Z List Guests

I would love it every convention I ever attended catered entirely to me - I'm selfish like that - I would love it if every guest fit into my tastes, and I'd love it if some faces didn't pop up again and again. To be honest I'm not really that selfish and while it might be the 3rd time a name as popped up at a convention for me, it could be some ones first time

The Z List guest of what I'm referring to here is not the 3rd Stormtrooper from the left, or that guy who played a Cyberman in 1971, they usually know exactly why they are at a convention to cater to the fans of their franchises, I'm more talking about guys whose IMDB page is mostly made up of roles such as "commuter" or "club patron" with the word uncredited next to it, because I  hate to be rude but that sounds like an extra to me and the truth is I am probably right on the money there, and the thing is despite the rare person who charges less, they will charge £10.

I hate to pick on an actor but I will - Martin Ballantyne - who has appeared at 3 events that I've attended - I have yet to get his autograph and unless he lands something Doctor Who or Game Of Thrones that honestly probably won't change, his roles in the stuff you've heard of (Bourne movies, Harry Potter etc.) are those that are uncredited, but I get frustrated that the credit he gets for The Dark Knight is Joker's Henchman - you might think is Henchman where those killed at the beginning in the clown masks (where they Henchman though), but no, or is there another scene where an henchman could appear, but there isn't really, he is behind The Joker in the prison scene, pictured below.

He is the one on the left to Ledger, and though he got to share a scene with an iconic portrayal of an iconic character - Joker's Henchman - is not really a fair credit at all, it seems like it's been embellished to make it seem like a much more important role then it is. I should point out I'm sure Ballantyne is a nice guy and even enjoys doing the convention scene, but honestly the number of cons he appears at mostly on his role in The Dark Knight just don't want me to go and meet him.

Now I have no problems with those such as Ballantyne doing the convention circuit, people such as these should be honest about their "value" - £10 is way too much for an extra, be cool and charge £5, something like that - but if people are happy paying £10 for his signature and that and there seems to be an odd rule (with a few exceptions) that people can't charge less then £10 for their signature.

Again apologizes to Martin Ballantyne and the Martin Ballantyne's of the world. But it's just my opinion.

Latest Addition (Pop Vinyl)

I still don't consider myself collecting pop vinyls, though I have a small collection now - I have decided to just collect those areas that I am very interested in, in fact I want to sing about the greatness of adding the latest to my collection...

"I'm so excited..."

"I'm so excited..."

"I'm so... scared"

I've decided to collect the Saved By The Bell Pop Vinyls and thought there was no better place to start then with Jesse Spano. This is a show I can't quite help but have a lot of affection for and I like many people of my generation are grateful that it saved us from a caffeine pill addiction.

Also since it's Elizabeth Berkley, something something Showgirls reference.

Also also I want to re-point out that I still don't collect Pop Vinyls though I own 7 now.

R.I.P. Ron Glass

Ron Glass has passed away at 71, best known to many people for playing Shepherd Book in the beloved Firefly. He also was one of the main characters on Barney Miller.

I also think of him as God's Cousin Rod and the short-lived series Teen Angel in the 90's.

He will be missed.

R.I.P. Florence Henderson

This is a few days late, but Florence Henderson best known for playing Carol Brady as passed away, she along with Mrs. Cunningham and Morticia Addams are probably the first characters I think of when I think US Sit-Com Mothers.

She appeared in The Brady Bunch Movie (a great movie) as the Grandmother and did a funny bit on Whose Line Is It Anyway? (the US version) and was always happy to poke fun at her most iconic role.

The Incredible "ULL" Con

I have to admit with all these conventions I was going to or planning to go, The Incredible "ULL" Con was something I had not given too much thought too, particularly that I had Newcastle last weekend (which was something I was looking forward to for months) and rarely crossed my mind like many other events have.

To be honest and I hate to bad mouth somebodies poster/advert design here but I was never a fan of their image to advertise it...

