Freeland Costin gets off at ComCon.
Early rising isn’t everyone’s strong suit – certainly not mine. But for everybody attending this event, getting up early is a must.
The event is MCM Comic Con (ComCon) at London ExCel, where everyone wears some kind of geek chic or cosplay (costume play); and nothing is unacceptably outlandish.
This is the routine: wake up at stupid o’clock to get ready in your chosen outfit, conceal that chosen outfit with a big enough coat to cover all, meet up with friends also notable for oversized overcoats hiding said chosen outfits – ya’ll look like a bunch of flashers; and finally, head to the Tube. Some people have a tad more pride and they don’t even try to cover up what they’re wearing. Others don’t go the full shebang, preferring a well-chosen T-shirt which passes for normal and only the cognoscenti will recognise it. But getting up early in order to prepare – yeah, that’s a definite. It’s also important to avoid the extremely large queues at MCM Comic Con, although everybody has the same idea, so it’s doubtful whether it really makes any difference.
At the DLR, it goes to the next level. You get on at Stratford Station and you see minor details creeping and edging their way in. First you hear a ‘Look, look, it’s a Wolverine hat! I bet he’s attending.’ At Stratford High Street there are Spyro Onesies, Pikachu Onesies, Slade Wilson masks and a great big Captain America shield. More punters pile on at Abbey Road: Pokebadges, Xenomorph bags, and Triforce Tshirts are in evidence, as well as cosplayers starting to reveal themselves. At Star Lane normal citizens start to panic, now that the carriage is crammed and geek chic has become the new normal.
Nearer the destination, there is a depressing moment when it all seems too obvious and a tiny bit childish: Avengers T-shirts, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle face masks, Maroon Wolverine Tees, Thanos Infinity Gauntlet Trainers, Adventure Time Finn Hats, Orange Joker Caps, etc etc. But at Custom House Station – this is where we get off – you are delighted to see cosplay royalty scattered along the platform. These are the real cosplayers: people who have spent months or even years creating a costume to emulate their favourite fantasy character. And these royal figures are your servants; there to guide you towards the entrance.
I haven’t even entered the building yet and already I have Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars to the left of me, and Link from the Legend of Zelda to my right.
The doors of the convention close behind you. You recall the excitement you felt when you were getting ready, the anticipation of being here at this event, in the midst of all these people who are the very opposite of malicious, who only want to come together as part of a vast spectacle of fantastic entertainment. Then a shadow of doubt flashes across your mind: how come so many of us grown-ups are spending so much time and money on messing about in a great big dressing-up box? But you look around again and you can’t help smiling, glad to be part of it all.
Welcome to ComCon, where nothing makes sense.