Huge Crowds & Praise For First Wales Comic Con of 2016

For those unaware of what was going on last weekend, the sight of Stormtroopers patrolling the Wrexham Glyndwr University Campus might have been a bit strange. For everyone else however, it was business as usual – with thousands visiting the first Wales Comic Con instalment of 2016. 

On Saturday and Sunday Wales Comic Con took over the university campus. Now in its eighth year, this was the first time Wales Comic Con had hosted an event over an entire weekend – and going by the volume of people who attended, it was a gamble which paid off.

The event brought Wales Comic Con their biggest audience to date, with around 10,000 visiting Wrexham Glyndwr University across the weekend to see all the wonders that were on offer.

Among this year’s guests were a wealth of stars from film and television, including Billy Boyd (The Lord of the Rings), Sylvester Mccoy and Peter Davison (Doctor Who), Mark Addy (Game of Thrones), Veronica Taylor (Pokemon) and Rachel Miner (Supernatural).

Two of the biggest guests this year were Jason Momoa, also known as Khal Drogo in Game of Thrones DCEU’s Aquaman and James Marsters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Torchwood.

There were also a few Stormtroopers on hand to make sure everyone was kept in order.

Also inside the Sports Hall were a number of merchandise stalls – which were collectable items galore, selling everything from custom made books, jewellery, badges, wrestling masks and t shirts.

This year’s event featured many fan favourites, including photoshoots with some of the guests, autograph opportunities and a series of Question and Answer Sessions in the William Aston Hall.

Always a popular feature at Wales Comic Con, the Question and Answer Sessions offer fans the chance to ask their favourite stars their most pressing (and lighthearted questions). This year attendees had the chance to pose their questions to the stars of Game of Thrones, Red Dwarf, Middle Earth and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

We personally opted to sit in on the Harry Potter Question and Answer Session, which featured saw fans ask Chris Rankin (Percy Weasley), Hugh Mitchell (Colin Creevey) and Professor Sprout herself – Miriam Margolyes, questions on their favourite scene, books and if they would ever consider doing another film (note: for Miriam it would depend ‘if the money was right!’)

For those who fancied something a bit different, a gaming bus and gaming tent was also on hand throughout the weekend – offering gamers the chance to try their hand at some retro games (although the rather more recent Minecraft seemed one of the more popular choices)

One of the more popular features of the gaming tent was the ‘Gaming Tournaments’ that took place across the weekend, allowing attendees to go head to head on top games such as ‘Street Fighter’, ‘Super Smash Bros’ and ‘Pokken’.

The tournaments attracted crowds throughout the day- providing one of the only chances you’ll ever see a seven year old child take on adults dressed as Deadpool and Ash from Pokemon.

To take a break from the hustle and bustle of the autograph hall and gaming tent, there was plenty to see and do across the site – including a Doctor Who display in The Guild, an owl sanctuary, a comic book room and the chance to get up close to some famous cars. You could even meet a Superhero Minion!

For those who missed out – fear not as a second instalment of Wales Comic Con is set to take place later this year!