I just don't think it puts the information across in a very pleasing manner, and if you are not familiar with any of the actors they have got (besides Chris Bunn since there's a Stormtrooper with him) then the reality is it's not going to bring in any customers. I honestly just don't think it's pleasing on the eye. But I decided to attend since it was local and easy to get to, and a couple of the names that had some sort of interest to me (unsurprisingly somebody had been in an a program with the initials DW that interested me).

This is also the final convention of 2016 for me (unless a surprise one pops up) - I believe 2016 as seen me attend the most conventions yet with 6 which may not be a lot for some people (though 2017 could break that record) and this is  convention I had in mind that I would not be spending too long inside with me only planning to meet 2 of the guests.

Getting in this was probably the smallest convention I have attended in sometime (if I was dishonest I think I could have managed to get in without paying), there wasn't exactly a ton of stalls (many of these I'd seen in the last month with Humber Unleashed) and people meeting the guests was at a slow pace (which is not unusual to be honest if the guests aren't too familiar names), I decided to first go and meet Clem So, who has appeared in an whole bunch of stuff including Star Wars - The Force Awakens, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Skyfall and multiple roles in Doctor Who (of course). So that answers my question of why I chose to meet him, he was a nice guy who took interest in my poster (many of those who have signed it have complimented it).

The poster has it stands now with 13 signatures - I believe 11 of them were added this year, so that is one for nearly every month. Clem So will likely be the last addition of the year.

I then decided to go and meet Michael Henbury, who unless I'm suddenly making this up is the smallest person in Britain. The only other person I had something for. I wanted to add him to my little Labyrinth reprint poster (he again had also worked on Star Wars, as well as Harry Potter and Willow).

The poster which I had previously signed by Toby Philpott in either 2013 or 14.

Before deciding to leave I had a quick look around the stalls, and found some things I desperately needed so I got these from one stall,

Yes my Mean Girls Pop Vinyl collection is now 3/4 complete and I unashamedly love this movie and I now only need Regina George which should be part of my collection before the year ends..

Overall I was in and out of this even in less then half an hour, this is an event I probably will only attend in the future based on the guests, there was literally 8 guests there (I thought Femi Taylor was a good name for the Star Wars auto collectors) but only 2 of what I needed (that's probably the least I've visited compared to amount of guests there), but best of luck to the organizers for future events.

Newcastle Film and Comic Con 2016

Apologies in advance for a really long write up

Introduction

I had never really intended it to be a seven year gap between attending a Showmasters event - my last was one was in Birmingham all the way back in the distant past of 2009 and was a joint Collectormania Midlands and Autograchica in the same venue where I met guests including Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, Ke Huy Quan, George Lazenby, Joan Collins and Sonny Landham among many others and a jolly good time.

And actually it was supposed to be earlier in the year that I was due to attend the Bolton Film and Comic Con (it weird the term comic is still getting used by Showmasters as lately it's seem to have been dropped from events as far as guests go), but like that it was cancelled with no real reason given and well  - I was mostly disappointed that I lost the chance to meet Robert Englund, Amanda Wyss, Margot Kidder and Jennette Goldstein (as well as Trevor Steadman was also announced he passed away later in the same month it was due - I am not sure if ill health would have cancelled his appearance though but it certainly feels like a lost meeting) - and this in turn also lead to me embarrassingly getting myself banned from the Showmasters forums (for real, real not play, play) because I asked literally the night before jokingly whether it was cancelled or not (they had literally - which I have used twice in this paragraph - gone 50 days with no guest announcements and it was getting closer and closer to the event) and I ended up getting a (to be honest) rather rude response, so I made a joke about it the next day (something along the lines of "remember when I asked if it was cancelled and you said no, then the next day it was cancelled... good times."), so yeah don't expect to see me on there anytime soon, as much as I believe I would never have a repeat of my behaviour (I'm not really like that to be honest - I know I'm a grumpy sod at times - just read some previous stuff I've wrote - but in my 30+ years of life I'm not a trouble causer, the opposite really as I'd rather run in the opposite direction).

