Bournemouth Film and Comic Con Review

At the end of August I attended my very first Comic Con and all I can say is “WOW” – what an eye opener.

I arrived with the kids in tow with no idea what to expect from the Bournemouth Film and Comic Con, but as soon as we turned the corner around the BIC we were confronted with visitors in full fancy dress (or Cosplay as it is known in Comic Con circles).

We arrived at opening time and I am so glad we did as we got to look around at our leisure without too many crowds. Kian spotted some “old fashioned” computer games to play before we headed off to have a wander around the stalls. Isaac spotted a stall with WWE masks on it and ended up buying two Lucha Dragons masks – Cincara and Calisto.

There were hundreds of stalls selling movie memorabilia, posters, clothing and autographed prints, but it was the actors I wanted to see.

Probably the most disappointing thing about a Comic Con is despite paying to get in, you also have to pay to meet the actors you admire. There are set times they come out and prices started from £10 raising to £30 for some of the more popular actors. You could even pay to have professional photos to be taken.

We decided that we would have a wander and see who we could see. I was excited to spot Robert Englund who looks almost as menacing without his make up as he does in the Nightmare on Elm Street films and Sylvester McCoy who was a very polite man.

Most of the more popular actors were kept in the main hall, but there were plenty more to see as you moved into other rooms and we were very excited to see a plethora of Doctor Who actors from past and present – in fact Bonnie Langford ran into us, literally!

Despite the fact that most of the actors were charging, some did stop and chat to us and were also happy to pose for a photo. Isaac got all the insider gossip about Davros from actor Terry Malloy and gave us a hint as to what to expect from the new series of Dr Who.

We met K9 and the man who did the original voice – John Leeson who delighted the kids by talking to them as K9. John Levene (John Benton) was also a delight to chat to and happily answered all Isaac’s questions about all the incarnations of the Doctor he had worked with.

We also got to watch a talk by two wrestling stars Shane Douglas and Doug Williams which pleased my wrestling fans Kian and Isaac. I did feel for David Prowse who was so polite but looked uncomfortable and frail in his wheelchair. We did see some sports stars too and said Hello to Sir Geoff Hurst whom we had met before but there were really long queues to meet them.

We stayed for around 3 hours to admire everyone in their costumes. There were a few Dr Who’s, Daryl Dixon and Rick Grimes from Walking Dead, numerous Star Wars characters and even Princess Peach, but then it was time to leave as the BIC was rammed and getting around was starting to prove a challenge. If you go with young children I certainly recommend you go early to avoid the crowds

We really enjoyed our first Comic Con and next time we intend to go in full Cosplay too!

Bournemouth Film and Comic Con will be back at the BIC on Saturday 12th and Sunday the 13th of March 2016 – see you there!