Wales Comic Con returned to the vast halls of the Telford International Center over the weekend of 20th and 21st November, and Fantha Tracks members Mark Newbold and Carl Bayliss were there to enjoy the day and chat with a grand army of Star Wars guests who were attending the show. With an extra hall employed to allow for more space – a safety conscious decision very welcome in these still cautious times – there was plenty of room to walk, chat, take in the stalls and check out the cosplay and guests as the day rolled on. Indeed, Wales Comic Con 2021 had one of the most welcoming, vibrant convention atmospheres for a long time – finally, after so long waiting for geekdom to return to ‘normal’, WCC 2021 felt something like that.
Mark Newbold: The tall ceilings of the Telford International Center loomed over proceedings, and as the images taken by Carl and myself show there were plenty of folks at the show, but also a good amount of room to roam. Dealers packed the center of the halls, a plethora of items available to peruse and purchase, including some stunning artwork from independent artists and folks like official Topps artist Jay Manchand, who you’ll be able to hear on an upcoming episode of Making Tracks.
Carl Bayliss: Having been to the last pre-COVID ‘Wales Comic Con – Telford Takeover’ I was really looking forward to this one, and it was a great return to form. Spread over 3 ‘halls’ within the fantastic Telford International Centre there was lots to see and do (and buy!!!!) and loads of guests, for the most part grouped into their ‘franchise’ (so a Doctor Who section, a Star Wars section an so on). This latter point may seem a simple thing, but not all conventions group guests like this, but it makes sense especially for fans of a particular franchise who don’t have to go off searching for each guest. As you can see from the pictures, the halls were well spaced out, and meant that even at it’s busiest it didn’t feel over-crowded. Some of the artwork on show was amazing, from both new names to me and some of our old friends such as Jay Manchand and Gavin Lee-Pate (aka The Retro Draughtsman) – interviews with both will be coming to a podcast near you soon!
Mark Newbold: As ever, the UK Garrison were present, giving fans of the saga and casual passers-by the chance to be photographed with a slew of characters from the GFFA. Here, I took a shot of Carl as he in turn photographed one of the Biker Scouts (who was clearly looking for their Speeder Bike).
Carl Bayliss: One of the great things about the show was the photo opportunities for fans of all ages, as can be seen from the pictures below. And whilst there were cosplayers in attendance, it seemed less of the focus of the convention and therefore allowed you to move around without photobombing people every third step.
Mark Newbold: We were hugely fortunate to be allowed the opportunity to chat to many of the Star Wars guests, and while we didn’t manage to catch up with Ian McDiarmid (you’ll have to grab issue 200 of Star Wars Insider for my most recent chat with him) there were an awesome array of fellow GFFA-ers, including Denis Lawson. He’s a rare guest, and we were lucky (cheeky) enough to be able to grab him for a few minutes to discuss life, Holby, work and Wedge, which you can hear in episode 116 of Making Tracks.
Carl Bayliss: As our focus was obviously the Star Wars guests, it was great to see so many enjoying being back out and meeting fans again. We were lucky enough to speak to almost everyone, so a huge thank you to them for taking time out and sharing their thoughts on life, lockdown and the future. Even if you have autographs (or don’t collect them), speaking to these people who brought the GFFA to life is always wonderful and providing you’re not holding up a queue of eager autograph hunters they’re usually happy to chat to fans.
Carl Bayliss: Acting as ‘wingman’ and photographer for the interviews is always fun, and I really enjoy catching up with some of the guests who we may have spoken to several times before, but finding out about new projects, if they’re allowed to mention them!
Mark Newbold: Here in the UK we really are fortunate to have so many creatives from the film on hand to attend shows across the country. This weekend saw a hugely impressive amount of guests hit LFCC, and here in Wales we were able to see Ian Whyte, Garrick Hagon, Robert Watts, John Morton, Denis Lawson, Angus MacInnes, Mike Quinn, Brian Herring and Caroline Blakiston, many of whom you’ll be hearing on Making Tracks in the run up to Christmas.
Carl Bayliss: Another great weekend for fans of ‘geek’ culture, and lovely to see fans and guests alike supporting events again – long may it continue. With only a couple more events on my calendar this year it’s great to see confidence returning ahead of a hopefully more normal year in 2022. And if you see us out and about, please say hello. We’re always happy to chat to fans about all things Star Wars and most of us don’t bite!
Mark Newbold: All in all a great day out, not only for the fans who were clearly enjoying themselves but also the guests who all seemed genuinely relieved to be back on the convention trail chatting with fans of the saga and their wider careers. With Farthest From weekend being the final major event of the Star Wars convention calendar here in the UK, we can run our hands in anticipation and look forward to many more days like this as 2022 – a Celebration year don’t forget – rolls around.
- Hardcover Book
- Johnston, E.K. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 288 Pages - 04/05/2022 (Publication Date) - Random House/Star Wars (Publisher)
