonetheless. I shall be attending both days in 2017.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 5/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5

VENUE QUALITY: 4/5

CREW QUALITY: 4/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5

TOTAL: 29/35

 

Positives

·        One of the two studio photo areas was immaculate. Every photo from that area turned out great.

·        FREE DIGITALS. I love that. For instance, if you bought six studio photos at “LFCC” and wanted to buy the digital versions later, that’s another £30 (£5 each). If you bought the same amount at “Em-Con”, the digitals would total £0. It’s a real money-saver. Off the top of my head, “Em-Con” are the only company I can think of that offer free digitals in the U.K., so it’s a big selling point for them for me personally.

·        The crew were tremendous. All of them.

·        Every photo shoot I attended started on time, which was really useful as my day was so busy.

·        The Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, unlike the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, is a great venue! Big, but not too big, plenty of space to move around, even though it’s busy, and a nice big aisle way between the guests and the merchandise stalls.

·        Most guests I met were really impressive. I had five or six really decent conversations throughout the course of the day, including with Joe Altin, who has gone on to become a friend.

·        The line-up of guests was stellar and only comparable in the U.K. to “LFCC (Summer)” and “Wales Comic Con” for this type of event.

·        The map of the venue they release before the event is great. It tells you where everything is, including each individual stall.

Negatives

·        Selfie charges. 10 of the 11 guests I met charged for pictures at the autograph table. I hate this American tradition that has entered the U.K. convention scene over the past couple of years! With a passion! I totally understand a selfie charge if the person isn’t buying an autograph, but if you’re getting an autograph anyway, it should be free. It takes a matter of seconds and you’ve already contributed to the guest’s financial rewards for the day by buying the autograph. Worse still, Austin St. John was charging £30 for a selfie! Da fuq! The professional-quality studio photo was the same price! The autograph and ‘selfie’ prices are almost always set by the guest and/or their agent, so it’s just money-grabbing on their part.

·        The studio photos were taken in two different areas. While one of those areas was perfect and the photos turned out tremendously, the other area created photos that had a very odd contrast to them and all needed to be altered once the digitals were released. It’s an easy fix for next time.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Neve McIntosh - Conversationalist

2^nd) Ian Beattie - Conversationalist

1^st) Joe Altin - Conversationalist

David Bradley and Shaun Parkes were especially tremendous too.

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 8/10

 

4^th Place: London Film & Comic Con (full review located here)

“LFCC” will forever remain a positive and negative experience. The positive is that they can get guests that nobody else currently can in the United Kingdom. The negative is that due to this, it’s like a cattle market. People everywhere. 130,000 of them over the weekend. It’s the only convention all year that I get anxious and stressed about during the weeks leading up to the event. I’m sure a lot of the volunteer crew feel the same way. “LFCC” took place over the last three days of July at the Olympia in London.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 5/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 4/5

VENUE QUALITY: 4/5

CREW QUALITY: 4/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5

TOTAL: 29/35

 

Positives

·        I’m grading ever-so-slightly on a curve for the “organisational quality” because it’s so much bigger than every other event I usually attend, so there’s bound to be a few more little issues than the norm. However, compared to “LFCC” 2014 and 2015, the 2016 edition was tremendously organised. The layout of the venue was vastly improved, there was room to move, the air-conditioning was working and could be felt all weekend...compared to 2014 and 2015, it was bliss.

·        NO. SELFIE. CHARGES.

·        Starting queuing at 6am is never easy. Three hours of boredom isn’t fun. However, unlike the previous years, queuing was taking place inside the venue! Love, love, love this! The cold and potential wind and rain get taken out of the equation significantly more, which is a big help.

·        I believe I had 22 studio photos over the weekend of “LFCC”. More than any other single event of my life. All 22 turned out great (to varying degrees). Technically, they were all decent to spectacular. None were overly bright, none were overly dark, none were slightly out of focus or cutting off the top of my head...they were a great standard throughout.

·        There was a decent line-up of guests, particularly for a “Game Of Thrones” obsessive like me. Even better, all of the guests were great.

·        The crew did a good job under very stressful circumstances. Unlike 2014 and 2015, nobody snapped at me once.

·        I really like the Olympia. So much better than Earls Court II...even though I liked ECII as well.

·        Vast improvements over 2014 and 2015 in pretty much every area.

Negatives

·        Queues everywhere, people everywhere, and needing to be outside the venue by 6:00am (doors open at 9:00am) to guarantee autographs from the ‘big guests’. I know this is to be expected, but it still sucks a lot of the time.

·        Some autograph and photo prices are mind-boggling. I know that some guests are rare and everything, but £65 for a squiggle on an 8” x 10” is extreme.

·        The constraints of such a big event means that you’ll never get as much time with the guests as you would at an event like “Wales Comic Con” or “Em-Con”.

