We've just got back from Cardiff Comic Con here in Wales and can tell you now it's a show not to be missed. There was so much going on it needed the two days to take it all in.
Hosted at the Motorpoint Arena in the nation's capital, Showmasters, the organisers have once again delivered a perfectly organised event that ran like clockwork, full of enthusiastic, friendly and helpful staff.
On entry to the hall, we were greeted by an impressive Batman car from the Adam West 60's TV series! It may be over fifty years old but that car still looks cool.The line up was impressive too. The star of the show had to be John Rhys-Davies from Indiana Jones and the Wing Commander games. My wife, though, would say the star of the show for her was Kai Owen from Torchwood. We were scheduled for a photo shoot with Rhys-Davies on the first day. The photo shoots were on a different level to the main floor where the autographs and vendors were based. This was a great idea, freeing up more space for us geeks to walk around and spend our money. Everything was clearly signposted for each photo area and plenty of Showmasters crew were around willing to help.
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| Rachel and John Rhys-Davies |
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| Rob and John Rhys-Davies |
There was a host of entertainment on hand, with talks by some of the guests at various times throughout the day. We were lucky enough to experience the Torchwood talk featuring Eve Myles and Kai Owen. These two were great together, and the whole talk was accompanied by continuous laughter from the audience who were encouraged to ask questions. They divulged some interesting antics about John Barrowman and his private parts. If he ever does a convention, my wife would have that photo shoot on her list.
The guests were very friendly, and more than happy to have a chat while they were signing autographs. As you would expect, they also had some very interesting stories to tell about the various projects they had worked on. Usually things you wouldn't have heard about before.
If you're lucky some of the guests will pose for a photograph during an autograph signing.
As we were lucky enough to secure press passes, we managed to set up interviews with a few of the guests for The Bearded Trio before the event. We had a very interesting chat with John Coppinger, Femi Taylor and Chris Muncke. The interview with Chris Muncke will be on the next Coffee with Kenobi podcast.
Other guests on the day were David Prowse, David Warner, Julian Glover, Kristian Nairn, Chris Judge, Katy Manning, Danny John Jules, Bernard Cribbins, Paul McGann and Eve Myles (who my wife had her photo taken with in 2013 at London Film and Comic Con. She is a lovely person, and a delight to meet.)
At one point, while we were queueing for Danny John Jules, Mike Edmonds came over for a chat, and instantly started the banter between them about their time filming the children's TV series, Maid Marion. They were both very entertaining, so we got extra value for our money there. Check below for a clip of this unique, off the cuff experience, it's definitely worth watching! (Sorry for the shaky filming at the shot of my feet for a few seconds.) It's quite common to see the guests wandering around the arena absorbing the atmosphere in between their duties.
The only slight negative point is the amount of people that attended on the Saturday meant you could hardly move to get to see the merchandise stalls. This did seem to improve in the afternoon, and was a little quieter on the Sunday. It does pay to get the early bird ticket. Our next adventure is London Film and Comic Con in July, so bring on another amazing experience! Well done Showmasters. You are worthy of your name.
@RWainfur
Rob Wainfur
@welshslider
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Hi! Great review, and lovely to hear you had a great time. I was the red shirt running the front door on Saturday, and it's always nice to hear nice things about the crew and organisation. Hopefully see you in London :)
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