So it's actually took me a long time to actually get talking about Newcastle Film and Comic Con, which is what this blog entry is about and which I promise to start talking about now from now on and future Showmasters write ups won't have a long winded opening like this (since I've done it here). Newcastle was an event I found surprisingly cheaper to get to on train then many conventions that would end up being closer to me (distance and price you would believe are linked but alas it's not always the case, and is only a few quid more expensive then somewhere like Sheffield), the biggest thing though was I had set train times, so... it was going to be a really long day leaving the house very early in the morning (it was a 6.37 train) and be home well after 10 at night, This also marks the first Showmasters event where I would only be attending one day (which is a shame because there is some names I'd have got on the 2nd day such as Nicola Bryant and Neil Fingleton) but I thought it would be worth it for a fun day out. I booked the tickets (train and event) with enough names on the show to interest me including the potential to start to a couple of projects, as well as add more names to my Doctor Who poster, so I was hoping for a good day out.

So there you go I've wrote an epic before even getting to talk about the event, I guess that long winded intro can be more a write up on my relationship with Showmasters as a whole - which as been both good and bad.

But sadly for me on the run up to the event - Edge cancelled as did Mark Rolston and even the day before, Anton Lesser cancelled (as did Grado who I wasn't planning on meeting) and also Nicola Bryant changed her day to Sunday (which is as good as a cancellation to me since I'm only attending Saturday) and I'm being honest it's dampened my enthusiasm for the event in the run up because these were among the guests I most wanted to meet and any replacement names were not coming in thick and fast (it felt like distinct lack of effort of guests anyway on Showmasters part) - I tried to honestly keep a brave face through all the build up...

The Event and Such

...And to be honest despite all the cancellations, I actually had a really great day, it just clicked for me and felt really relaxed and all happy to be there and everything, the two and half hour in total going train journey going went by pretty fast - I listened to music and wrote in a notepad, which just ended me doing random stuff including working on favourite films decade by decade, though I didn't order them yet I decided Toy Story 3 was probably my favourite film of the 2010's so far - this has nothing to do with any of the write up, but 2010's was the only decade that I could come up with a definitive favourite movie (though I can narrow most other decades down to a couple). As I pulled up on the train, luckily we went past the venue and it sorted of relaxed my mind with how easy it would be to find, and it was (that it like my major worry with any out of town even).

Even entering the security guards were very friendly, making me feel checking my bags was something that had to be done rather then be on a power trip about it (honestly I have problems with certain people in such roles and I remember some people in similar roles back in Manchester in 08, seeming like they enjoyed the power) and I like that was in the venue - I like to think it was playing for me, but as I opened the door the Jurassic Park theme was just hitting it's peak. I don't know how I'm going to handle London Film and Comic Con as even an event this size I don't know where to look first etc., but I ended up having the natural thing of heading towards where (I think) the guests are just so I got a sense of perspective (which i tend to do at every event whether big or small).

What was rare for an event though for me was that I ended up buying something from a stall first before getting some autographs, somebody was selling Pop Vinyls (which I guess I sort of collect now - only limited things I'm into) and it was 2 for £10, I brought a Gizmo

and a Freddy Krueger

which are related to two of my whole time classic 80's films that I watched way, way too many times growing up and I actually own original posters from both movies (so there you go)...

So now it was time to make a trip to see the guests, I always have a hard time deciding where to start so I decided to start at the very end who was Jacqueline Pearce, best known for Blake's 7, but of interest to me because she appeared in the Doctor Who episode "The Two Doctors", she was extremely lovely and a great start to my day

I decided since I had my poster already unrolled was to move onto Christopher Fairbank - I had two things for him - and was an extremely nice fella - I first got him to sign my Doctor Who poster in which appeared in the last few years (in a Capaldi episode... yeah I know he's not on the poster, just like the next Doctor won't be or the one after that)....

