Malta Comics Expo 2014

Yeah, I'm a week late with this con report. It was a 3 day long convention, starting 31st October and ending 2nd November. I didn't get much sleep, was rushed off my feet while simultaneously waiting ages for things to happen. I'm not going to do a detailed summary of the Expo. I recommend reading this blog: the guy writes it better than I can: http://ryanattard.com/ 

I will say that the pre-party was quite fun, but it took a while for me to start chatting because I didn't know many people there. On the other hand, by the end of the evening my friend and I managed to teach some of the Sailor Moon voice actors Maltese swear words :) The crowning achievement of my life, ladies and gentlemen.

 For the first day I wore my new Sailor Mars costume: totally redone. It looks great except for the skirt, which needed a good ironing. The gloves were also a bit fiddly because I had to take them off if I wanted to read.
I got to Valletta very early in the day in order to find parking. So I was there at 7am and was very lucky to find parking near the MCC. I killed time by walking around Valletta and read my Animal Ethics book (this is one of my favourite subjects - it's so interesting).

Then I had a mad rush to get my table set up. They put all the cosplay related tables together, so I had an amazing makeup artist on one side and a fantastic prop maker on the other. These guys are incredibly talented (the makeup artist took first place in the group cosplay contest, and it was a well deserved victory).

One thing the Expo needs to work on is organisation and allocation of tasks, because I get the impression that everything was in the hands of a few people, so things were a bit chaotic. On the first day there were no printed schedules so no one knew what time or where things were happening. Some panels were cancelled, or very few people turned up to the existing panels because the PA system didn't extend down to the artist alley. I was moderating the Sailor Moon panel on both Friday and Sunday, and the audience on both days was tiny - and I don't think it's because people aren't interested in Sailor Moon.

Having said that, I had a real blast at the Sailor Moon panels. The cast members were all so funny and interesting to listen to, and have a great group dynamic. They really didn't need me moderating - they would have been fine on their own. It was really interesting to hear them talk about their work. There are a lot of great clips from the panel on Youtube, which I'll link below

It was also a really good day in terms of sales. I sold all my Adventure Time hats! Score for me! I actually did quite well that weekend. I sold some flower crowns too, but only one steampunk necklace. I made enough that I could go for sushi on Friday night.

For the second day I wore Bombshell Harley Quinn and Rat Queen.

Harley was a popular costume that day: there were about 4 Harleys in total, and all different variations. There was me, this pirate Harley, Arkham City Harley, and classic Harley. There were a lot of great cosplayers: I saw an amazing Elizabeth Comstock, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Jack Sparrow, Umbridge (A Very Potter Sequel), Korra, Assassin's Creed and more. The turnout for my panel was low: only 4 people, and my slide show didn't work, so I just showed them my laptop screen.

Interestingly, only two people knew the Rat Queen, and neither of them were Maltese. One of them was Arkham City Harley (you looked so amazing as Harley!). I had to keep explaining Rat Queen and Emilie Autumn, which can be quite tricky: I mean, where do you begin? 

Off topic, but I had an amazing vegetarian burger on Saturday, made from mushrooms. SO GOOD.

The third day was an exclusive Rat Queen day. I was originally going to wear Vastra, but I just didn't have the energy. I felt pretty tired that day, and wearing the corset didn't help. The choker also felt tight, even though I could fit two fingers between it and my neck quite comfortably. I think the corset was on a little tight. I got a lot of compliments on this costume, even from guests. Thanks so much to Jennifer Cihi, the Sailor Moon voice cast, and others who were so nice about my cosplay.

I entered the cosplay contest, but didn't win. The winner made this amazing Diablo costume with Worbla armour. I think she definitely deserved to win, because the armour looked fantastic.

Before I wrap up, I'd just like to thank all my friends who helped to look after my table, and the organisers who managed to organise such a huge event. There were issues which do need to be sorted out, but I think it was quite a successful first con, and hopefully these issues can be smoothed out in the future. 
Much thanks also to Capture Me Photography for these incredible photos. Check out their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CaturemePhotography?pnref=lhc