·        Entry tickets are more expensive than any other signing event I attend.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Paul McGann - Conversationalist

2^nd) Natalia Tena - Conversationalist

1^st) Adam Copeland, A.K.A. ‘Edge’ - Conversationalist

Jamie Harris and Jack Gleeson were also great.

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 8.5/10

 

3^rd Place: Worcester Comic Con (full review located here)

I can’t put my finger on why I enjoyed this event so much, I just did! Could it be because my expectations were lower because it was a first-time event? Was it because it was only 35 minutes from my house? Was it because of two blisteringly great guests in Joe Altin and Sarah Louise Madison? All are possible. “Worcester Comic Con” took place on the 21^st of August at the Worcester Arena. Notice below that “Worcester Comic Con” has the same total points as both “Em-Con” and “LFCC”. What makes “Worcester Comic Con” just that little bit better then?

VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 4/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5

VENUE QUALITY: 5/5

CREW QUALITY: 4/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 4/5

TOTAL: 29/35

 

Positives

·        The event was much less crowded than the likes of “LFCC”, “Wales Comic Con”, and “Em-Con”, giving the event a relaxed feel to it. It was busy enough to have atmosphere (and sold-out presales, I believe), but not so busy that you got stressed out.

·        The proximity of the event to my house was ridiculous. I didn’t even get out of bed until 8am on a convention day! It’s the convention equivalent of a holiday!

·        I’d never been to Worcester before. New city, new experience.

·        The venue was amazing. Perhaps my favourite of the year that wasn’t a university campus in Northern Wales. There was a cafe upstairs, but without the ridiculous prices that are usually associated with convention food, there was indoor seating...and best of all, outdoor seating on a beautiful balcony (...have I mentioned that I love balconies?...) that overlooked Worcester!

·        The crew were amazing. All good at their jobs, well-informed, approachable, and friendly. The ‘well-informed’ part is rarer than you’d think at a signing event.

·        Everything started on time.

·        All my studio photos turned out great. FREE DIGITALS once again, as “Worcester Comic Con” is an affiliate of “Em-Con”. Plus, while the photos weren’t instantly printed, they were all ready within 10 minutes. Great service!

·        All six guests I met were varying levels of awesome, particularly Joe Altin and Sarah Louise Madison, both of which would be on my “top 10” list of the best ever convention guests I’ve met.

·        Smaller events means more time for conversations with the guests!

Negatives

·        Selfie charges.

·        Kerry Ingram and Sylvester McCoy’s cancellations. I was looking forward to hanging out with my friend Kerry and seeing Sylvester again. Both terrific people.

·        That’s all that springs to mind!

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Ian McNeice - Conversationalist

2^nd) Joe Altin - Conversationalist

1^st) Sarah Louise Madison - Conversationalist

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 9/10

2^nd Place: Wales Comic Con Part II (full review located here)

There you have it. For the third consecutive year, “Wales Comic Con” has taken the first and second positions on the signing events ranking! I still fully believe that they are unparalleled in the U.K. when it comes to atmosphere, organisation, venue, that family feeling, guest line-ups, value for money, crew quality, and studio photo quality. Plus, I always seem to have my best conversations of the year with guests at “Wales Comic Con”. There’s just something so intangibly magical about the event. The only thing to blemish WCC’s near-perfect record is the time it takes to print studio photos, which became a problem for “Wales Comic Con” at both the first and second parts of the event, even though different companies were used. Do I wholeheartedly think that Kayte and the team will eliminate this issue in 2017? I do. If the photo printing is sorted, the guest line-up is the usual quality (so far it is), and my interactions with the guests themselves are as marvellous as usual, “Wales Comic Con” could become the first signing event in the history of my reviews to get that coveted “10/10” final score. Somebody else could too, but “Wales Comic Con” currently seems the most realistic. Choosing between part I and part II was difficult because both were so great. Ultimately, it came down to my interactions with the guests, as virtually everything else was identical. “Wales Comic Con Part II” took place over the weekend of the 5^th and 6^th of November at the beautiful Glyndwr University campus in Wrexham, Wales.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 5/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 5/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5

VENUE QUALITY: 5/5

CREW QUALITY: 5/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 3/5

TOTAL: 33/35

 

Positives

·        Virtually everything!

·        The value for money is incredible. The autograph prices and studio photo prices are reasonable. Sometimes more than reasonable, ala a “Game Of Thrones” group photo with eight of the cast for £25!

·        This was the first “Wales Comic Con” I attended as press, meaning I didn’t have to queue up outside to get in. As the weather for WCC 2015 Part II was the most atrocious I’ve ever experienced at a convention, this was a ridiculous blessing. Furthermore, it meant I could leave my house two hours later than I normally would. Oh, Hell yeah!