The Doctor Who poster has it stands now with 12 signatures (obviously in an ideal world I would have loved to have the chance to get more but an event with 1 suitable guest is still a success).

and then got him on my Alien 3 Chirashi, which I then took to Vincenzo Nizoli (another nice guy) who also appeared in the movie, this Chirashi looks fab (and would gladly add more names to it)...

Next up was Anna Walton of Hellboy II fame, I got her on my Hellboy German poster (which I am going to use as a catch-all for both movies), she understand what I was doing, and another cool guest was met

I then went to William Hoyland, who did actually appear in that first movie, he even said he appreciated it was a non-Star Wars item he got to sign

The poster as it look now - very nice poster I think (hopefully I will have a chance to add more names)

Next up since the small queue she had died down was Sarah Douglas, who I reckon was the name I most wanted to meet today from the lineup (after the cancellations) and was probably the most popular guest of the day. She is of course best known for playing Urusa in the first 2 Superman movies and was one of three central Kryptonian villains in the second movie. She was extremely lovely and I think was the guest of the day for me, and she signed by German Superman II poster for me (I like foreign posters a lot and original German ones are extremely affordable),

The poster (again a great start to the poster)

next up was Annette Hannah of Game Of Thrones, I am not sure of her exact age (I've read it's 11 - at least at time of filming) so is quite possibly the youngest guest I have ever met (Noah Gray Cabey of Heroes was 13 when I met him) and was with her Father, both were very nice and she included a quote, she signed my Game Of Thrones poster for me (the first of hopefully many)

next up another Game Of Thrones guest Dominic Carter, who again was very friendly and here is both their signatures since they signed near each other

The poster has it looks now with plenty of rooms to add names from the huge cast...

The final autograph of the morning for me was Alice Krige aka The Borg Queen, who I was supposed to meet at Collectormania Manchester 2008 so yeah an 8 year wait! - as I recall she cancelled on the weekend so we got no online announcement in the lead up - she was very friendly too (everybody was that's why I keep saying it) and she signed my Star Trek - First Contact mini poster (another poster that could get added too)...

I decided to go and look around the stalls before the first talk started but didn't buy anything just yet. The first talk was the Game Of Thrones guests. Where they talked about their favourite death scenes (Joffrey was a popular one), favourite characters (me and Annette Hannah share the same), what other show she'd want to be part of (her answer was hilarious - Keeping Up With Kardashians - just to take them out... in a killing sort of way).

I hung around for a bit before the next talk 15 minutes later which was Alice Krige, who talked about the long makeup process for First Contact and not really enjoying her Silent Hill experience (she didn't like the mind set she got into), before a lunch break for me where I just ate sandwiches and that (very exciting of me to tell you)

The next talk was Sarah Douglas, who talked about even her none Superman work such as Conan The Destroyer, V, Stargate SG-1 and Falcon Crest, was a cool talk where she mentioned working with Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Terence Stamp and others.

Next up was the Daz Crawford talk which was probably the weakest but it was still enjoyable, it's maybe because he was explaining what CGI was to a room full of geeks, probably just want to feel somebody left out, but he talked about working on the show Gladiators plus work such Blade II and been proud of being in a scene with Katherine Heigl in a comedy just because he's not called on to do that sort of thing much.

Chloe Annett was the next talk, who I didn't meet this time around simply because I met her in the past (she was nice) it seemed like she looked younger than she did 8 years ago, so whatever she is doing to age backwards keep doing it, she talked about Red Dwarf (obviously) as well as Crime Traveller, it was a fun talk.

