Stand by for an invasion of Time Lords, Storm Troopers and Power Rangers in Aberdeen this weekend…
The rich array of characters from popular culture – and the fans who idolise them – will be gathering at Comic Con Scotland (North East) at P&J Live.
The festival of fun will feature stars from the screen, gaming, and plenty of cosplay when it returns to the north-east venue on Saturday March 18 and Sunday March 19.
“It’s one of our favourite shows,” said Andy Kleek, CEO and founder of Monopoly Events which stages Comic Con.
“We put on the first one last year and we had an incredible response to it and this year we’re close to selling out so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Saturday tickets are now completely sold out and Andy told The P&J that Sunday is about 75% sold out – so those still planning to attend the celebration of all things film and TV should book their tickets while they still can here.
However, if you miss out or cannot attend this year’s event, Andy has some great news for north-east fans…
“We like to build shows over three or four years. The idea for next year is to expand it and use the whole P&J Live complex. We’ve seen great progress – (visitor) numbers are well up from last year. And it looks like it’ll sell out in year two so we’ll increase the size in year three.”
No dates have been set yet, but we’ll update you as soon as we can.
Sons Of Anarchy stars ready to pose for pictures
In the meantime, this year’s event promises to be a treat for fans of all aspects of popular culture. Doctor Who, Sons Of Anarchy, Two Doors Down and many more stars will meet and greet fans, pose for photos, as well as answer their questions.
“I like the Sons Of Anarchy guys,” said Andy when we asked him who he was particularly excited about bringing to the north-east.
“They’re friends of mine and I always look forward to seeing them. Fans will have a great photo opportunity with all the guys (Kim Coates and Mark Boone Jr). They’re my personal favourites.
“The line-up is varied and I’m sure all the stars will be popular. I think there’s a great buzz about the line-up.
“I know there are a lot of people who cannot wait to see Lea Thompson (Lorraine Baines-McFly, Marty’s mum) from Back To The Future. We’ll also have a DeLorean prop set up.
“We’ve also got some good The Walking Dead cast – Tom Payne and Seth Gilliam, and Steven Ogg is also returning and he’s very popular. Chandler Riggs is coming as well.”
Tom Payne, who’s best known for portraying Paul “Jesus” Rovia in the long-running horror series, also played disgraced former FBI profiler Malcolm Bright on Prodigal Son. Seth Gilliam, who was Father Gabriel Stokes on The Walking Dead, is also recognised as Dr. Alan Deaton by Teen Wolf fans.
Steven Ogg played Simon and Chandler Riggs portrayed Carl Grimes on The Walking Dead.
Doctor Who reunion at Comic Con at Aberdeen’s P&J Live
“We’ve also got a great response to the Doctor Who reunion,” Andy added.
The fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Time Lords will all travel to Aberdeen. Colin Baker, who portrayed the sixth incarnation of the Doctor, recently joined the line-up which already included the seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy as well as Peter Davison who played the fifth Doctor in the 80s.
Paul McGann, who took over the role in 1996 to play the eighth Doctor in the TV film Doctor Who, will also be part of the event.
All four Doctors travelling to Comic Con Scotland (North East) recently appeared in The Power of the Doctor episode – the final adventure of the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), part of BBC’s 100th anniversary celebrations.
Sophie Aldred, who played the Seventh Doctor’s companion Ace, will be part of the event too.
Stranger Things stars will turn Aberdeen’s comic con upside down
Stranger Things fans will also be catered to. One of the three stars coming to the Granite City will be Grace Van Dien, who played cheerleader Chrissy Cunningham.
Even though her character – a cheerleader who had issues with self-image stemming from her mother’s emotional abuse – only appeared in two episodes of season four, she quickly became popular among Strange Things fans.
Her co-star Alec Utgoff – who portrayed Russian scientist Dr. Alexei – will also greet his fans up north and maybe even tell them if he loves cherry Slurpees in real life too.
They will be joined by Cara Buono who’s known for her role as Dr. Faye Miller in the fourth season of AMC’s Mad Men, and also appeared as Kelli Moltisanti in the sixth season of HBO’s The Sopranos. But she’s currently probably best known for playing Karen Wheeler – Mike and Nancy’s mum – in Stranger Things.
Fans of the Netflix megahit will quite literally be transported to Hawkins when Comic Con Scotland (North East) arrives at P&J Live.
Not only will Stranger Things fans have a chance to speak to the three stars, but they will also be able to visit Scoops Ahoy – the nautical-themed ice cream parlour located in the food court of Starcourt Mall – as well as the show’s rainbow room – the creepy playroom Dr. Brenner set up for the psychokinetic child test subjects, including Eleven.
The show’s alphabet wall – used by Winona Ryder’s character Joyce to communicate with her son Will who is stuck in a mysterious alternate dimension – will also be on display.
Andy added: “We got the Rainbow Room at our sci-fi convention in Manchester and it is a really cool prop built. We’ll also have Scoops Ahoy in Aberdeen. They’re both really big sets and provide great photo opportunities for fans.”
Other stars confirmed for the event include:
- Sean Pertwee who portrayed Alfred Pennyworth in Gotham, Inspector Lestrade in Elementary, and Sgt. Wells in the 2002 British action horror film Dog Soldiers
- Walter Jones who played Zack Taylor, the original Black Ranger, in the hit series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
- American voice actor Nolan North who is best known for voicing Nathan Drake in the Uncharted video game series
- Two Doors Down actors – Eric and Beth Baird, played by Alex Norton and Arabella Weir – as well as the show’s creators Simon Carlyle and Gregor Sharp
- Former WWE wrestler “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan – the winner of the first-ever Royal Rumble match in 1988
In addition to writers, voice actors, wrestlers and film and TV stars, the two-day event will also welcome cosplayers.
Andy said: “We get a lot of cosplayers coming to the event – there’s a cosplay competition on Saturday and there is a masquerade on Sunday as well. But it’s not just cosplayers, we also get a lot of families who come down to enjoy the event.”
Comic Con Scotland (North East) is at Aberdeen’s P&J Live on Saturday March 18 and Sunday March 19. Saturday tickets are now sold out but some tickets are still available on Sunday and can be booked here.
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