With loads of guests booked and a promised sell-out, we needed to get this con right. The problem is there’s loads of other stuff to do like commissions and the sofa is so very comfortable. Plus, there is all the Christmas stuff to be getting on with. We got our faithful transport Xena loaded up and ready to go. After an uneventful trip*, we arrived at the Liverpool Exhibition Centre, which is pretty massive. Fortunately, our table was directly opposite the loading bay which made life a lot easier for us. So after a hunt for tables to use we set up for the show and left to go to the hotel.
*I generally fall asleep while Mrs Brambledown drives so all trips are uneventful for me.
We were to stay with friends in a hotel close to the John Lennon Airport. After following the terrible instructions from Google we ended up at the airport and we were charged £4 for the 30 seconds we were in the car park. Luckily our friends would be waiting for us in the hotel with a cold beer…they were, but they were in a different hotel to the one we booked. Luckily we would have a slap-up meal to eat as consolation in our hotel restaurant, except that they were fully booked. Luckily there was a Toby Carvery nearby, except it was closed when we got there. Luckily there was a nearby Wagamama and that was fine…
The following morning when we got to the venue the folk next to us hadn’t arrived, so we spread out into the space to make it look a bit more presentable. After the previous night I was quite pleased with a bit of good luck, even though it meant that we had a very busy half-hour extending ourselves.
The early birds were in first which makes for a nice start to the convention. It’s less frantic so we can spend a little time chatting to them, which is fortunate because when the rest of the folk got into the hall it was absolutely jammed! Fortunately, in the afternoon, someone had the idea of opening up the seating areas above the hall, so it made it a little less crowded for people to have their lunch.
The day was truly hectic with a load of old customers popping over to say hello, including Nick a rather talented Cosplay photographer, Granettalia and Ben who both kept us supplied with tea! It was only later in the day that we got to see traders other than our direct neighbours “Loof and Timmy” and Kuma cards. Several of the usual suspects were there. Carolyn Edwards gifted me a Squid Games print which is a bit fab. I finally bought a picture off Fish. He’s been working on me for years! I had to get a painting he had done of the Bride of Frankenstein. Then I had to have one of Twisted Squid’s t-shirts which are truly epic! Crikey, I am meant to be making money not spending it on all the goodies at the show.
Of course, there were some cracking cosplays. Quite a few Squid Games folk wandered by, including one girl who I saw twice. The second time she had a bullet hole in her head, she said she’d been eliminated! There were lots of Lokis of all stripes, Lady Lokis, President Lokis and even a Kid Loki, which is a first for us. Plus, there were two Little Shop of Horrors, like buses you wait years for one…
Day one was super hectic, day two was much the same and there were plenty of guests in attendance to keep the visitors busy. The con was split over two venues. The majority of guests were in a different hall to us, though you wouldn’t have thought it given the number of people walking past our table! The cast of Vampire Diaries was there, along with the Sons of Anarchy and Bonnie Wright from Harry Potter. I kicked myself because I had no Vampire Diaries pictures and there was a pretty high demand for stuff! I think the organisers, Monopoly, have a pretty good strategy of booking a cast for a show. It makes a lot of sense and it creates a very special event for the fans. The same was true during “For the Love of Horror” when they had the cast of Rocky Horror there, the excitement amongst the fans was tangible.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the convention and we will definitely be coming back to Liverpool for the next one. Coming out of lockdown, Liverpool Comic-Con has gone from strength to strength, it’s almost too big for the venue now!