Final talk of the day was Jacqueline Pearce, whose talk was a lot of fun, she talked about Blake's 7, her crush on Colin Baker, charity work with monkeys and still enjoying a certain recreational drug late at night, she seems like she would be really cool to know

I decided to go and get Daz Crawford on my Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. 10x8 he was a nice guy but due to the silver pens not really being brilliant this ended being my least favourite signature of the day (seems like I'm piling on the guy doesn't it) but if I add to this it will look awesome

I decided to go and do a bit more looking around stalls and firstly brought an Arya Stark - Game Of Thrones figure - she is my favourite Game Of Thrones character (which I didn't reveal earlier) - so was always going to buy it

Okay something related to Arya Stark but not from this stall but somebody was selling autographs and they had a autographed framed Maisie Williams as Arya Stark picture with the plaque "Genuine Autograph of Daisy Williams" - I went back later in the day and noticed he had put the price tag over the word Daisy, if I didn't have a Maisie signature already this would put me off of buying it so he needs to do something about it.

I had previously decided to obtain an extra autograph from somebody if I had spare money towards the end of the day and I decided on getting a second Sarah Douglas autograph, I love b/w photos so this was an easy pick from her selection and while she didn't remember my name (due to seeing a bunch of people) she did remember me so that was something

I then looked a stall and noticed an Olivia Moore iZombie limited edition New York Comic Con Pop Vinyl, it's rare I say this but I just had to have it

My last purchased of the day was this t-shirt - I absolutely love RoboCop so I'm glad I go this

This was my last purchase of the day and while I still had a few hours to spare I went into the retro gaming zone, one thing I learnt was after not going on on Street Fighter 2 for 20 plus years I am not good at it anymore ditto Streets Of Rage and Mario Kart 64, So yeah maybe need practice here.

It was then time to head home, got an overpriced Burger King just so I could stay in the warm and then it was time for my train home which again, the pair of trains didn't feel as long as they should, and there it was 22.30 when I arrived home (a day that began at 5.30) so that's why I'm writing this the day after.

Overall like I already said it was a cool day, the negative of the cancellations felt forgotten once I got there, all the guests I met were friendly, and I'm thinking of attending future Newcastle events if I just don't build my hopes up and just let myself enjoy a day out like today.

Notes

Favourite Guest(s) - Sarah Douglas and Christopher Fairbank. Though there wasn't a negative one among them.
Favourite Purchase - Olivia Moore iZombie Pop Vinyl.
Favourite Costume By Attendee - the Father dressed as Superman who had his kids dressed as Jor-El and General Zod (from the original movie rather than MOS).
Favourite Talk(s) - Sarah Douglas and Jacqueline Pearce where the most enjoyable.

Sophie Turner - Game Of Thrones

Another new purchase addition to my collection and it's another Game Of Thrones and another Stark - this time it's Sophie Turner who plays Sansa on the show, it's rare I go for 14x11 pictures but this was a similar price to a lot of the 10x8's and to be honest, with it being from Autograph World I had more faith in it been authentic.

The Dirty Dozen Poster

It's been a while since I went back into my in person collection, so I thought I would do it with one of my favourite items - my original Dirty Dozen Yugoslavian poster signed by two of it stars.

I got this at Autographica in Birmingham in 2009 (held the same time as Collectormania Midlands), both events where run by Showmasters and a mix of cool guests - it's a shame they never did anything similar again (maybe they did and I'm not aware of it).

George Kennedy was the first of the two to sign it, he was very friendly but admittedly a little deaf and happily posed for a photo (at the moment I am not going to show my face so you will just see me be a big red dot)

I then joined the queue for Ernest Borgnine - I had to admit even though it was numbered ticketing I took advantage of a bit of lack of staffing there - it was the morning I got to see him when it should have been afternoon. He was extremely friendly and seemed so much of energy despite his 90+ age and he too happily posed for a photo

here is a quick close up on their signatures first Kennedy

and now Borgnine

Like I said this is probably my favourite item in my collection, and I appreciate it even more and the experience of meeting them since Borgnine passed away in 2012 and George Kennedy earlier this year.

Latest Addition To My Collection

Mean Girls - Karen Funko Pop Vinyl.

This arrived today, this says a lot about my tastes. I absolutely love this movie!

