Now, I need to start this blog post with an apology. The last time I went to Liverpool Comic Con in November 2024, I took my trusty Canon camera and took loads of photos of Cosplayers and props etc. But, when I got home, the memory card died on me. Meaning that all of those photos were lost forever before I could back them up. So no November 2024 blog or photos.
This time around, I just used my brand spanking new Samsung phone for the photos, and they turned out pretty good. I’m going to keep the words to the minimum this time around though, and let the pictures fo the talking.
I will mention that there were some big guests again at this event. Star Wars was well represented by Hayden Christensen and the very lovely Rosario Dawson. I may well have a huge crush on Rosario Dawson, but decided not to meet her as autographs cost an absolute fortune. And she would’ve immediately fallen for me and wanted to elope, which would be kind of unfair on our families. So it was for the best.
But yeah, lots of interesting guests including a load of Starship Troopers people (Denise Richards!), Michael Ironside, Dirk Benedict and so on.
As these photos hopefully show, there was a respectable number of amazing Cosplayers frequenting the event. Daugthertron went dressed a Monster High character this time, but again I’m forbidden from sharing the pics. Well done to all the other costumed visitors, you were fantastic. Thanks for letting me take your photo.
Other than that, there were some great props and famous vehicles, plus dozens of stalls selling all manner of wonders. But we’ll cover those in Part 2 – stay tuned!
What an excellent way to spend Star Wars Day. May the Force Be With You!
Liverpool Comic Con is massive! This event has grown into a truly huge experience, taking up gigantic halls just at the side of the river Mersey. For one whole weekend, thousands of people visited this convention and were able to be a part of what was a monumental gathering.
With it being Star Wars Day on the Saturday (“May the Fourth be with you”, of course), this event seemed like the ideal place to be. I ventured over to Liverpool with my daughter in tow on the Sunday, eager to make a full day of the whole experience.
Daughtertron attended dressed as Ellie Williams from The Last of Us Part 2. I’ve never heard of it, but she looked pretty cool. Unfortunately I have been banned by Daughterton from sharing her photos, in case they are used for nefarious deeds by evil classmates. A shame, it was nice that one of us made the effort to get into a bit of cosplay – but never mind – there are plenty of other photos here.
With literally hundreds of people milling about, there was no way I could take photos of everybody. There were dozens of amazing costumes worn by talented people on display – thank you all for allowing me to take your picture. You’re all heroes, and one day I’ll join in with you and get dressed up. I’m running out of excuses, so I just need to decide who to be. Suggestions are welcome.
Of course the merch stalls were a big draw for me, as always. There were loads of different stalls selling all kinds of amazing paraphernalia, all in an enormous aircraft hangar of a building.
The best bit was that I was actually able to buy comics at a Comic Convention! I know that sounds crazy, but several of the events I’ve attended haven’t had a single stall selling comics. Luckily I was able to spend a few quid on some classic Bronze Age Marvel publications for my collections.
I was less happy with the action figure situation, as there was little in the way Star Wars and Reaction figure selections that interested me. Tons of Funko Pops, though none I desired. Daughtertron was very happy with a Monster High doll and an Elvira Funko Pop (different to the version I already own!).
There were many celebs in attendance for those desiring of autographs and meet and greets. The guest list was very impressive, with Hollywood big timer Orlando Bloom at the top of the list. There were also some Lords of the Rings dudes, Jay and Silent Bob, and John Cleese – amongst many others.
The only criticism I’ve heard of the day was the inflated prices: tickets, celeb autographs and photos, even the food. One one hand, putting on an event of this magnitude must incur some major expense; but I could see the point of the detractors. This was an event where spending could easily get out of hand.
My only complaint personally was that there was little in the way of guidance for what was where. Visitors could buy a program, which seemed to be the only way to get hold of a map. Without a map, finding your way around could be a headache. It took us a while to find our way into the main arena – but when we did get in there, our jaws hit the floor.
The huge arena housed an array of amazing vehicles and props: a life size X-Wing Fighter, Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder, a Jabba the Hutt model. There were also vehicles and scenes from Ghostbusters, Robocop, Stranger Things, The Lost Boys, even the Flintstones. It was photo opportunity heaven, all while live bands played.
My autograph hunting days are well behind me, but we made an exception to meet Tim Rose, the man behind many creations including Admiral Ackbar and Salacious Crumb in Return of the Jedi. Ackbar is one of Daughtertron’s favourite Star Wars characters, and mine too. Mr Rose could not have been nicer, he was charming and chatty and an absolute joy to spend a few minutes with. Thanks, Tim!
