MCM London Comic Con

The MCM London Comic Con[3] (formerly known as the London MCM Expo) is a speculative fiction fan convention held in the London Borough of Newham twice yearly, usually on the last weekend in May and October. The convention mainly focuses on video games, sci-fi, cosplay and popular media from the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, South Korea, France, Italy and elsewhere.

MCM London Comic Con
Birds eye view of guests at MCM London Comic Con, May 2017
StatusActive
GenreSpeculative fiction
VenueExCeL London
Location(s)One Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London Docklands, London
CountryUnited Kingdom
InauguratedMay 2002
Attendance133,156 in May 2016[1]
Organized byReedPOP [2]
Websitehttp://www.mcmcomiccon.com

History and organization

The London Movies, Comics, and Media[4] Expo was founded in early 2001 by Paul Miley (ScifiShows) and Bryan Cooney (Wolf Events), both well-known organisers within the fan convention entertainment industry.

The convention is held twice each year, usually on the last full weekend of May and October. There have occasionally been exceptions to this, such as May 2009.

The event started as a single day and expanded to run across three days, attracting attendance and involvement of representatives from Universal Studios, Twentieth Century Fox, MVM Entertainment, Manga Entertainment UK, All the Anime and Marvel Comics, and NEO magazine.

The Movie Comic Media (MCM) Expo Group organises the London, Birmingham, the Midlands, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Belfast, Manchester, Scotland, Stockholm, Malmö, Copenhagen, Belgium, and Hannover MCM Comic Cons. On 23 October 2017, ReedPOP acquired MCM and all of its events throughout the UK.[2]

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, no MCM Comic Cons have occurred.

Show features

Exhibit hall

The MCM London Comic Con has a large floor-space for dealer stands and exhibitors which include media companies such as film studios and TV stations. There is also a theatre space that includes a large stage with projection monitors on either side and seating for approximately 1,000.

Guests

Guests from popular media are commonly invited to the show. They take part for a variety of reasons. Often, this is to promote their latest product or production whether it be movie, TV or print. Sometimes it can be to raise awareness and funds for a charity or cause important to them. It is common to see television and film personalities selling autographs and interacting with their fans both in person and on stage during question and answer sessions. Along with panels, seminars and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming television and feature films, and portfolio review sessions with video game companies.

Autographs

The event also includes an autograph area where big names in movies and TV sign items for the public.

Cosplay

Ticket holders are allowed, and in many cases encouraged, to take part in cosplay. Cosplaying has become one of the most popular parts of the show. This can be to show off the costumer's latest work, to show devotion to their favourite characters or engage in role-play with other cosplayers in the same series, as well as to meet new people with mutual interests. The show also hosts the EuroCosplay championships which take place every October with one of the UK qualifying entries being decided at the May event.

Comic Village

Comic Village is an area of the show that is co-ordinated by Gary "Wheels" Howe, a member of the MCM Expo Group. This area has approximately 200 tables, where amateur as well as professional artists, writers and publishers sell their comics as well as prints. It also has a signing area where big names in the comic industry come and sign for members of the public. Previous guests include Gail Simone, Kevin Eastman, Frazer Irving and Antony Johnston.

MCM Fringe Festival

In 2010, MCM Fringe Festival was re-vamped and given a new logo. The main purpose of Fringe is to allow cosplayers to organise photoshoots, meet-ups, picnics and get-togethers. Organisers are more easily able to create their own event within the Expo and broadcast it. At the same time, the rest of the Expo attenders can search the website and decide to go to it. Photoshoots will be more successful and likely to attract more people from the same anime or game to take part. Previous events have included picnics, dances and video gaming tournaments.

Eagle Awards for Comics
Main article: Eagle Award (comics)

The Eagle Awards were founded in 1977 and were the longest-running fan-voted awards for the comic industry. They were held at the MCM London Comic Con each May from 2010 until 2012, after which they were renamed the MCM Award in 2013.[5] In the following year, 2014, the Eagle Award was presented under its new name — first The Stan Lee Eagle Award[6] and then the True Believer Comic Awards[7] — at the London Film and Comic Con.[8] They have not been awarded since.

VidfestUK

VidfestUK is an area of the expo dedicated to online visual media, such as animations, vlogs and various web series. Notable guests include YouTube partners such as TomSka and MrWeebl.

MyM magazine

Now defunct MyM magazine does not have a presence at the event.

