Glasgow Comic Con

First up, the next chapter of family is written and being edited so should be up in a few days.

Next I can finally blog about my recent trip to the Glasgow Comic Con.

I took a ton of photos, which unfortunately I can't post here so any suggestions about where I can show them off would be appreciated.

Now, the convention:

it was actually a spur of the moment decision to go as I wasn't even sure work would allow it. Thankfully I managed to wrangle the weekend off to attend, but by then I could only get a ticket for Sunday rather than the whole weekend.

Ah well, there's always next year.

Getting there was easy enough as I travelled up on Saturday and booked into a hotel, finding the place in the Glasgow one way system was like looking for a needle in a haystack and I ended up following a guy in a truck after I asked him for directions and instead he offered to show me the way. Thanks again to you mysterious construction worker.

The venue was the Centre for Contemporary Arts in the city centre.

Looks better at night, but that thing is REALLY hard to find with a Sat.nav

Anyway, I got there as it opened and stood in a queue with several other comic goers, including several cosplayers who I got talking to about the contest and their characters, one pseudo-pirate/Victorian lady told me she dressed that way all time, and I really wish I could show the costume as it was pretty cool.

I had also decided the enter the costume contest and swapped into my persona as soon as I got my tickets.

Who know what Evil lurks in the hearts of men?

The Shadow knows!

You think that looks warm? Try wearing it all day on what was probably one of the hottest days of the year. At least inside was air conditioned but that still didn't stop me sweating like a turkey at christmas. (I was just looking for an excuse to use that one)

The convention itself was my first one EVER and I have to say it was awesome. There was special guests from the comic industry, both from inside and outside the UK on the first floor doing signings and sketches, some were even selling their work at the same time, on the second floor was a market place selling collectables, rare comics and merchandise from just about anything you could think of. There was a lady handing out money off coupons and that managed to get me 25% off ''Batman Court of Owls'', which I then promptly got signed by John Higgins, who also signed my copy of ''Watchmen''. On the third floor was an ''arts and crafts'' section, which was selling art, clothes and custom jewellery. I wish I had found it a bit sooner as I only discovered it existed near the end of the day, but I managed to leave with a Key of Clow medallion and a beautifully hand drawn Sailor Moon postcard.

There were also presentations and talks going on in the auditorium and I wanted to attend the talk by the great John Wagner on ''Writing for idiots'' but I just got there too late and was told the room had been completely filled within minutes of opening. Luckily all the presentations were being live-streamed on the convention floor so I still got to see it.

The place was positively buzzing all day and I the energy was infectious, which was probably one of the reasons I managed to stay upright despite sweating buckets in my costume. The people there were the friendliest bunch I have ever met and I managed to make a few new friends as well.

The contest itself was fairly informal as the stage was just a tiny thing on the ground floor, I was nervous as the scarf on my costume kept slipping, and I only fixed it AFTER I had my turn which was infuriating. Each of us were given an introduction and few minutes to pose on stage before the next character was introduced.

The sheer variety was brilliant. We had Ghost from COD, Loki, The Joker, Slenderman, Goku, Jack Spicer, Marcelene, Fiona (complete with cuddly Cake) Deadpool and Ladypool (who were up to various hijinks throughout the day), Two Doctors, Booker Dewitt, Silk Spectre and so many more I could create a photo gallery right here.

Anyway, my name was called, and after fixing my scarf yet again I strode out with my fist in the air as I got what had to be the quietest cheer I had ever heard. Sigh...no one seemed to realise who I was or were at least trying to remember who ''The Shadow'' is, nevermind. I got on stage, struck a dramatic pose despite my nerves, and strode off for the next guy. I think I could have spent longer up there but it took all my self control not the just continue walking once I got up there.

A few minutes later the judges made a decision and we were called back for the awards.

Third place went to: The Joker.

The kid in the costume looked about 10, and it was SCARY how close the resemblance was.

I cant remember who won second place but first went to...

Fiona and Cake

I tell you that girl deserved to win. Her whole outfit looked hand made and it was clear she had put a lot of effort into it whereas I had thrown mine together out of various bits of clothing as I am useless with a needle and thread. I say bravo to you my dear!

After the contest the convention wound down quite nicely, but I still managed to buy a few last minute bits of swag, including a bag with the names of famous Sci Fi Captains on it as well as a new comic called ''Hero 9 to 5'' which caught my interest as the writer was at the stall and he explained the premise was that superheroes are also public servants.

What that means is our main character Flame-O has to deal with the types of problems we all deal with at work, on top of the fact he's dating a former supervillain who he put in jail and is jealous of his new female partener. My favourite scene is when his car breaks down and he has to get the bus to the robbery he was sent to stop.

Overall for my first convention experience it was pretty awesome and I am defiantly going to try and make it to the event again in September.