Portsmouth Comic Con 2019: The Voyage Home

Now we've had a chance to settle back into reality following our second visit to Portsmouth Comic Con, here are some thoughts on last weekend's events...

Jo S: For last year's Portsmouth Comic Con, the PCG crew arrived a little later, some of us having opted to hang out at Paradox Comics for at least part of FCBD, and so turning up this time to find a huge queue snaking around the Guildhall, down one side of the street and back up the other side, was a little daunting! The con has certainly grown from last year's maiden event but, once we'd made it to the front and got inside, it was evident that the team had clearly got it covered in terms of capacity - the whole event was lively and busy without feeling crammed. For me, much of Saturday was about cosplay - I've never done it before but crushing my anxieties and throwing myself into it with gusto rewarded me with a brilliant day, meeting lots of lovely, supportive, positive people. Portsmouth really seems to have got this balance spot on: the event has a great mixture of family fun (The tiny Thors! The little Supergirls!) alongside more intense comics experiences, with panels that had me rapt and ample vendor tables with rows of comic boxes to rummage.

My top finds of the weekend included the second volume of The Ultimates, David Mack's Daredevil: Vision Quest run and, to my delight, a long sought-after Marvel 'Tails' - the first appearance of Spider-Ham. My favourite image of the weekend is probably one taken from the gallery during Roy Thomas' panel; the PCG team, including Wonder Woman in full gear, all listening intently as a man with decades of influence on the comics world chuckles as he reminisces. Ah, comics!

The Road To Portsmouth Comic Con 2019

It's the second Portsmouth Comic Con this weekend, and it will be the PCG's second visit. Here are our pre-con musings...

Matt C: It was abundantly clear when Portsmouth Comic Con made its debut in 2018 that it wasn't some sort of Johnny-come-lately attempting to cash in on the popularity of comic book culture in the modern world. With Tripwire magazine co-founder Joel Meadows as one the organisers, it had some real clout behind it, and saw the likes of Walt & Louise Simonson, Frank Quitely and Sean Phillips making appearances, the emphasis being on actual comics rather than the film and TV focus that many so-called 'comic cons' specialise in.

Portsmouth Comic Con 2018: The Voyage Home

Now we've had a chance to settle back into reality following our first visit to Portsmouth Comic Con, here are some thoughts on last weekend's events...

Jo S: So the dust is settling on one of those crazy bank holiday weeks where you try to fit five days' work into four. I'm battling the long-lasting effects of the kind of night out on the town which brings out the Murtagh in me - I am definitely too old for this sh!t - but my feelings toward the reason for my current levels of middle-aged frazzledness remain warm.

Portsmouth Comic Con was almost all I'd hoped for and added a few extra delights I totally hadn't expected. There were lots of highlights for me: the panels I attended were fascinating; I caught Sean Phillips, Lawrence Campbell and Frank Quitely (confusingly called Vince IRL - I learned that artists also have 'noms de plume'!) talking about the relationship between a writer and an artist, and gained an inkling of how varied that relationship can be, and how oddly distant in some ways. Seeing a group of artists talk about drawing Batman had me gripped too: it's very hard to imagine how one goes about making a literal icon your own.

The Road To Portsmouth Comic Con 2018

Matt C: Ever since Bristol Comic Expo ceased being a regular fixture on the calendar, the PCG have continued to seek out a replacement. For most of us, it was our first con, and back towards the beginning of the century it was the only major comic convention in the country. A lot has changed since then; comics are now a far more dominant force in popular culture, and there's not a weekend that goes by without some convention or other taking place somewhere in the British Isles (although far too many use the words 'comic con' with only a cursory nod towards actual comics, if that).

Time and location are important factors for us to consider (Thought Bubble remains an elusive possibility to most of us), and for a few years we were fixed upon our beloved Melksham Comic Con, a low key affair for sure, but one with tremendous heart and affection, coupled with a welcoming, inclusive spirit. That is no more, and something like London Super Comic Con - which has plenty of merchandise on offer, along with a decent showing of guests - lacks the kind of atmosphere we're looking for.

And now Portsmouth Comic Con has sprung up, seemingly out of nowhere, with an eye-popping guestlist and - hooray! - it's just an hour's drive away!

How could we resist?