Location and dates
TitleDatesAttendanceNotable guests
Expo 1May 2002
Expo 2October 2002
Expo 3May 2003
Expo 4October 2003
Expo 5May 2004
Expo 6October 2004
Expo 714–15 May 2005Teryl Rothery[9]
Expo 829–30 October 2005[10]
Expo 927–28 May 2006Maile Flanagan[11]
Expo 1028–29 October 2006Aaron Dismuke, Yuri Lowenthal, Tara Platt[12]
Expo 1126–27 May 2007Sonia Leong, Vic Mignogna, Spike Spencer[13]
Expo 1220–21 October 2007Laura Bailey (voice actress), Johnny Yong Bosch, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Billy Tucci[14]
Expo 1324–25 May 2008Mike McFarland [15]
Expo 1425–26 October 2008Brad Swaile[16]
Expo 1523–24 May 2009[17]
Expo 1624–25 October 2009Allison Scagliotti[18]
Expo 1729–30 May 2010Masahiro Ando, Troy Baker, Svetlana Chmakova, Kyle Hebert, Sonia Leong, Yuri Lowenthal, Mike McFarland, Masahiko Minami, Tara Platt[19]
Expo 1829–31 October 201050,000+ Glenn Morshower, Colin Ferguson, Saul Rubinek, Eddie McClintock, Joanne Kelly, Camille Coduri, Chris Gauthier, Jordan Hinson, Lucas Bryant, John de Lancie, Tony Todd, Roger Craig Smith, Michael Sinterniklaas, Stephanie Sheh, Jack Kenny, Adrian Hodges, Tim Haines, Sam Ernst, Jim Dunn[20]
Expo 1927–29 May 2011Under 60,000 Billy West, Lauren Tom, Thomas Craig, Johnny Harris, Craig Olejnik[21]
Expo 2028–30 October 201162,000 Salli Richardson, Jonathon Young, Vic Mignogna, Agam Darshi, Jaime Paglia, Alexa Havins, Arlene Tur, Eve Myles, Gideon Emery, Adam Howden, Peter F. Hamilton[22]
Expo 2125–27 May 201262,000 - 70,000 Danny DeVito, Kimberly Brooks, Kevin Eastman, Raphael Sbarge, Tyler Hoechlin, Holland Roden, Stephanie Sheh, Michael Sinterniklaas, Noel Clarke, Pascale Hutton, David Giuntoli, Johannes Roberts[23]
Expo 2226–28 October 201270,000 Matt Smith, Bill Paxton, Lucas Bryant, Ali Hillis, Eric Balfour, Andrew Lee Potts, members of the production studio Rooster Teeth, members of the production studio Eddsworld, Warwick Davis[24]
Expo 2324–26 May 201376,000 Edgar Wright, Jason Flemyng, Mark Meer, Dougray Scott, Barrett Foa, Andrew Lee Potts, Hannah Spearritt, Shinichiro Watanabe, Tom Hopper, Alexander Vlahos, Camilla Luddington, Tyler Hoechlin and fellow cast members of Teen Wolf, Rob Van Dam[25]
Expo 2425–27 October 201388,000 Kelly Hu, some members of Studio Wit, Lucas Bryant, Emily Rose, Andrew Lee Potts, Hannah Spearritt, Colin Ford, Troy Baker, Yuri Lowenthal, Tara Platt, Roger Craig Smith, Elias Toufexis, Richard Epcar, Kai Owen, Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Eddie McClintock, Thomas Jane, Alexis Cruz, Sydney White[26]
Expo 2523–25 May 2014101,600 Lyndsy Fonseca, Yoshiki, Dylan Bruce, Meghan Ory, Beverley Elliott, Seychelle Gabriel, Drew Roy, Connor Jessup, Colin Cunningham, Luciana Carro, Tamara Taylor, Greg Finley, Wendee Lee, Phil LaMarr, Greg Cipes, Christopher Daniels, Kazarian, Hideo Baba, Kazutoki Kono, Takamitsu Inoue, Atsushi Takahashi, Sarah Louise Madison, Henry Winkler, Robert Llewellyn, Shane Richie, Craig Fairbrass, John Altman, Julian Glover, Nina Wadia, James Cosmo, Scott Adkins, Nick Nevern, Jason Maza, Leonard Lies, Ian McNeice, Annette Badland, Caroline Munro
Expo 2624–26 October 2014Karan Ashley, Laura Bailey (voice actress), D.C. Douglas, Robin Atkin Downes, Sandy Fox, Walter E. Jones, Lex Lang, Vic Mignogna, Robert Picardo, Saul Rubinek, Austin St. John, Shinichiro Watanabe, Travis Willingham, David Yost[27]
Expo 2722–24 May 2015
Expo 2823–25 October 2015130,560[3]Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss, Alan Tudyk, Nolan North, Noah Wyle, Charlie Higson, Gareth Evans, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Candice Patton, RJ Mitte, Ian McElhinney, Ian Beattie, Eugene Simon, Victor Webster, Saul Rubinek, Alexander Koch, Colin Ford, Robert Llewellyn, Danny John-Jules, Jessica DiCicco, Shigeto Koyama, Bob Layton, John McCrea, Tony Lee, The Yogscast, Rooster Teeth, The Hollywood Show (and others) and some of the cast and the crew from The Walking Dead, Humans, Da Vinci’s Demons, Thunderbirds Are Go, Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands, Outcast, Eve, The Man in the High Castle, Mr. Robot[28]
Expo 2927–29 May 2016133,156[1]Warwick Davis, Sean Kelly, Daniela Ruah, Eric Christian Olsen, John Noble, Scottie Thompson, Elizabeth Henstridge, Andrew Lee Potts, Hannah Spearritt[29]
Expo 3028–30 October 2016Melissa Rauch, Kunal Nayyar, Jesse Eisenberg, Lindsay Jones (actress), Barbara Dunkelman, Kara Eberle, Arryn Zech, Peter Davison, Michael Page (fighter)
Expo 3126–28 May 2017Donnie Yen, Summer Glau, John Walsh, Lou Ferrigno, Sam J. Jones, Catherine Tate, Billie Piper, Casper Crump, Manu Bennett, Echo Kellum, Victor Garber, Verne Troyer, Dave Prowse, Guy Henry, Jemma Redgrave, Tatsuma Minamikawa, Veronica Taylor[30]
Expo 3227–29 October 2017Hayley Atwell, Chris Barrie, Manu Bennett, Johnny Yong Bosch, Gareth David-Lloyd, Warwick Davis, Dan Green (voice actor), Hattie Hayridge, Robert Llewellyn, Anthony Mackie, Charles Martinet, Eric Stuart, Yoh Yoshinari[31]
Expo 3325–27 May 2018Chris Barrie, Michael Biehn, Paul Blake (actor), Kevin Conroy, Dermot Crowley, Jim Cummings, Anthony Daniels, Felicia Day, John DiMaggio, Jess Harnell, Alan Harris, David Hayter, Ken Lashley, Sylvester McCoy, Khary Payton, Lucie Pohl, Tara Sands, April Stewart, James Arnold Taylor[32]
Expo 3426 - 27 October 2018Colin Baker, Chris Barrie, Dave Bautista, David Bradley, Zach Callison, Steve Cardenas, Vic Mignogna, Frank Millar, Nolan North, Sam Riegel, John Romita, Jr., Catherine Sutherland, Veronica Taylor
Expo 3524 - 26 May 2019Stephen Amell, Troy Baker, Misha Collins, Aaron Dismuke, Ricco Fajardo, David Harbour, Jason Liebrecht, Madison Lintz, Elizabeth Maxwell, Jason Mewes, Nolan North, Brian O'Halloran, David Ramsey, Emily Bett Rickards, Lindsay Siedel, Sebastian Stan, Sarah Wiendelheft
Expo 3625 - 27 October 2019Sophia Lillis, Jaeden Martell, Wyatt Oleff, Simon Pegg, Jason David Frank, Nakia Burrise, Catherine Sutherland, Nolan North, Troy Baker, Lindsay Jones, Charles Martinet, Tara Strong, Arryn Zech

