Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Rebellion / 2000AD | Tagged: chip zdarsky, mcm, neil gibson, Richard Morgan, twisted dark

Oh No! I Was Called On To Run The Chip Zdarsky Panel At MCM Comic Con!

When I was called upon to moderate the Chip Zdarsky panel at MCM London Comic Con ten seconds before it began

MCM London Comic Con, organised by ReedPOP, took place this past weekend at London's ExCel Centre. Look, it even made the Guardian features page. Sadly, my own zombie eye cosplay was not considered photogenic enough to make the grade. Nor did this year's Artists Alley, bigger than ever before, though speaking with certain vendors, I discovered that this was more a result of a cockup than a deliberate decision. Apparently, new organisers of the Artists Alley had ignored, lost or missed out a swathe of comics and art creators, and when regulars suddenly discovered they were not on the list for the October 2025 show, they had enough contacts to lift their complaints higher within the organisers, suddenly the Arists Alley space was massively increased, apologies were sent out, alongside some select offers of free or discounted tables. It looks like everyone was happy with the result, and I'm hoping lessons were learned – and that maybe Artists Alley will retain its newfound size.

The show at ExCel features huge panel halls where you can see panels for The Boys, Rick and Morty, or Hazbin Hotel, with large numbers of talent on stage. And then there was the Artist's Alley stage, which is open to all passersby, with no control over sound, which can sometimes be a nightmare, but also allows onlookers to be intrigued by the content and then take a seat. As I did on the Saturday when Steve McNiven was talking about his work and his career. I then came to the Chip Zdarsky in the same place… but sadly, the moderator had gotten the time wrong. So Chip grabbed me from the audience and asked if I would interview him on stage instead. Um… okay. I've known him on and off since the Warren Ellis Forum, so I dived in. In addition to learning about his inner psyche, we also discovered that Chip has some unannounced Marvel comics and will be publishing a collection of his ZCN news magazine, which earned him a nomination for an Eisner this year. The actual moderator turned up at the very end. Well, everyone's time schedule was up in the air as the clocks went back on Saturday night. Hey ReedPOP, I won't be billing you, but I'd appreciate consideration for future events, maybe? Smiley face…

Also at the show was Rebellion/2000AD, offering an unannounced and unadvertised experience as part of an experiment to see what sold the most when they didn't send the word out to 2000AD fans. Turns out, Rogue Trooper and Big Ass Sword by Andreas Butzbach. Someone still brought them a Dredd fish though….

Panini, who has the Marvel UK license, was selling a lot of Jeff the Shark. A little card POS standee helped, but especially with the Marvel Rivals appeal of EGX being part of MCM, it sold very well, as did Pat Mills' Requiem.

Diamond UK staffers were running the Kodansha stand, emphasising a strong relationship with the two, on a weekend when the new owners of Diamond UK introduced themselves to the retailers, as one of the new owners made his very first visit to any comic con, after twenty years working in the Diamond warehouse. And was having a great time!

Neil Gibson's Twisted Comics debuted a new virtual reality comic book reader, which not only gives you a comic book to read, floating in front of you, but also builds an interactive environment around you, reflecting details of the comic book as it plays out, and you can wander through it, returning to the page. These are the folks with the Black Mirror comic book license folks, it may have infected them more than we realised.

Interesting debuts at MCM London Comic Con were Lost In Town, a new monthly film noir comic book series, launched by the Lost in Town Brewery to reflect the beers that they are putting out, written by the founders of the comic book. Comics and beer do mix rather well, as long as it's not literally. No one wants to mop up a spillage with today's more glossy paper.

As well as Hamiverse, which seems to be a comic book, an animated series with big-time props, dedicated cosplayers and more, to launch the first two issues of their series.

Comic book chain Travelling Man really stepped up with a booth that was more like a bookshop just dropped in the middle of the con, with four walls and suddenly you were in a differengt world…

Richard Morgan may be poised to become the new Mark Spears with his comic book series, Blam And Glam, which boasts a wealth of content and is seeking a reputable publisher to bring his fully painted, shlocky action comic to life. Image? Dynamite? Boom? Titan? IDW? Dark Horse? Someone should be beating a path to his door…

Oh, and after interviewing a couple of Ghosts, Martha Howe-Douglas and Lawrence Rickard, I did a very unprofessional thing and grabbed a selfie to enrage my daughters. It worked! Expect many of these snippets to emerge as fully fledged Bleeding Cool articles in the next few days as I review all my notes… but for now, here are some more photos of what went down.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!