Nerd-gasm
What better way to spend the bank holiday weekend than by having a nerd-gasm? There are countless comic conventions across the UK but this year was the first for the seaside town of Bournemouth. A small affair compared to the likes of London but still hundreds if not thousands of seaside natives — and maybe a few tourists — flocked the BIC (Bournemouth International Centre) to geek out and we weren't disappointed.
I arrive just before 11am within my pre-paid ticket to join the correct queue — thank god we Brits queue like champions — which stretched from inside the building almost down to the sea front, perhaps only a few hundred metres but it was certainly the largest queue the town has seen in a god long while. By the time said queue started moving it was past the pier and on the beach. Never boring though a queue for a comic-con is the perfect place to start spotting your favourite characters as they line up along with you, there will always be an ample number of Storm Troopers, Superman’s, Batman’s and Iron Man’s. And thanks to the awesome trailer that dropped a few weeks ago there were a good amount of Deadpool’s to admire.
Once inside entering the vast hall — in this case two halls — of stands selling all kind of memorabilia, comic books, alternative clothing and a few charity’s like Sea Shepherd hidden in there too. For a first timer — and I remember my first con in London — it can be over-whelming, where do you begin? Your eyes dart all over in a futile attempt to work out a mental map. Well considering the body count the easiest thing is to simply follow the flow of the crowd. Try take in as much as you can on your first trip round and — if you can — remember where everything is. There’s endless cool stuff to look at including the Delorean from Back to the Future and the titular throne from the best show on television.
What really makes a con though is the special guests and for a first con Bournemouth didn't do too badly with the likes of Sylvester McCoy (Doctor Who), Finn Jones (Game of Thrones) and Robert England (A Nightmare on Elm Street). I'm a huge fan of Doctor Who and McCoy is among my favourite time lords, he did a panel alongside Bonnie Langford and Sophie Aldred his former companions on the show. Reminiscing about times on set McCoy’s personality and humour had us nerds enraptured.
If time lords aren't your thing then how about half an hour chatting with Hodor, Sir Loras and Meera Reed of Game of Thrones. Arguably the best show on television and certainly the most successful the Q&A with Kristian Nairn (Hodor), Finn Jones (Sir Loras) and Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed) was highly entertaining. Though the you could bottle the will power everyone was using not to ask about season 6 we were all ears listening to the actors own opinions on the show.
Now for me as a major horror fan who couldn't afford to go to Frightfest seeing Robert England in my home town has been one of the highlights on my year. The actor behind Freddy Krueger — one of the most iconic horror villains of all time — was a delight in his Q&A, funny, charming and spoke with a fondness for the character perhaps he’s most remembered for. I sat up straight like a child waiting for a treat listening to his anecdotes, interacting with the Krueger cosplayers and breaking into the Freddy laugh on occasion.
“How’s this for a wet dream?” — Freddy Krueger Nightmare 3: The Dream Master