MCM BUZZ

MCM BUZZ is a website in association with MCM, bringing all the latest media-related news from movies, comics, interviews with celebrities and a live podcast.

See also

References
  1. McIntyre, Alex (31 May 2016). "MCM London Comic Con celebrates record-breaking weekend". Wharf.co.uk. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  2. "ReedPOP Acquires UK's Largest Pop Culture Conventions". Forbes. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  3. "Record crowds join the stars at MCM London Comic Con!". Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. Arrant, Chris. "REEDPOP Acquires United Kingdom's MCM COMIC CONs," Newsarama (October 23, 2017).
  5. Morris, Steve (25 May 2012). "The Final Eagle Awards have Landed". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
    - Spurgeon, Tom (25 May 2012). "Your 2012 Eagle Awards Winners". The Comics Reporter. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  6. "Stan Lee Backs Revived Eagle Awards", Downthetubes.net, 25 April 2014.
  7. "True Believers Awards Launched as Revamped 'Eagle Award' Site Vanishes", by John Freeman, at Downthetubes.net, 9 June 2014
  8. "True Believers Comic Awards announce 2014 winners" by Kevin Melrose, at CBR, 14 July 2014
  9. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2005 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  10. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2005 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  11. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2006 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  12. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2006 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  13. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2007 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  14. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2007 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  15. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2008 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  16. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2008 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  17. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2009 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  18. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2009 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  19. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2010 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  20. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2010 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  21. "London Movie Comic & Media Expo 2011 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  22. "London MCM Expo 2011 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  23. "London MCM Expo 2012 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  24. "London MCM Expo 2012 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  25. "London MCM Expo 2013 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  26. "London MCM Expo 2013 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  27. "MCM London Comic Con 2014 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  28. "MCM London Comic Con 2015 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  29. "MCM London Comic Con 2016 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  30. "MCM London Comic Con 2017 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  31. "MCM London Comic Con 2017 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  32. "MCM London Comic Con 2018 Information". Fancons. Retrieved 16 July 2018.

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