THE level of creativity was impressive at the 2017 Comicon at Westpoint, Exeter this weekend.
As well as great stalls, stars from the big (and small) screen, auctions, role play battles, a retro gaming area, green screen, etc there was a real great show of creativity from the range of cosplayers.
For those not familiar with cosplay, it is basically dressing up as your favourite character from the world of fantasy, anime, sci-fi, horror and fiction. When in character, those dressed up would then ‘act’ like their character and try add a bit of fun to the proceedings.
Its great fun for those involved and onlookers and whole families dress up, just like the four ghost-busters, Marvel Avengers or ‘pupils’ from Harry Potter.
It is a bit more serious than fancy dress. The level of work which going into the costumes is really amazing and most of all, good fun.
The stalls at the show ranged from comic books, statuettes, replica weapons, clothing, retro toys and games, graphic artwork, and models.
One stall which really stood out was that of Chris Baker, who uses art as therapy for his autism. The work is stunning and can take up to 30 hours to produce a pencil drawing the size of an A6 sheet. Check out his art on his website: www.cjbart.com, you’ll be amazed!
Of particular interest to the petrol heads was a replica General Lee from the 1980’s TV show Dukes of Hazzard. The car can be hired for weddings and birthdays etc, search Lee’s General Lee on Facebook for more information.
A stand by Scarey Knights, based in Plymouth was helping to raise awareness of their Cosplay events that they run for various charities throughout the county. Find out more about them by searching ‘scary knights’ on facebook. It looked like they were having a lot of fun.
Even if you only have a vague interest in superheroes like Spiderman or Iron Man, fantasy like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones, the horror genre like The Walking Dead, anime characters like Pokêmon or Ghost in the Shell or just fancy going to see something a bit different, I recommend you go!
To find out more visit: www.showmastersevents.com/exeter/ and make a date in your diary for next year as it is well worth a visit.
Sean Constable