A couple of weekends ago, my daughter and I attended out first Devon Comic Con. Now, this wasn't our first rodeo as regards Comic Cons; my daughter has attended two Tonbridge Comic Cons whilst I attended a few in London, but neither of us has attended one in quite a while.
My daughter was very excited as it was the first Comic Con she was attending where she would be wearing a costume and possibly recognise some of the shows and media represented.
We left on a sunny Sunday morning and had a short 20 minute drive to the Westpoint Centre in Exeter. When we got there, the parking assistants guided our vehicles to allocated spaces, it was all extremely smooth.
We then headed down to the centre and saw lots of stalls selling all manner of geeky goods at a fair price including anime, manga, video games, clothing, bags and Marvel and DC comics. There were a few celebrities doing signings and photos including Sylvester McCoy, Hattie Hayridge (Holly from Red Dwarf) and a few from some other shows which I don't watch.
There were lots of people dressed up, representing various fandoms and the atmosphere overall was great. Loads of adults and children took the opportunity to let their inner geek out. My 7 year old daughter loved the appreciative comments from people about her Ms. Marvel costume and we had a few conversations with random people talking about the show, comics and Partition. I've always said that representation matters and it was heartening to meet people and chat about our respective cosplays. I also wore my Ms. Marvel t-shirt and red shemagh scarf so my daughter and I looked like a team.
Dotted around the hall were lots of items and photo opportunity pieces of memorabilia which you could snap away at. My daughter and I met the Daleks and a Warhammer robot thingy and we saw a replica of the Batmobile and the Stranger Things set.
I've attended quite a few Cons but this was my first Exeter Comic Con. I like how it was well organised with stalls separated well so you could walk around without fear of a bottleneck. The cafe was reasonably priced whilst the food market outside was calm and had lots of seating.
All in all, this was a great Con and, whilst not as expansive or impressive as its London counterpart, it was a worthwhile experinece and highly recommended for its inclusivity and family-friendly atmosphere.
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