The weekend before Hallowe’en, Outer Hebrides Comic-Con (OH!CON) held its first, sell-out event in Stornoway town hall. And every attendee had their own story about attending the first comics convention in the Western Isles.
‘I’m enjoying every bit of it’
Writer, DJ, and filmmaker Etienne Kubwabo spoke at OH!CON about his journey creating his comic book, Beats of War.
Weaving in characters and experiences from his own life, Beats of War came from Mr Kubwabo’s dream of creating Scotland’s first Black superhero.
OH!CON is his first time visiting the Western Isles. “I’m enjoying every bit of it,” he says.
“People are lovely here,” he says. The night before the convention, the OH!CON team took him Northern lights spotting — and they got lucky.
He shows me the picture on his phone, of stars shining above shimmering green. “I’m going to show this to everybody,” he grins.
‘We stayed up till midnight to get tickets!’
For July, who came cosplaying Venti from the game Genshin Impact, coming to OH!CON was a dream come true.
She and her dad “stayed up till midnight” to get tickets, they said.
Although, her dad added with a smile, “she was up until midnight playing Genshin anyway”.
‘I’m actually quite introverted’
“Not very many people can tell it’s me,” says Sparxx of the Wasteland – aka Nick, one of the volunteers that helped OH!CON come together.
He says he’s “over the moon” with the turnout.
“It’s surpassed all our expectations.”
And, for him, it’s been a chance to bring his Mad Max-inspired character to life, and become a completely different person.
Underneath the skull mask and spikes, he says: “I’m actually quite introverted.”
‘Somewhere completely different’
Like fellow comic book creator Etienne Kubwabo, it was artist Tanya Roberts’ first time in the Outer Hebrides.
And, for her, it was a welcome change from the more metropolitan settings of most conventions.
“I love it,” she says. “It’s so, so pretty here.”
“It’s nice to see somewhere completely different from when you usually go to a convention.”
‘This is the scrap heap challenge of costume making!’
One of the most impressive cosplays of the day came from Sean Conaghan, who decided to transform himself into the cartoon sheep main character from video game Cult of the Lamb.
Luckily, he had help putting the costume together.
“I’m passionate about games, but I’ve got two left hands and no idea where to even start with all of this!” He says. “I was working with a very good friend of mine.”
The costume “started life with a bit of cardboard,” he says – and they had to find some very creative solutions.
“If you turn this over, it’s a horror story,” he says, flipping over the costume’s head to show where they reinforced the shape with pipe insulation. “This is the scrapheap challenge of costume making!”
But, for him, that’s the whole point. “I could go out and spend tons of money,” he says, but “it’s the making of it that makes it special – that makes it yours”.
‘They mostly meet in Glasgow and Edinburgh’
Star Trek’s fans have been around since the earliest fan conventions – so it was only right that OH!CON had some Starfleet representatives.
Superfans Callum and Martin both attended Britain’s first-ever Star Trek-only convention several years ago in Birmingham. But they didn’t cross paths until they heard about Scottish Star Trek society USS Alba, and realised they were both from the Isles.
After that, they had to stick together. USS Alba “mostly meet in Glasgow and Edinburgh,” they say.
So OH!CON was the perfect opportunity to grow a more local fan community.
“There’s two of us here, and maybe there’ll be more.”
‘I’ve never dressed up in my life!’
Stornoway library volunteers Helene and Heidi didn’t have much experience with cosplay when they signed up to help with OH!CON.
“I’ve never dressed up in my life!” Says Helene.
But, when the two decided to wear matching cosplay of the lead characters The Untamed, they went all out.
They “raided a charity shop” for curtains to make into their robes – and Heidi handmade the elaborate headpiece.
For them, a convention in Stornoway was a welcome surprise.
“It doesn’t come to a small place like this, something like that.”
‘When at comic-con, why not!’
The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) had their own booth in the town hall, with information on their business courses – and an arcade game made just for the event by the UHI’s computing students.
Lecturer Leanne Morrison doesn’t usually tell people about her course with blood dripping from her mouth.
“But I thought, when at comic-con, why not!” She says.
‘We’ve learned so much’
When she first had the idea for OH!CON, it was a distant dream for Kathleen Milne.
But now, after years of delay due to Covid, it’s finally a reality.
“I’ve been so frantic, I haven’t had much time to look around,” she says. “But when I do, it’s just wonderful to see so many people here.”
Like many people I spoke to, she hopes that the runaway success of the first OH!CON will help get future events funded.
“We’ve learned so much, and we hope to carry on next year.”
More local reporting from the Western Isles:
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