We visited ACME Comic Con

On Saturday the 5th of March, I was incredibly lucky to attend the ACME Comic Con being held at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. This was my first ever comic con and I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect.

Upon arrival, it was clear that some people had really put a lot of effort into their costumes. One couple, cosplaying Spiderman and Gwen Stacey, had even brought their own photographer with them. Others had clearly spent hundreds – maybe even thousands – on intricate costumes.

Lolita cosplay

Some had incredibly bulky costumes, such as one man who was cosplaying Warhammer Space Marine.

This cosplayer went as Warhammer Space Marine

Me, in my £30-something Cinderella dress, felt severely underdressed. I wasn’t even the best Cinderella there. I later spotted my rival Cinderella, wearing a dress very much more extravagant and more elegant than my own. She definitely won.

My cheap Cinderella costume

Whilst there were some characters I recognised straight away, such as the red-headed Merida’s and Maleficent, there were others I was entirely clueless about. Most people had opted to dress up as anime characters. My anime knowledge doesn’t extend much further than Studio Ghibli and whilst I was able to spot Sophie and Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle, others I wasn’t so sure.

I had to ask my friend who was much more of an expert. She said that the majority there were dressed as characters from My Hero Academia, an anime I had never heard of. (Somehow, I didn’t actually get any photos from this anime, despite it being the most popular!)

Two Merida cosplayers

It was interesting seeing the costume trends that were going on. Some chose characters from video games such as Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria. Whilst there were a few Studio Ghibli characters here and there, there weren’t as many as I would have expected. Harry Potter wasn’t very popular anymore, a few Hogwarts costumes scattered around.

Howl and Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle

I was also surprised at the lack of Marvel, especially considering the popularity of it in recent years. And whilst I did spot a lot of Spidermen, I didn’t see many Captain America’s or Iron Men or any of the other superheroes. In terms of Disney princesses, we only spotted a handful. There weren’t many DC superheroes either, or many Star Wars cosplays.

Sunday, of course, it may have been a different story as to what people wore – so I can only make judgements on the Saturday.

I don’t know what anime this was from

As well as marvelling at the vast array of costumes on display, I was also able to check out the stalls. They were selling a wide range of artwork, usually drawings of various anime characters. There were also chocolate stalls, jewellery stalls and other stalls selling various geeky objects. Moreover, I spotted several stalls selling comics created by local, Scottish cartoonists.

There was also an area hosting various talks throughout the day, though sadly I wasn’t able to attend any.

Ankah from Animal Crossing

I spoke to several attendees at the event.

Brigid, a keen comic con enthusiast, told me how she had been to many comic cons over the years. She also said, “It was brilliant getting to be at a convention again after so long. There were incredible cosplays and some really cool artists, I had the best time.”

Carson, another attendee, said, “The con was such a fun experience. A little overwhelming at first but just being able to be back and see everyone is totally worth it!”

There was a very friendly atmosphere to the event and overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would definitely go back again – but maybe put more effort into my costume next time. (And brush up on my anime knowledge!)

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