·        Kayte is the best convention photographer in the United Kingdom, bar none. All my studio photos at both events were a great quality. This coupled with the free digitals (due to the printing delays) more than made up for the extra couple of hours wait in my eyes. The wait is temporary, the photo quality is for life...that sounds like one of those “Dogs aren’t just for Christmas” ads.

·        The line-up and guest quality were both tremendous. From James Marsters to Tom Wlaschiha, from Joe Altin (again!) to Chris Rankin, from Mark Addy to Ian McElhinney, from David Bradley to Ian Hanmore, everyone was great to talk to. Some more than great.

·        The Glyndwr University campus is my second home due to “Wales Comic Con”. I love the grounds, I love the buildings, I love the atmosphere. No event compares.

·        Many of the crew have become extended family to me. I won’t name names because I fear I’ll miss someone off the list, but there are so many people at “Wales Comic Con” that I look forward to seeing twice a year and consider friends. You all know who you are. I’ll be forever indebted to Jaime and the team for bringing so many amazing people into my life, crew and guests included.

·        After years of friendship, I got to hang with Bella for the first time!

·        No guest charged me for a selfie because of the press pass, even though I offered to pay the advertised fee for every single one of them.

Negatives

·        The ‘instant printing’ didn’t go very well and took a couple of hours longer to print everything than intended.

·        Some photo shoots started 30 minutes late.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) Mark Addy - Conversationalist

2^nd) Kristine Sutherland - Conversationalist

1^st) Joe Altin (AGAIN!) - Conversationalist

Chris Rankin, Tom Wlaschiha, Ian McElhinney, Ian Hanmore, James Marsters, Nicky Brendon and more were also tremendous!

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 9.5/10

 

 

1^st Place: Wales Comic Con Part I (full review located here)

I’ve already said pretty much everything for Part II above. Part I simply edged out Part II because I had a slightly better time interacting with the guests. That’s it. “Wales Comic Con Part I” took place over the weekend of the 23^rd and 24^th of April at the same Glyndwr University campus in Wrexham.

VALUE FOR MONEY: 5/5

PHOTOGRAPH QUALITY: 5/5

GUEST LINE-UP QUALITY: 5/5

GUEST ENCOUNTERS QUALITY: 5/5

VENUE QUALITY: 5/5

CREW QUALITY: 5/5

ORGANISATIONAL QUALITY: 3/5

TOTAL: 33/35

 

 

Positives

·        Everything is identical to the positives for Part II. The only difference was that I wasn’t press for Part I (I didn’t apply), and that the guests were slightly better at Part I (interaction, not line-up)...and I didn’t see Bella at Part I.

·        This was probably the best signing event I’ve ever been to, closely followed by Part II. Both of WCC’s outings in 2016 were its best yet.

·        There were a number of guests that allowed Part I to slightly edge out Part II, but I’d like to single out a couple in particular. First and foremost, Rachel Miner, who is an absolute sweetheart of a woman. James Marsters, Shaun Parkes, Ricky Steamboat, Kerry Ingram, Mark Addy, and Jerome Flynn were also great. James and Mark were actually at both events.

Negatives

·        Same two as Part II.

Top 3 Guests Of The Convention (Go To The Event Review Itself For Reasoning)

3^rd) James Marsters - Conversationalist

2^nd) Shaun Parkes - Conversationalist

1^st) Rachel Miner - Conversationalist

FINAL SCORE FOR THE CONVENTION: 9.5/10

 

 

So, there we have it. The countdown is complete, the rankings have been assigned, and “Wales Comic Con” comes out on top again...and second. Now, the big question is, “will 2017 be as memorable as 2016?” I’m actually expecting it to be even better. I’m just as busy in 2017 as I was in 2016, with 10-12 events confirmed for the year thus far. 2016 was a special year for me because it was a stand-out year for this blog, both in terms of opportunities and in terms of blog traffic. Blog traffic tripled in 2016 compared to the years that preceded it. I attended my first conventions as press in 2016 also. The conversations and experiences that conventions and this blog have lent me have been incredible. I’m currently riding the wave of my life when it comes to professional satisfaction, both at conventions and at my ‘real’ job. With my Master’s degree set to finish in early June of 2017, I’ll be able to dedicate even more time to this blog, which will mean the reinstation of the Buffy and Angel episode reviews, plus more content surrounding conventions, television shows, and “top 10” lists. Watch this space.

Thank you for reading, thank you for supporting me, and thank you for making it to the end of this recap. Virtual hugs and cookies for all!

If you have any convention-related questions or simply want to talk about your own convention experiences, please drop a comment below or hit me up on social media (@Shangel1 on Twitter, lots of you have me added as a Facebook friend already)! Oh, and sharing this on social media is also greatly appreciated!