Home Events MCM Comic-Con London October 2021 Round-Up – Cosplay Photos, Videos & Special Guests!

MCM Comic-Con London October 2021 Round-Up – Cosplay Photos, Videos & Special Guests!

by Dave Elliott

MCM Comic-Con London October 2021 Round-Up – Cosplay Photos, Videos & Special Guests!

It’s been a while (around two years in fact), but MCM Comic-Con made its triumphant return to London this October, much to the joy of geeks across the country.

If you’ve never been to MCM Comic-Con London before, it is a three-day, wonderfully fun gathering of geekdom, split over the two sides of London’s ExCeL Exhibition Centre. The show is filled with everything a geek could wish for, from tv, film and comic book guests, to piles of geeky merchandise, video games, comic books, and amazing photo opportunities.

Like many people, this was my first major event since the world got turned upside down by the global pandemic, so I wasn’t entirely sure how things would play out. Friday was a little strange and much quieter than normal. Part of that can be put down to MCM running at (I was told) around 60% capacity due to COVID, and also that a number of the big-named guests were only there on Saturday and Sunday. However, it was a nice way to ease back into the event and also gave a good opportunity to look around the various stalls without too many crowds.

The inside of the event itself was, maybe, half the size it had been back in 2019, but they used the space well. Getting in, they were checking people’s COVID status (either double-vaccinations, or lateral flow tests), and handing out wristbands as proof people had been checked. They had also upped security getting in and out, checking every time you left to go outside, which was a slight inconvenience, but I do understand the necessity. Whilst I didn’t personally see any issues, I have seen a number of reports from Con-goers having problems with the attitude of security, particularly when it came to disability access, something I hope they MCM manage to sort out with the ExCeL when they return in 2022.

When Saturday arrived, MCM truly returned. Whilst the capacity may have been reduced, you would not have really known. The outside of the ExCeL was swarming with impressive cosplayers, whilst inside was packed with people watching panels and getting their geek merch. If you’re an MCM regular, you may have been aware it was less crowded than normal, but the overall “vibe” really felt like MCM was back in full swing.

I’ve been covering the MCM events for a number of years now, and, whilst this one had some differences due to the COVID safety protocols, the people you meet there always impress me with their openness and friendliness. From the majority of the staff to the attendees to the guests themselves, the wonderfully inclusive atmosphere remains. It felt good, and like a homecoming.

The Guests

Whilst some people come for the cosplay, one of the biggest draws for any comic book convention are the guests. What was interesting this year, was that many people booked their tickets without having any clue who would be showing up, as the guest list was not nailed down until a few weeks before the event. However, I don’t think anyone was disappointed with who we got.

From Marvel, we had ‘Loki’ himself, and Loki herself (aka Sylvie), Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino, along with Jonathan Majors (aka He Who Remains), hosted by the lovely Claire Lim (aka Wee Claire). The trio did a huge panel on Saturday, in between various photos and autograph signings. Also from Marvel, we got ‘Daredevil’ stars Charlie Cox and Deborah Ann Woll, along with the lovely Gabriel Luna, best known for playing Ghost Rider in ‘Agents Of SHEILD’, and also starring in the upcoming ‘Last Of Us’ tv series.

In attendance from other TV shows, we had Ben Barnes (yes, also technically Marvel) and Freddy Carter, who were promoting Netflix series ‘Shadow & Bone’, along with Harry McEntire and Mark Rowley from Netflix drama ‘The Last Kingdom’, who announced during their panel that the upcoming final season will be followed by a movie! Voice artists from tv and gaming were also well represented with Anjali Bhimani (voice of Symmetra in Overwatch, Rampart Apex Legends), Carolina Ravassa (Overwatch’s Sombra, Grand Theft Auto V’s Taliana Martinez), the wonderful actor/writer David Hayter (Metal Gear Solid, X-Men, Watchmen), and the legend that is Jim Cummings, the voice of Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck and hundreds of other roles.

MCM Comic-Con London – Main Panels

Guests, of course, mean big live panels, and for those of you who couldn’t make it to London, this was the first year ReedPop (who own MCM) sold Virtual Con tickets via their findthemetaverse.com portal. They start at £45, but not only include access to all the panels from the MCM Comic-Cons throughout the year, but also to NYCC, and Emerald City Comic-Con, so are certainly worth a look.

