Akroview

I am so happy that DCC is back in Dublin, it is genuinely one of the only conventions in the country that I get excited for. Why? Well I can’t really pick a single point to convey my admiration, but I can pick around 10! And I’m going to go through it all in this review, so pop your butt on the floor, lay your props beside you and enjoy the review!

Popularity wise, it was very hard to judge. Conventions are usually packed to the brim like some sort of nerdy sardine tin left in the desert. But DCC this year wasn’t like that, yes there were crowds, but there was no massive jams or hold ups in the trade hall or surrounding areas. This was a problem that I remember was brought up during one of the previous years and it was resolved this year by using all the floors in the convention center. Each floor was different and the space was amazing, there was always a place to sit, a place to get away from the crowds and a place to get a range of food and drink. But the added floors for space and escape was not good enough for the organizers, they wanted to have even more private space for families and kids who may have difficulty with any sort of big crowds, so they implemented quiet safe rooms around the con floor where you could get away from it all in a quiet low lit room and just unwind. Amazing idea, and one of the biggest changes in my opinion to the convention.

Plenty of panels and Q&As were held in the awesome auditorium that the center provided, one of the best panel room I think I have ever seen and literally one of the most comfortable experiences of my life. While I didn’t get to attend all the panels due to other arrangements with various con goers, I did go out of my way to ask the good folk their honest opinion of the panels and literally none of them had anything bad to say, am I surprised? Not one bit. I did however get the tail end of Marina Sirtis’ panel, and I ain’t gonna lie, I was kinda shocked by it, for a person who quotes at the end of every panel she does “respect your fans, don’t diss them, they made you who you are” , she put down her fans multiple times, mocking their speech and even their appearance, also calling attendees who walked in to get seats for the following performance as “ingrates” for not going to her panel. While this could have been some from of “humor” I certainly didn’t laugh at it, and it was the most unprofessional Q&A that I’ve been to for sure. But enough sad stuff, lets talk about everyone’s favorite little bounty hunter and the cosplay competition shall we?!

The cosplay competition featured everyone from the ages of 3 all the way to adults and it was on of the most entertaining masquerades I’ve been too. Not only was I glued to the stage by the excellent presenting by the Pubcast guys, but the sheer range and determination by the cosplayers was awe inspiring, and the little performances that were done by some of them were delightful. And to those who just got up, waved and walked off as quick as you could, I respect you even more, it is super tough to wear a costume out to a con, but you had the bravery and the courage to get up in front of a lot of people and you nailed it. So whether or not you got a prize, you all deserved a massive round of applause! *claps*

Guests were in abundance this year, but c’mon, what did you expect from Dublin Comic Con, they always deliver on amazing guests, but what I love about DCC more than any other convention is that they bring guests that are…unconventional….see what i did there!? For example, one of the guests that I was dying to meet was Laurence R Harvey, who might he be, you probably might know him for his role in the Human Centipede 2. While that may not appeal to the majority of the attendees, horror fans like myself and others will love to get the chance to see someone like this, and its only at DCC where I’ve felt this (Screamvention is an exclusion since that was purely horror themed.)

There was the return of the Dark Knight himself Kevin Conroy whose line never ended, but was held together pretty well by the volunteers. The Mountain from Game of Thrones was present too alongside some of the Direwolves from the show, and if I had a euro for every little girl (and boy) who walked away from the puppers in tears of cuteness then I would never have to work a day in my life again! John Wesley Shipp, aka Barry Allen, aka The Flash was in attendance and gave the fans the time of their life, he was in high demand for photos and autographs but he did it all with a smile on his face and he took the time to talk with fans and not just grab their money and hope they’d be gone…in a flash! (Ok I’ll stop now!) Joe Pantoliano was another guest that I was shocked to see but once again, it goes to show that DCC really delivers for guests that you would never think of getting to see, but all The Matrix and Sopranos fans definitely were happy to meet him!

Literally everywhere I looked on that floor it was just happiness throughout, but the sound of laughter was interrupted by “MY BLOOD IS GASOLINE!!” That must mean the Wasteland Karnival was in town, not a lot can be said about those krazed outlaws and their karnival experience other than it is one of the most anticipated parts of the convention in my eyes. It’s for a great cause and you will be entertained and shocked (I was anyway) by the amount of detail and ingenuity those wastlanders have packed into their little corner of the convention floor. Once you pass the brutes by the door and pay your dues, then its wasteland rules…..and some pretty fun games, Zombie Dice is my arch nemesis!

Gamers were in heaven on the Gaming floor, with every type of game console imaginable being on offer, usually I list all the consoles and games available but I couldn’t get a chance to get in to have a proper look around, it was that popular. Plus I don’t think I had the time to note every single one. But this was mostly handled by the lads over at Pulse College and they did a stunning job setting up the play area and the demo area for the VR experience. Table top gamers had their own room where they could play a host of table top games that were on offer or that they brought themselves, myself and ManinaCan played hosts to a game of Age of Sigmar to a few interested individuals! (Side note, I won! YAY!)

Overall I felt that it was one of the smoothest run DCC’s to date, from the help of the staff and the volunteers, which might I add had some excellent training beforehand, I was granted access to the training and induction day for the DCC volunteers to see the process of selecting and updating the DCC army before the big day. I genuinely was impressed, not one little bit of detail was left out and everything was explained in monumental detail, so all of you involved in the staff and volunteers, you also get a clap! *Dumbledoor Clap*

I’m really looking forward to the “Gamer Expo Ireland” in November after this amazing experience, and I did have a bit more to say about DCC but alas word counts are a booger. I really, really loved this years DCC, it was hectic and busy but you still had the freedom to chill out and take your time, and even use their calm rooms to settle down if needs be. So the biggest Akroview clap goes to all the organizers and the center staff for hosting an amazing event, and also to you for attending and reading this review, we wouldn’t be here without you! Thank you so much! *Shia LaBeouf Clap*

Adam.