Cancelled Guests I Most Want To Meet

I've touched on it before talking about guests cancelling - which can be annoying if you have realy been looking forward to meeting them. Here is the list of my top 10 guests which at one point where announced for events I was to attend. Hopefully some of these will get sorted somewhere down the line.

1. Brain Blessed - supposed to meet him at Collectormania Manchester in 2008.
2. Adam 'Edge' Copeland - supposed to meet him at Newcastle Comic Con in 2016.
3. Robert Englund - supposed to meet him at the cancelled Bolton Comic Con in 2016.
4. Zach Galligan - supposed to meet him at the Hull Horror Fest 2016
5. Jennette Goldstein - supposed to meet her at the cancelled Bolton Comic Con in 2016.
6. Margot Kidder - supposed to meet her at the cancelled Bolton Comic Con in 2016.
7. Kelly Jo Minter - supposed to meet her at the Hull Horror Fest 2016.
8. Hayden Panettiere - was supposed to meet her at Collectormania Manchester in 2008.
9. Mark Rolston - was supposed to meet him at Newcastle Comic Con in 2016.
10. Amanda Wyss - was supposed to meet her at the cancelled Bolton Comic Con in 2016

So there you go more then a couple from an event that got cancelled, as well as a couple for an event I am attending very soon. Wish me luck that I do get to meet some of these eventually.

Robert Vaughn R.I.P.

I have never believed in that all famous people die in 3 thing, after all famous people die every day, and obviously it will be geographical, somebody extremely famous in America could pass away and it has no impact on the average Britain and vice versa, but none the less it's said that I am doing 2 R.I.P. entries in a row.

Many people will probably say The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or The Magnificent Seven when they think of Robert Vaughn's most iconic roles. I'll always think of The Towering Inferno and more oddly BASEketball.

R.I.P. Mr. Vaughn.

While I never got a chance to meet him, somebody I know attended a convention that he was a guest at and was kind enough to get this signed for me...

Leonard Cohen R.I.P.

I never really planned to do particular updates whether somebody famous died or not, but I have to say without question one of my absolute favourite singers of all time - Leonard Cohen - as passed away, go on my Spotify, or even the music on my phone and there is plenty of Cohen there.

I was already having a particularly crap day when I heard the news, is last album which he only released 3 weeks ago was great too, you'll be missed - especially by me.

Actors and Actresses I'd Like To Meet (A Realistic List)

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I know there is quite possibly bigger names who will have done conventions (I'll treat them at the moment as missing my chance) or could quite possibly do conventions in the future, but I thought this would be a fun list to do

1. David Bradley - you know him from a lot of stuff and I'd easily get two things signed by him (for Doctor Who and Game Of Thrones). He was great as William Hartnell in Adventures In Space and Time (as done UK Conventions including Wales Comic Con this past weekend).
2. Ralph Brown - I love him in Withnail & I and also for playing basically the same role in Wayne's World 2 (as done UK conventions).
3. Eliza Dushku - you got have Faith (sorry), certainly one of the best Buffyverse characters, she's done some other fun work too (I  believe she's done a couple in the UK).
4. Robert Englund - I grew up watching him as Freddy, and fate took my chance away of meeting him earlier this year and I would just love for that to be rectified (done many).
5. Karen Gillan - it seemed dumb to leave her off the list, my favourite companion of the modern era (I fancy her a lot) (as done at least one UK convention).
6. Christopher Lloyd - many iconic roles to his name, he was an easy name to put on the list, hopefully he comes back over (done a couple of UK ones).
7. Ingrid Oliver - as Osgood, she is one of my favourite Doctor Who characters of the last few years (think she as done at least one event)
8. Burt Reynolds - I grew up a big fan of the Cannonball Run movies, and even have a portion of wall dedicated to his 70's/80's movies (did a UK convention years ago, as done US more recently though).
9. P.J. Soles - Halloween, Carrie, Rock N Roll High School, this is just some of her work I enjoy her for, think she would be cool to meet (possibly only done US cons).
10. Maisie Williams - Arya is probably my favourite Game Of Thrones character, plus she's done Doctor Who. she has done conventions in the past, but I'm not sure she has done one for a couple of years so maybe it's all behind her, still can hope can't I (as done UK conventions)

There you go, a some what realistic list, no Harrison Fords, and well nobody that I don't believe is 100% out of the question of doing any upcoming convention I would be attending and there is plenty of cool names I have left off.