And that was about it for the day. I hope you enjoy the photos – there should be some more, but currently the technology is playing tricks on me and I can’t find them. If and when they turn up, I’ll do a Part 2. Hope you had a good time at Liverpool Comic Con if you were there. If not, get yourself to the next one!
Welcome back to part 2 of my Sci-fi Weekender 2015 update!
Saturday began in the usual manner for for my intergalactic crew mates and I – fairly lazy hanging around the caravan. The home comforts were pretty good t be fair; with a fridge stocked with beer, decent TV and plenty of space we had a good base for our weekend.
To be honest there was less of interest to me personally on this day. The highlight though was a Q&A with Judge Dredd creators John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra. The two were escorted on to the stage by a squad of mean looking Judges, and proceeded to tell the audience about their many years working in comics. All good stuff, though a bit less about the Dredd movies and more about the actual comics would’ve been preferable. But I guess that serves me right for not asking my own questions.
Dazzling outfit!
Rogue and Bucky
Green Arrow and Daryl
Girl from Mars
He-Man and pals
Constantine and Zatanna
Ripley and pals
Spidey and Stormtrooper
One Man Lord of the Rings was next, and not being a Hobbit geek (unlike Star Wars) I was off. I heard it was good though. Time to mill about round the various merchandise stalls, though there less of a science fiction theme to this year’s traders. With MCM Comic Con on the same weekend at Birmingham NEC, I guess most traders opted for that instead.
Another strange tweak to the event this year was that Hafan Y Mor was also hosting a Prog Rock event on the same weekend. Hence the large number of music related items on sale, perhaps. Though having these two events at the same time appeared to be a strange mutation at first, I decided to check a few bands out over the weekend and found some that were certainly worth hearing.
Back on Friday I witnessed the strange jazz prog of Knifeworld, which I enjoyed after my ears got used to it. “I want this music out of my head!” was the view of one of my gang.
On Saturday afternoon, I witnessed Landskap. They had an almost doom/stoner rock sound, with slow heavy guitar riffs – augmented by an almost Doors-like keyboard. Very, very good – saw the whole set and loved it.
Captain America and Agent Carter
Hawkman
Joker
Futurama
Superman and friends
Zoidberg
No black and white filter needed!
Shredder!!!
Next it was back to the Sci-Fi Arena to see the Cosplay preliminaries. As ever there were some amazing entries – well made, authentic, but also incredibly original. The best part was spotting characters from film and television that you just weren’t expecting to see. The Guardians of the Galaxy and Mad Max ensembles were both awesome. Lego movie Batman, Futurama robots and more were just amazing.
You can see some of the photos here, but there were also dozens of fans who were dressed up, and hadn’t even entered the competition. Plenty of people had obviously put a lot of thought and effort into their costumes, but were happy just to be part of the fun.
I did feel bad for one group, though – they were all in monochrome outfits (complete with make-up) to look like the old black & white Flash Gordon serial. However, they’d missed registration through no fault of their own.
Hot Fuzz
Futurama gang
Dark Jedi – nice blokes, actually!
Kick Ass
The winners!
Macho Man Randy Savage
Wilma – awesome idea!
Ant Man and the Wasp
The Cosplay was again a real highlight od Sci-Fi Weekender this year. So many fabulous and imaginative outfits, I couldn’t pick a favourite. My thanks to all who agreed to me to take a photo – you’re all superstars!
In the late evening, I popped over to the Prog Rock arena to see Rick Wakeman. Rick was performing on his own, with just a grand piano. Instrumental versions didn’t really appeal at first, though it turned out to be a fantastic set of lush, almost Classical songs. There was a Sci-Fi tie in with an absolutely wonderful recital of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars”, which Rick had preformed on originally. Plus the between song banter was hilarious!
Black Widow
Jedi
Lion-O
This is amazingly cool!
Black Cat and Maleficent
Village of the Damned
General Kala
Logan
Back to the Sci-Fi arena for the Cosplay finals – which saw a hard fought contest eventually won by the young Tim Burton character family! We ll done! Then it was party time, with characters from all conceivable franchises across the genre seeing the weekend out in style.
It was a long trip back to the real world. We met some awesome people, saw a few familiar faces from last year, and had a great time. Here’s to next year. If only I had a Tardis, I could do it all again…
I have dozens of photos left. I’ll do a bonus section as per last year in the coming weeks.
Platinum Al's Virtual Hot Tub 