More than 1,000 fans of sci-fi, superheroes and gaming enjoy popular Spalding Comicon
Crazy characters and memorable monsters packed out a comicon event this weekend.
Around 1,200 fans of sci-fi, superheroes and slams made their way to Spalding’s Springfields Exhibition Centre for Saturday’s bumper event.
Among the highlights were Doctor Who stars Colin Baker, Nicola Bryant, Sophie Aldred and Ross Mullan meeting fans and taking part in a Q&A session, while guests included Star Wars actors and Hattie Hayridge, best known for playing Holly in Red Dwarf.
Grapplers on the Falling Starr Wrestling roster kept the Spalding Comicon crowd enthralled with some fast and fun bouts throughout the day while former Black Lace singer Dene Michael closed the show by belting out a number of hits.
Cosplayers from Deadpool to Warhammer mingled with the crowds and posed for photos while visitors also got the chance to take selfies with numerous Doctor Who props, Jaws, the Gremlins and even the Ghostbusters mobile.
And if that wasn’t enough, there were plenty of free retro consoles and RPG games to try out as well as the numerous trade stands.
“Everybody seems to have had a good time,” said Adam Landy, who organised the show with wife Mel and King’s Lynn store Retro Retreat.
“From the reports I’ve had, traders made money, people enjoyed meeting the film and TV guests, the wrestling was super popular. I managed to catch what looked like a Royal Rumble at the end of the day, which was fun to watch.
“It went really well.”
The event also looks set to have raised around £400 for the Lincoln-based Pilgrim School, which provides education to pupils who are not able to access their mainstream school due to illness.
Adam used the Spalding Comicon’s Facebook page to announce this would be the final comicon he and Mel - who also organised last year’s event at Sutton Bridge - will be staging, allowing them to spend more time with daughter Grace.
“As some know, our daughter is chronically ill and we need to devote all our attention to her,” he wrote.
“These events take an enormous amount of organising, and it has taken its toll on both our health, along with Jason, too.”
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the end of comicons in the area.
“It’s not to say there won’t ever be another comicon is Spalding as there are other organisers locally, and now they’ve seen how much you can cram into that venue, there might be a bit of interest in continuing it,” Adam added.
“But for Mel and I we need to refocus ourselves on Grace and our family lives.
“Spalding can definitely facilitate events like this and that venue is probably one of the best comicon venues. Mel and I have been to a lot of comicons across the country and that’s one of the best venues available.
“It’s definitely got the capacity to do it and there are bits and pieces that are done in and around Lincolnshire but they’re smaller events. I’m not being dismissive of those, it’s all dependent of the scale of venue you’ve got.”
However, Adam and Mel can bow out with a sense of achievement after putting together a second popular show.
“The really great thing is the connections between the people that attend. I’ve seen so many people adding each other on Facebook, there are people exchanging social media connections,” he continued.
“It’s brilliant to see people from all over the area make friends they didn’t think they were going to find, who have these common interests.
“We’re immensely proud of the show we put on and that everyone enjoyed it. We are really pleased with what we achieved.”
