All images courtesy of L.C. Longo

 

MCM Expo, was held recently on October 28-30th, now 50,000+ people strong, is one of London’s fastest growing ‘Geek’ conventions. Special guests from shows such as Torchwood, Doctor Who, Warehouse 13, A Town Called Eureka and Sanctuary; leading comic creators and authors like Gail Simone, Peter F. Hamilton, and Rufus Dayglo; games publishers including WB Games, Nintendo, Namco, Capcom, Ubisoft and Square Enix; and web series creators and all around nerd folk heroes Rooster Teeth, were all in attendance at this, their biggest London Comic Con. Along with Memorabilia London, MCM’s new sister show, fans of all things geek were treated to three days nonstop entertainment.

 

There was an obvious improvement on the quality level of cosplay this time around, (The VSS steampunk stall only counted 4 cardboard boxes with legs) with 24 countries competing in the finals of the EuroCosplay Championships. Stalls sporting everything from manga and anime to cosplay costumes and even a large stall dedicated to American candy, (I walked away with 4 boxes of Lucky Charms), competed with bakers selling neon colored cupcakes, BJD stalls, and memorabilia traders.

Again MCM expo invited the VSS (Victorian Steampunk Society) to display some of their best works by leading steampunk makers and artists in the UK, and to facilitate an open paneled discussion about steampunk on both Saturday and Sunday. Many of the works on display at our stall had recently been part of the Great Steampunk Expo, first in Oxford, then at Kew Bridge Steam Museum as well as being displayed at The Asylum event in Lincoln the month before. The previous publicity drummed up by these events helped bring a large number of people to the stall in hopes of seeing some of the work first hand. With three days in front of us, set up began three hours before opening on Friday. Mr. Kit Cox, better known as Jack Union to his online blog followers and Ms. Jema Hewitt aka Ms. Emilly Ladybird, queen of the crafting world and recent interview subject here at Steampunk Chronicle, along with Author Jonathan Green of the Pax Britannia series; Vincent Shaw-Morton, artist and illustrator; Herr Döktor, Mr. Ian Crichton, and many more splendid people insured a well stocked stall and a large fan turnout. Geof Banyard, of The Island of Doctor Geof, helped to carry the sepia flag over in the Comic Village armed to the teeth with naughty Kraken mugs and copies of the Steampunk Literary Review. With copies of the book Tales from the Asylum, and it’s follow up Beyond the Asylum flying off the shelves word got around pretty fast that we were about and at its height on Saturday the queue to see the stall was at least five rows deep. As always the Steampunk panel discussion was very popular with new and old faces joining the crowd and lots of banter between panelists and audience.

 

Cake is always plentiful at the VSS stall, with people often bringing some of their own baked goods to share. Strong tea, served picnic style all day, on bone china creates a welcoming atmosphere for traders and visitors alike. This was my second MCM Expo and once again there was a very positive reaction to steampunk and a large amount of steampunk cosplay in attendance. One of the best things about working a convention has to be seeing the excitement on a ‘new’ steampunker's face when they realize that they can stay and talk to us for a while or when they see that object in the photo they have saved on their computer desktop in person, are allowed to handle it, and ask the creator exactly what bits were used. The expo is also a great opportunity to take time to converse with people you wouldn’t normally get to speak to, from all walks of fandom, with the levels of conversation sometimes reaching the philosophical.

 

Many will say that conventions are a trial by fire, tiring and labor intensive, and by the end of Sunday one is ready to put on your slippers and sleep until spring. While this might be true, I seldom enjoy myself as much as when I am working the VSS stall at MCM. Spreading the good word of steampunk to the masses, introducing it to new fans and even sharing ideas with old fans brings out a community spirit and a certain level of personal satisfaction. This feeling of mutual comradery is one of the many things that makes MCM a great event for steampunks and geeks alike.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special UK Correspondent L.C. Longo has been described as a force of nature unto herself, an enigma of both time and space, a hero of the dance floor and a time bandit of noted distinction. Currently residing just outside of Central London after permanently moving over from Pennsylvania in 2005, Ms. Longo makes it her business to have as much fun as is humanly possible. Working by day for the British government, by night she can be found at any sort of party provided they are serving gin... and cake. Flying the sepia flag for lovers of the post apocalyptic aesthetic, she has been known to roll a multi-sided dice from time to time and keeps a zombie survival guide by her bedside with notes in the margins. Leanna is available for parties and weddings and enjoys nothing more than meeting new steampunks and listening to their ideas. Knowledge is power, and each steampunk has something wonderful to bring to the table. Her favourite book is The Lies of Locke Lamora, she enjoys moon lit walks at night on the beach, laughing at herself and not taking life too seriously.

 

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