Things To Do At Glasgow Comic Con ’16

Posted on June 29, 2016 in GCC 2016

It’s that time of year again. Where Glasgow Comic Con rolls around, and the streets of Glasgow are filled with a million Deadpools and Batmen, and a buzz takes over the city. GCC will be entering it’s 6^th year this year, however, it’s going to be the first in the brand new venue; The Royal Concert Hall! Located in the heart of the city, at the top of Buchanan Street, the convention is set to be the biggest yet! With this in mind, we here at BCP Towers have your back. We’re going to give you our run down of what to do over the convention weekend and things you may have otherwise missed!

Friday Night

Frank Quitely in Conversation with David Aja
Location: CCA 8pm-9pm
Tickets: £8
http://www.cca-glasgow.com/programme/573313039af2fb0a4f00000c

Before the main meal, you always need an entrée, and what better way to start your weekend than getting to hear two industry greats in conversation with each other!

As a closing ceremony to the first ever “9 Panels”, Frank Quitely (All Star Superman, Flex Mentallo, We3, Batman, Jupiter’s Legacy) will be having a sit down and a chat with Comic Con Guest David Aja (Immortal Iron Fist, Hawkeye) about their time in the industry and both their very individual styles.

Super laid back, this is the perfect chance to see two greats up close and personal and the perfect beginning to your convention weekend!

Saturday

Doors open: 10am

First thing that should grab you when you get in the sheer scale in comparison to previous years. With “Artist Alley’s” located down either wing, Strathclyde Hall being where all of your dealers are located, and a room set aside for all of your guests, there’s plenty to navigate yourself round and keep you amused between panels! If I was to offer any advice; it’s get to the creators you want to meet the most early on. Queues can form early and to avoid disappointment you don’t want to be stuck there for hours on end, leaving you with no time to see what the rest of the convention has to offer!

At time of writing, Forbidden Planet are going to have all of your Graphic Novel needs, so if there’s a guest appearing and you want to get one of their books, this is the stall for you. They are located in The Strathclyde Hall, at table numbers S1-S5! While you’re there, you may as well check out our homies over at Bad Guy Brand at table s26, sorting you out with all of your grooming products and smelly stuff. Made in Scotland too!

Panels
All of the panels this year are located in The Music Room and range from what books are launching at Comic Con (10.30), My Comics Playlist, which features Kate Leth and David Aja in conversation with our very own Chris, about the use of music playlists linking to comics (1pm). After that, The Wheel of Drawing Fortune will be pitting artists against each other in a game show format under pressure! Rounding off the day before the Cosplay is Marguerite Bennett, talking about her time in the industry and just how she manages to be so busy! To finish off in the music room will be the Cosplay Competition.

Workshop Space
This year round, there is an entire space dedicated to workshops from artists teaching how to draw characters such as: Dennis and Gnasher from “The Beano” and Lil’ Poopy Superstar from “Rick and Morty”. Bookending these, there is also the fantastic “No You Hang Up” podcast, featuring live, special Guests!

Saturday Night

It just wouldn’t be a Glasgow Comic Con without The SICBA Awards! Taking place in The CCA from 7pm, there will be awards for Best Writer, Artist, Graphic Novel, Single Issue, and Up and Coming Talent, all home grown in Scotland! After that’s wrapped up, there’s just enough time to go carb up in preparation for the MID CON PARTY!

In contradiction to previous years, the convention will be having a Mid Con Party instead of the usual party at the very end, so no excuses not to come! Featuring Kate Leth DJing and open from 10pm-2am, this is the one party you don’t want to miss out on. So go let your hair down, get your drink on, and dance the night away with guests and fans together!

Sunday

Doors Open: 11am

Shake off the hangovers and get to the second day of the convention where there’s still plenty of things to see and do. All the exhibitors are the same, so if there’s anything you had your eye on the day before, now is the time to snap it up. Sunday mornings are notoriously quieter as well, due to the happenings of the night before, so again, if there’s a particular guest you want to meet, now might be your perfect chance!

Panels
Kicking off the Sunday morning is another fan favourite, where the winners of the previous night’s SICBA Awards will be sitting down for coffee and a chat at 11.15 in the Music Room. Following straight on from that, rising star Clare Forrest will be sitting down to have a chat about her new book “Mighty Women of Science” which has taken the local scene by storm after a launch earlier this week, so if you want to hear a bit about the book, or just see what Clare herself has to say, pop down! If there is one panel that I highly recommend to go to on the Sunday though, it’s Frank Quitely returning to the stage for a sit down with another artist. This time however, it’s Watchmen artist, Dave Gibbons! The duo will be quizzing each other on their time in the industry and sharing stories. Should be an interesting one to say the least! Once again, there will be Cosplay.

Most important of all, the main thing to remember at the convention is to have fun! No matter if it’s your first one or you’ve been all around the world, Glasgow as so much to offer as a convention. Chat to people, make friends, catch up with old ones, take it all in and I promise you, you’ll have an amazing time.

Don’t forget as well, Team BCP will be around both days so don’t be afraid to come and say hi if you see us floating around! Mine’s a Gin and Tonic.

The writer of this piece was: Chris Bennett
Article: And Now For Something Completely Different
You can also find Chris on Twitter.