Humber Unleashed

I do like Humber Unleashed as an event when it was held in Hessle, which is located just outside my home city of Hull, and there previous events have all been held in a hotel/pub on the waterfront in Hessle, but I have to admit I tended to get a bit frustrated by it all - the queue was always way too slow to get in (which included when it was raining) and overall the venue was just too small for the amount of people that you struggle to get around as people are blocking you (it's okay to stop and talk to people but be mindful of those around you), and it also cole be too hot at times. It's at this point if you read my previous write up about Hull Horror Fest, that it probably just seems I'm a bit of a miserable complainer, its not true I just like giving my honest opinion of the event.

Humber Unleashed (from Unleashed Events - this is one of their smaller events) tend to bring in 2 media guests at a time, with usually one of them them at least being my cup of tea and while the guests they have brought in are never huge, huge names, they are usually cool, which have included Red Dwarf's Hattie Hayridge who was absolutely lovely - and would probably say she is among my favourite guests I have ever met.

This Humber Unleashed saw a change in venue (which was still about as close for me as the previous venue but is just in a different direction) and they had 2 guests best known for the Star Wars franchise. If you have read my previous write up on Star Wars autographing - it's something unless a really big name is something I've decided to stay away from. So I am always hoping there is something else in their filmography that will interest me. Today's signers where Paul Blake - who played Greedo (who didn't shoot first) in the first movie way back in 77. In a bit of trivia related to me, his first ever convention was in the 90's (I want to say 96ish) and was in Hull and I attended and was probably 2nd or 3rd in line,sadly this time I had nothing for him, I did have something for the other guest who I will get to in a bit.

I have to say this now venue feels a lot better it feels that bit more open, seemed a lot easier to get in, many of the stalls where the same which in some ways is a negative because you just get used to them and sometimes not look at them properly, but like most events I try to find the guest and soon found the guests.

The first person I met was Simon Donald, the co-founder and original editor of Viz. I have been a fan of the comic for years, even before this adult-oriented comic was suitable for me (I should write up one day about my childhood and media), I even had a bunch of the annuals (which collected the comics), and still regularly enjoy them in my adult life. His autograph was free with the purchase of merchandise and was about to buy his book until I saw he was offering A4 sketches for £10 (this is the first time I've had a sketch done), which I thought was a brilliant deal and he drew a sketch of his most famous creation Sid The Sexist for me...

He also signed my comic for free, which is from 1989... (this initially was something I was going to frame as I decided before event, but the sketch as took it's place).

The other guest I met was Garrick Hagon best known for playing Biggs in the original Star Wars movie. For me though the reason today for getting his signature was that he appeared in both the classic and modern Doctor Who series. His signature like Paul Blake's was £20 (to be honest both should have been £15), so it feels odd him being the most pricey signature on my Doctor Who poster so far. He was a friendly chap who talked about some of his other work such as A Bridge Too Far. Anyway he became the 10th name on my poster, which I got him near Jon Pertwee since that was the Doctor he first appeared alongside. Overall he was a nice fella.

Close up of signature

The poster has it looks now

Overall, it ended up being a quick event, in and out within 40 minutes (thanks to a car waiting), I looked around the stalls but didn't find anything I had wanted. I would have potentially stayed longer if not for that waiting car. Hopefully they keep this location and not move back to the previous one (there is a possibility that might happen unless they haven't updated the Facebook page properly, but fingers crossed).