Games industry giants crash into Manchester Central for Comic Convention

By Liam Barnes

A leading comic convention is coming to Manchester for the first time.

The MCM Expo Manchester Comic Con will roll into Manchester Central (formerly G-Mex) on July 30, bringing together fans of comics, sci-fi, movies, computer games and anime under one roof.

Award-winning comic creators such as Antony Johnson, Al Davison, Leigh Gallagher, Marc Ellerby and Judge Dredd and Hitman deviser John McCrea will feature, alongside many other artists and writers.

Warwick Davis, a veteran of the Star Wars and Harry Potter series, as well as the star of forthcoming Ricky Gervais sitcom Life’s Too Short, will also be making an appearance, as will Red Dwarf veteran and Coronation Street actor Craig Charles.

Games industry giants Nintendo, Namco and THQ will all be previewing new material, such as Namco’s new title ‘Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon’ and THQ’s eagerly-anticipated Warhammer 40,000:Space Marines.

However, it’s not just comic book writers and sci-fi scions appearing: the broad reach of the event will also see legendary footballers such as Bryan Robson, Denis Law, Dennis Tueart and Peter Barnes signing autographs for United and City fans respectively.

“Quite a lot of people who come down to London said they would like something more northern,” said MCM Expo’s David Axbey.

He added: “We’re really stoked – we’ve had a big response and from the numbers of early entry tickets it’s looking like it’s going to be well attended.”

Manchester’s sci-fi community and shops in the Northern Quarter were quick to praise the convention.

Travelling Man’s Abby Ryder, who will be hosting a table in the comics village, said: “It’s hard to judge how it’ll affect business as we’ve not had a lot of events in Manchester, but we’re pretty excited about the Expo.”

Ken Sampson, from nearby Cineheroes, agreed, revealing that the comic and retro shop was recently visited by Mark Frost, the actor playing The Joker in stage show Batman Live showing at the MEN Arena until Sunday.

“The convention and show will help to boost the shop’s profile,” said Ken. “We’ll have a couple more people pop in.”

Gaming central Fanboy’s Phil Freedman was more cautious however, saying: “We kind of get ancillary business from these big companies, but big films like Captain America help us more. We look forward to it.”

Adult tickets are £5, with child tickets (11-14-year-olds) £3 and children under 11 allowed in free.

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