MCM Expo: image gallery special

Near the beginning, there was worry that the MCM Expo, held at the Excel Centre in London over the 24th-25th October, could have been re-dubbed, after a notorious goth-baiting blog, 'cosplayers in wet weather'.

It started at London Bridge tube-station, stepping onto the east-bound train to be faced with a spotty youth dressed as Final Fantasy VIII character Squall Leonhart, who had hastily wrapped his imposing gunblade in a big black bin liner, to protect it from the morning drizzle. Changing to the DLR, those not in costume were in the tiny, slightly awkward minority, and Expo fever had set in - with one twinkly-eyed teen crying 'Oh no! I forgot to make a Free Hugs sign!'. At Expo, human contact is encouraged.
 
The MCM Expo makes a claim to be the largest event for all things geeky in the UK, covering Anime, Manga, Sci-Fi, TV, Movies, Games and Comics. And, if the influx of excitable attendees - who swarmed the aircraft-hangar sized exhibition centre in the sparkly clean, regentrified wasteland of the old London Docklands - is anything to go by, it is also one of the most popular. A press release issued not long after the event totalled the amount of visitors at 38,366. That's more than there were French at Agincourt! 
 
As is to be expected, the mish-mash of subcultures and media is quite staggering. There aren't many places you can walk past a stall selling scarily-authentic swords, dodge a person in Dalek costume, spy a dejected zombie staring mopily at the dozens-strong queue for a Left 4 Dead 2 demo, before crossing a swamp of imported Japanese DVDs and Tokyopop Manga digests, and finding bizarre respite in front of a Q&A stage, where actor Ronny Cox (Deliverance) is, in place of fielding questions from the floor, playing a set with his four-piece country-folk band ('This next song's called "Father's Day"...'). 
 
It's certainly too much for any sane person to take in, but I tried my best. My missives-from-the-front start today, with an interview with actor Idris Elba about The Losers, an upcoming film adapted from the comic book by Andy Diggle and Jock. 

Coming tomorrow, there's a report from the MCM Expo's Comic Village, with interview snippets, and an overview of the talent on offer from publishers large and small. Plus an interview with comic boffins Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, about their current series Phonogram, as well as their other projects in the pipeline. 

Plus, to the side of these words are the shots that I took from the show floor. Enjoy!

Find out more about MCM Expo here.