COMIC CON FESTIVAL

Comic Conventions are a world-wide phenomena, where fans of all things comic come together to celebrate their mutual geekdom. If there’s one event that goes hand in hand with fancy dress, it’s a comic convention. Convention-goers arrive in all kinds of fantastic costumes of their favourite comic heroes or villains. From stormtroopers to Batman, this is the place you can guarantee you will see every possible comic character come to life.

Cosplay is a massive part of Comic Con events. In fact, MCM Comic Cons have more people attending in costume than any other show in the UK. Lots of people come in costume just for fun, but most of them will be looking to battle it out on the stage at the masquerade. At MCM Comic Cons this year, cosplayers are competing to attend the Euro Cosplay Championships so we’re expecting costumes to be even more elaborate than normal. People come dressed as their favourite superhero, anime, videogame character or character from cult fiction and films such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. People spend months working on their costumes to get them just right and as realistic as possible, though for obvious reasons metal blades and projectile weapons are not allowed for the actual event! It’s always great fun to be involved in these events but also for spectators as you see so many weird and wonderful costumes.

Where else could you see Ninja wandering around alongside elves, Jedi and other superheroes together? This year there is a Cosplay Masquerade on stage, which anyone going can sign up for. It's like a big fashion show, where participants will strut their stuff on the stage, showing off their amazing costumes and generally wowwing the crowd. It's usually the last event of the day and draws quite a crowd too. Many people taking part perform short skits, and the Masquerade is actually a competitive event where people are judged on their costumes, attention to detail and accuracy. People of all ages are able to enter, and from all genres: film, comics, games, anime, games, TV, bands - or even an original design you've thought up yourself. The world really is your oyster on this one, and your only limitation is your imagination.

Manchester Comic Con promises to be the height of all things comic in the UK. If you’re into your comics, you’d be absolutely mad to miss it. And to turn up without fancy dress is just plain bonkers.