MCM Comic-Con London October 2023 Round-Up – Cosplay Photos, Videos & Special Guests!
It’s been a couple of weeks since MCM Comic-Con returned to London’s ExCeL Centre for its second outing of the year in England’s capital city, and, as always, was filled with epic displays of geekiness, cosplayers, and guest panels!
If you haven’t experienced the marvel of MCM Comic-Con London yet, picture a three-day extravaganza hosted at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London, boasting a treasure trove of delights for any self-proclaimed geek. From notable guests in the realms of TV, film, and comic books to an abundance of geeky merchandise, video games, comic books, and a vibrant display of stunning cosplay, the event is a haven for enthusiasts.
What sets MCM apart is not just its star-studded lineup but the essence of the event itself. Remarkably, tickets often fly off the shelves before any celebrity announcements, emphasizing the magnetic pull of the overall experience. Attendees are lured by the prospect of connecting with like-minded individuals who share a passion for cosplay, anime, indie comics, or games. MCM gatherings have carved a niche for themselves with their reputation for fostering a warm and inclusive environment, providing a platform for people to freely express their interests. It’s a challenge to find a community more accepting, diverse, and inclusive than the one MCM Comic-Con has cultivated.
To give you some idea of the size and scope of MCM London, here is a walkthrough video from our friends over at Comic-Con News, which allows you a taste of the show.
The Guests
Coming to MCM for this Con, we knew the panels for this show were going to have to be a little different. At the time, the SAG-AFTRA actor’s strike was still in full swing, and part of the strike rules meant that actors were not allowed to talk about any projects made under SAG-AFTRA rules for “struck” companies… which pretty much meant any TV show or film made for streaming or network TV. So questions at the panel had to be a little more generic, asking about acting in general, hobbies, or other work outside of the show the actor is probably best known for. However, every panel managed to get through it without too much issue and still made for an entertaining time.
On a side note, we aren’t allowed to upload the panels in full, due to MCM’s owners, Reedpop, selling virtual tickets to various panels across all their Comic-Cons (which is actually a pretty sweet deal!). However, you can view clips from the various panels in the YouTube playlists below.
(Not) Our Flag Means Death Panel With Rhys Darby, Samson Kayo and Vico Ortiz – Main Stage – MCM Comic Con (2 Clips)
The first couple of clips come from what we are calling the “(Not) Our Flag Means Death” panel, which featured Rhys Darby (Stede Bonnet), Samson Kayo (Oluwande Boodhari) and Vico Ortiz (Jim Jimenez). As I mentioned, the panels were recorded during the actor’s strike, which means they couldn’t talk directly about the show – hence it being a (Not) Our Flag Means Death Panel. However, we do have some very fun chats about “Auditions”, where Vico talks about the first time being a “drag king”, Samson tells us he didn’t know what a “headshot” was, and Rhys explains how already being somewhat famous when he did his first audition changed the dynamic. In the second clip, they all discuss their love for New Zealand.
Just to note, if the voices sound a little “robotic” in places, that is due to how echoey the main stage was, making it really hard to get clean audio. I had to process the sound quite a lot to make the voices audible, but it slightly distorted them at points, so sorry about that.
Critical Role Panel – Main Stage – MCM Comic Con (3 Clips)
The second set of clips comes from the Critical Role panel, featuring Matthew Mercer, Ashley Johnson, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Taliesin Jaffe, Marisha Ray, and Sam Riegel.
For those of you unaware of the monstrously popular Critical Role, it is a weekly live-streamed show which sees the aforementioned voice actors play campaigns of Dungeons & Dragons. If you want some idea of the size of this thing, the Main Stage at MCM holds around 4,500 people. The panel began at 11am… It was at capacity by 9am! It was also live-streamed to both the Centre Stage and Live Stages, both of which were packed as well. In the first clip, they are discussing the live show they had just completed in the UK… at Wembley Stadium… Yes, a group of friends playing live D&D, packed Wembley… Like I said… ridiculously popular! In the following two clips, they talk about what other classes they would like their characters to be, and chat about their characters in general. Really fun panel!
Felicia Day Panel – Centre Stage – MCM Comic Con (5 Clips)
The next panel comes from the Centre Stage and features the wonderful geek goddess, Felicia Day. Again, strike rules at the time meant she could not talk specifically about many of her projects, however, she still put on a brilliant panel. The most notable point, which is the first clip, was a long-running ongoing joke between Felicia and the host, CJ, who is a Geordie, and how Felicia does not understand the Geordie accent. In the other clips she discusses her favourite games, who she’d like to work with, places she’d like to visit, and upcoming projects (which may include ‘The Guild: The Musical’!)
BBC Ghosts Panel – Main Stage – MCM October 2023 (3 Clips)
The last set of clips comes from the panel for BBC’s ‘Ghosts’, featuring cast members Mathew Baynton (Thomas), Martha Howe-Douglas (Fanny), Jim Howick (Pat), and Laurence Rickard (“Robin”/Humphrey). This panel was partly to promote the sale of the “GHOSTS: The Button House Archives” book (a perfect stocking filler for Christmas!), but they also chatted about the show and their characters (this was allowed as it is a UK show not US show, so was outside of the strike rules). In the first clip, they talk about how much they are like their characters. The other clips also discuss the rather surprising inspiration for the series and Fanny’s hilarious facial expressions!
The Cosplay
No Comic-Con would be complete without the cosplayers, and they were out in full force as usual. However… the weather over the weekend was possibly the worst I’ve seen for any MCM London since I started covering the event, which is a problem, as traditionally. most of the cosplayers usually congregate outside the front of the ExCel… Nearly every time I had a break in shooting panels and set foot outside to take photos, the heavens opened… As a consequence, I didn’t manage to get anywhere near as many cosplay photos as I usually would have. On the plus side, it means I did mange to do photo edits of all the people I did manage to take photos of. So below you’ll find all of our cosplay photos from MCM Comic-Con London October 2023.
If you are in any of the photos, thank you for posing, and if you want the high-res version of the pictures, just message me via the contact page, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram and I’ll send them over.
