Incredible Collectormania!

Ghostbusting charity fundraisers. Photo courtesy of Rob Tysal Pro Photography.

Showmaster’s Collectormania was back at Milton Keynes Centre:mk for three days at the end of May, drawing in huge crowds, and attracting stallholders from all over the country. The show was held over the weekend of Friday 29 to Sunday 31 May with free admittance.

Centre:mk in Milton Keynes was an ideal place to hold this Comic Con event as it already had a bustling footfall with all the local shoppers and visitors to this massive indoor complex. The shopping centre is over half a mile long and attracts over 30 million people a year. It has more than 150 stores and a good mix of restaurants and cafes. There’s also convenient parking but beware of restricted parking areas which in my experience weren’t clearly marked.

All kinds of merchandise to browse and buy. Photo by Rob Tysall Pro Photography.

Hundreds of trade stands selling all kinds of collectable merchandise filed up the large open spaces between the blocks of shops in the complex. The entire area became a hive of activity with regular shoppers experiencing a comic con event perhaps for the first time, which of course meant chancing upon a line-up of celebrities from film and TV sitting at their tables and meeting fans. Amongst them were Brian Blessed, Lesley Ash, Mathew Horne, Colin Baker, Kenneth Cranham, Varanda Sethu, Martine Beswick, Sue Hodge, and many others. For a fee you could have your photograph taken with these stars or get their autographs.

Writer of this article Ann, with Minion friends. Photo by Rob Tysall Pro Photography.

Comic Con events are famous for their Cosplay which is always fun to see as people dress up as their favourite character; and while there didn’t seem to be that many people dressed up as I’ve seen at other shows, the halls were crowded and the atmosphere was good with traders seeming pleased with how the event was going.

The trade stands certainly brought the unusual to Milton Keynes with a wealth of film and TV memorabilia, toys, figures, fantasy, sci-fi, comics, books, original artwork, prints, badges, jewellery, gemstones, t-shirts, autographs, lots of Manga, Pokémon and Pop collectables, which are very popular amongst the younger generation. In fact, it seemed to me that the people who did dress up in their Cosplay costumes were Manga comic book characters.

Paul and Olgar Jones from Oxford. Photo by Rob Tysall Pro Photography.

Exploring the hundreds of stands, it soon became apparent that many traders were offering Mystery Bags – that is, carrier bags with a set price, which seemed to range from £5 to £25. So the customer doesn’t know what they’ll get until they’ve bought it.  We were given a glimpse inside one of the carrier bags selling for £25 and discovered about £40 worth of collectables inside. The dealer commented on how popular these Mystery Bags were.

Mystery bags were very popular. Photo by Rob Tysall Pro Photography.

We stopped to talk to a number of the stallholders, Ian Lilley being one, who had a huge stand but said that this was just about one percent of the stock he has. He had come down from Blackpool where he has a shop. Quite unusual these days, with most people selling on-line.

Sue and Mark Autographs stand had a wide range of autographed photographs, many framed and so making really nice items to add to a collection. With some autographs fetching up to £600, Mark commented that collectors will pay these prices if it’s an autograph they really want in their collection, or if it’s a gift for someone.

Mark's Autograph stand. Photo by Rob Tysall Pro Photography

If you were after a new T-shirt with a unique illustration and slogan there was plenty of choice at Doria and Jackson of Nottingham’s stand, who design and print their t-shirts and other items such as coasters and mugs.

A real-life actress was on nearby stand, TT3D, Danni and her husband Matt, who design and make a wide range of sci fi and fantasy collectables such as weapons and emblems using 3D printing methods.

Danni and Matt of TT3D Printing. Photo by Rob Tysall Pro Photography.

It didn’t seem out of place to come across Beauty and the Beast – alias Lisa and Wolf. They were raising money for Make A Smile – a charity that focuses on supporting children with illness or disability through visits to hospital, care centres and virtual visits online as their favourite character.

Lisa and Wolf of Make A Smile. Photo by Rob Tysall Pro Photography.

There were a variety of props, famous cars such as the De Lorean from Back to the Future and a Pokemon car also a Tardis and Minions, and Slimer from Ghostbusters - all offering photography opportunities for visitors. And as if it had been planned, a group of Ghostbusters from Buckinghamshire just happened to be passing as we see in first photo.

All in all, an excellent show. To discover future Comic Con events, visit: https://www.showmastersevents.com/