Preston has been taken over. A new empire has seemingly taken control of one of England’s newest cities. Signs of civilisation are still visible, but only just. Storm Troopers, Daleks and Apes have seized control of the Preston Guild Hall In what they’re calling “Preston’s first comic con”. Richard Willis has gone to investigate this event. These are his findings.
October the 25th was no ordinary day as 100’s of people descended upon Preston town centre in costumes of all shapes and sizes. An Early Halloween party? Not quite. This was the start of something wonderful, it was the very first Preston comic convention. For those who don’t know, Comic-con is an event that is held all over the world from San Diego in America all the way to Manchester and London, these more established events have thousands of people in attendance and also feature celebrities and prominent people from within the sci-fi and comic communities. A great opportunity for hardcore and casual fans alike to come and meet their idols.
“… a buzz of excitement, anticipation and appreciation for each others costumes”
As you approach the hall you are greeted with what appears to be an infinite line of people waiting for the doors to open. This line is made up of fans dressed as characters from all the different film and television franchises you can imagine, from classics like doctor Who and Planet of The Apes to more recent adaptations of The Avengers and the Big Bang Theory. The line is ever increasing but you can’t here a single complaint. Is this due to Judge Dredd patrolling the grounds with Darth Vader? Probably not. As menacing as that sounds they were taking photos with all of those people who waited. The only real sound you could hear from the line was a buzz of excitement, anticipation and appreciation for each others costumes.
Through the open doors and up a small set of stairs awaited the event itself,and those who had waited would not be disappointed. Stall upon stall of different props from iconic productions like Thunderbirds and Game Of Thrones were available to see with experts standing by to answer any questions (and unfortunately stop you touching the displays). The experts on hand were not paid staff, far from it. The costumes which they crafted themselves at great cost where representative of the sci-fi and comic community, Events like this aren’t about raising capital and making profit. It’s about sharing information with people who have a similar passion, for them that’s pay enough on days like today.
“…it’s a great time to be a geek”
As time progresses the room appears to get smaller as more and more fanatics seep through the door with each passing minute, I took this opportunity before the situation became critical to speak to some of the special guests. “These events are really special” explained Carlos Ezquerra, who famously co-created Judge Dredd “being a writer and artist for this kind of thing you don’t get to see how happy it makes people, then I sit here as people want to thank me, smiling and shaking my hand and it’s just great, a real infectious feeling that stays with you”. The last part was clear to see, the atmosphere refused to go sour, not even during a Doctor Who panel when fans could debate theories of the time line like Nobel knights jousting.
Star of films such as Labyrinth, Star Wars and more recently Harry Potter, Michael Henbury has attended many events like this over the years but still enjoys the feeling “I’ve worked with some great people but it really is the fans that make what I do worth while” Britains shortest man continued “The films and themes often change at comic-cons depending on where they are and what is popular at the time but the people are always the same, really welcoming.”
With further exploration one can find a plethora of merchandise available ranging from specially designed T-shirt’s, key rings and action figures to a collection of comic books that went in to the tens of thousands.
Upon leaving I was lucky enough to speak to one of the organisers, Neil Livesey “This event has been a huge success, The people of Preston were very supportive and suggestions via social media were incredible”. The question on everybody’s lips though was is it going to return next year? will this be an annual event? Well Mr. Livesey like all good sci-fi lovers believes it deserves a much anticipated sequel “ Events like this are essential to the comic and sci-fi community, it’s a great time to be a geek”
“Next year will be even bigger and better”
So there you have it, the invasion is over for now… PCC 2 confirmed!
Something tells me I asked one too many questions…
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