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MCM London Comic Con Starts Tomorrow… Or Tonight

MCM London Comic Con Starts Tomorrow... Or Tonight. Will you be going? If not Bleeding Cool will do our best to be there for you...

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Article Summary

  • MCM London Comic Con begins tomorrow at ExCeL, with tonight’s creator and publisher gatherings kicking things off early.
  • The 2026 show promises major comics coverage, trade day buzz, surprise announcements, and a packed weekend at MCM London.
  • ComicsPRO returns on Friday with Kevin Eastman, retailer programming, networking, and industry panels at MCM Comic Con.
  • MCM London Comic Con features top comics guests, creator spotlights, workshops, signings, and comics-related panels all weekend.

Tomorrow sees MCM London Comic Con kick off over at the London ExCel, the longest continually running comic book convention in the UK, the largest comic con in the UK and now, remarkably, having more comic book content than ever before.

Blacks, Private Members Club of London's Comics Scene, Closes For Now
Blurry, late night comics gathering before a previous MCM London Comic Con

And while it starts tomorrow, the comic book creator/publisher/editor/distributor/retailer party starts tonight, a random pub in a random part of London, conveniently on the Elizabeth Line that now joins Heathrow airport to the London ExCel, through the centre of the city. Visitors coming into Heathrow are encouraged to use that line, it's a 40-minute journey through central London for a fraction of the cost – and time – of a taxi. And if you also want, you can stop off at Paddington, Oxford Street, or Whitechapel on the way for your bear, shopping, and serial-killing impulses. I do recall having a major comic book executive once called me, stuck in a cab in Clapham two hours in, asking me if I was sure that this convention was actually in London. It is, it's in the revitalised Docklands on the East side of London and believe you me, it is now a lot more accessible than it was when I took my kids when they were toddlers. They now take their friends, experts in the ways of MCM.

MCM London Comic Con
MCM ComicsPRO/Rich Johnston

Tomorrow also sees the trade day of the show, ComicsPRO flying in and this time bringing Kevin Eastman, which is guaranteed to make their event a lot more popular than last year's, isn't that right, Dave Elliot? Hopefully I'll be able to get in. But there are many comic book creators flying in from Europe and the USA, and tonight I'll hopefully be hosting a bunch of them. And you never know, maybe at the show I'll be dragged on stage to interview someone…

When I Was Called On To Moderate Chip Zdarsky Panel At MCM Comic Con
Photo from Neil Gibson

And, as comic book publisher solicits and solicitations will be dropping all over the place, I am being briefed that there will be announcements aplenty. I will be at the show all three days and four nights, bringing all the comic book content to Bleeding Cool readers that I can. Maybe a little cosplay. If you are at the show and want to say hi or reach out, please do. It's one of my favourite parts of the show, connecting with readers. Never feel that you might be interrupting anything, even if I'm talking to Kevin Eastman. He can wait….

MCM London Comic Con Comics-Related Panels & Events

Comics Guests

Alan Quah, Alison Sampson, Anand RK, Andrew Lee Griffith, Babs Tarr, Becky Cloonan, Ben Oliver, Bjorn Barends, Carola Borelli, Caspar Wijngaard, Christian Ward, David Leach, David López, Declan Shalvey, Derek Kirk Kim, Eren Angiolini, Ethan Sacks, Gustaffo Vargas, Humberto Ramos, Jacob Phillips, JAKEDetonator, Jock, Joe Kelly, John J. Pearson, Joëlle Jones, Kevin Eastman, Laura Howell, Lee Garbett, LisaBaggy, Marc Laming, Martin Simmonds, Michael W. Conrad, Nigel Parkinson, Pepe Larraz, Phoebe Hedges, Rachael Smith, Simon Birks, Steve Tanner, Tula Lotay, ZombieOctopus

Professional Programming, Friday

ComicsPRO ICC Capital Room 2

  • 10.00 – Opening Welcome
  • 10:30 – Eastman Q&A
  • 11:10 – Eastman Signing
  • 12.00– Break
  • 12:10 – Growing Readership: Finding and Converting New and Young Readers
  • 13:10 – Stocking Your Shelves Beyond the Big Two
  • 14:10 – Networking
  • 14:45 – Rebellion presentation
  • 15:20 – Employee Development: Training Your Employees for Their Future and Yours

Popcultr Marketing  Summit – The Fandom Advantage, aimed at "any marketers or comms professionals who have an interest in pop culture marketing or how to connect to audiences or consumers in the worlds of pop culture or pop culture fandom" in the ICC Capital Suite – Room 3

  • 9:00 Doors Open & Registration
  • 10:15 The Data Drop, Chris Whittle
  •  10:30 Keynote #1 (TBA)
  • 11:00 Fandom Fluency Panel
  • 11:30 Morning Break
  • 11:45 The Popcultr Edit Panel, Recurring format
  • 12:15 Reading The Room Panel
  • 12:45 The Dark Arts Panel, Sponsorship available
  • 13:15 Lunch, MCM Exploration & Networking
  • 14:15 The Tabletop Renaissance Panel
  • 14:45 Lost In Translation Panel
  • 15:15 Afternoon Break
  • 15:30 Culture Shock Panel
  • 16:00 Closing Session (TBA)
  • 16:30 Closing Remarks
  • 17:30 Networking Drinks

Indie Games Summit hosted by Game Republic in ICC Capital Suite – Room 1.

  • 12:30 – Welcome to the Indie Games Summit!
  • 12:35 – Keynote: James Schall, Co-Founder, Secret Mode interviewed by Chris Dring, Editor-in-Chief, The Game Business
  • 13:30– Funding Options for Game Developers with Oliver Jenkinson, Co-Founder, Finstock Capital
  • 14:00 – Super Rare Games: Why Physical Media Isn't Dying
    George Perkins, Head of Doing Stuff, Super Rare Games
  • 14:30PM – The Games Investment Panel – hosted by Jon Hicks, Editorial Director, GamesIndustry.biz withNick Button-Brown, Founder, The Games Angels, HaZ Dulull, Founder, Beyond the Pixels, Dr Gina Jackson OBE, Co-Founder, Pitchify, Sarah Burns, Head of Production & Operations, Marvelous Europe Ltd
  • 15:30 – BFI session with Chris Filip, International Business Development Fund Manager, UK Global Screen Fund
    16:00P – Xsolla Partner Network Session
    16.30 – TikTok for Indie Games by Molly Holmes, Social Media Manager, Panda Cat Games

 

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Rich JohnstonAbout Rich Johnston

Founder of Bleeding Cool. The longest-serving digital news reporter in the world, since 1992. Author of comic books The Flying Friar, Holed Up, The Avengefuls, Doctor Who: Room With A Deja Vu, The Many Murders Of Miss Cranbourne and Chase Variant. Lives in South-West London, works from The Union Club on Greek Street, shops at Gosh, Piranha and Forbidden Planet. Father of two daughters, Amazon associate, political cartoonist.
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