However, if you don’t want to pay for access to the full panels, we have been allowed to post a few clips. First up is the massive Loki Panel, featuring Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino and Jonathan Majors. I’m particularly fond of the cast skirting around the issue of what’s coming up in Season 2… Check out the playlist below:

The other major panel was, of course, Marvel’s Daredevil Panel, featuring Charlie Cox and Deborah Ann Woll. The pair were utterly adorable together, and seem to be having a lovely time. Once again, Charlie did an excellent job working his way around the issue of his much talked about potential MCU appearances, either in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ or in a new ‘Daredevil’ series. Check out the playlist below:

MCM Comic-Con London – Press Interviews

Outside of the main stage panels, photos and signings, the Marvel stars, as you might expect, were pretty much kept under lock and key. However, we did get some access to a few press interviews with some of the other guests.

First, we have Anjali Bhimani, well known as the voice of Symmetra in Overwatch, Rampart in Apex Legends, and the feisty Miriam Landisman on Critical Role’s wildly popular series, UnDeadwood. Television audiences know her As Nina Patel on Modern Family, as well as from shows such as S.W.A.T., Blindspot, Crazy-Ex Girlfriend, Silicon Valley, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Grace and Frankie, and many many more.

Next was Carolina Ravassa, known for her voice work in the video games Overwatch (Sombra), Grand Theft Auto V (Taliana Martinez), Max Payne III, Red Dead Redemption II, Just Cause 4 and voices on Big City Greens (Disney), Victor and Valentino (Cartoon Network), and Loud House (Nickelodeon).

We also caught up with actor and writer David Hayter, best known for his voice work as Solid Snake in the English versions of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, and for writing the screenplays to X-Men (2000), X-Men 2 (2003), and Watchmen (2009). He also voices King Shark on The Flash, and provided the voice for the male Jedi in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Lastly, we spoke with Mark Rowley who plays Finan on The Last Kingdom, which is due to have its final season later this year, followed by a movie. His other roles include appearing in The Spanish Princess, Luther, Young Dracula, Guns Akimbo, and voicing Alexander Graham Bell in Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate.

I also got an exclusive audio-only one-on-one chat with Gabriel Luna, who talks about ‘Agents Of SHIELD’ and his role as Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider, along with discussing his upcoming role as Tommy on HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’ series opposite Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. You can listen to that below:

Martin Gooch’s Argh and the Quest for the Golden Dragon Skull

In addition to all of that, I do want to give a shout out to our friend, film director Martin Gooch, who managed to accidentally make a movie/web series in the middle of the pandemic, titled Argh and the Quest for the Golden Dragon Skull. The project was filmed entirely with small metal miniatures on Martin’s dining room table… much to the annoyance of his girlfriend…

The story follows famed adventurer, Lord Argh, who is sent on a quest to find the legendary Golden Dragon Skull by mushroom obsessed King Kevin, ruler of Mushroomia. Travelling with his faithful squire Sally, the beautiful Amazonia, and the vile Slimeball The Snail the unlikely questers must work together to overcome many adventures, trials, and tribulations. Will they all return with the skull and save the kingdom of Mushroomia?

It’s very silly, and (if you’ve seen any of his other work), very Martin. You can see the trailer below, and find out more over on his website.

Indie Comics

Comic Village might be under the new name of Artist Alley, but is still full of extremely talented indie comic book creators. These are some of the people in the geek community hit hardest during the pandemic, so it was nice to hear that Con-goers had been greeting the artists and writers with such love and support on their return.

TPub were back with a wonderful range of books, from their hit series ‘Twisted Dark’, to newer books such as The Theory, which follows an archaeologist struggling to save our future, a time traveller working to fix our past; Steampunk adventure story The Traveller; Espionage/spy story Transmissions; And underwater sci-fi/horror Transdimensional. Whatever genre you’re into, TPub likely has something for you. You can find more about them at their website.

One newcomer that caught my eye was Matthew Stapleton and his ‘What If?’ stories. This collection of books take various elements of pop culture and ask “what if?..” For example, what if Die Hard’s John McClane had to battle zombies? What if Gremlins showed up in WW2? What is “Old Man” Marley’s story from ‘Home Alone’? Teaming up with a talented group of artists, Matthew has created a really interesting set of alternative history stories, and you can find out more about them here.

The Cosplay

No Comic-Con would be complete without the cosplayers, and all that time in lockdown seems to have been well spent, and they returned in full force with some spectacular creations! Below you’ll find all of our cosplay photos from MCM Comic-Con London October 2021. If you are in any of the photos, thank you for posing, and if you want the high-res version of the picture, just message me via the contact page, and I’ll email it over.

I’ve also included some of my cosplay photo edits below, but I’m still working through them, so even if your unedited photo is here, make sure you subscribe to our Instagram feed, as a full-edit version may pop up!

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