"We Are Gathered Here Today To Geek Out!"

Me with The Real Kent Ghostbusters at Geek Mania in Tonbridge

Today Rachel and I attended the first Geek Mania show (convention? gathering?) at the Angel Centre, Tonbridge, and it was magnificent.

There were stalls selling books, games, artwork, badges, dice, LARPing gear, and trading cards (so many cards), as well as participation tables for 5e Dungeons & Dragons, various shades of Warhammer, card games (so many cards), Beyblades, figure painting, a lightsaber training academy, and probably other things I missed.

A selection of the amazing props brought along by The Real Kent Ghostbusters

Rachel and I posing with Slimer

I'd really hoped to get Rachel into an "introduction to Dungeons & Dragons" session, but we were there around 11.30 and the tables had proved so popular that the first available slot was 2.30pm... and it was unlikely we'd still be around then (as I have limited reserves of stamina).

The participation tables were packed from the moment we arrived, and just got busier

These were the lightsaber tutors, but they mainly ran classes for younglings through the day

The vibe of the whole show was very welcoming and everyone we spoke to was incredibly friendly, delighted we were there, and happy to talk about whatever geeky niche was their forte.

There were cosplayers - always happy to pose for pictures - and LARPers, with a vast selection of costumes, masks, and boffer weapons for sale. 

I achieved a lifelong ambition and purchased my first pair of elf ears! 

Incredible array of costuming and weaponry from Gem's Trading Company 

"You've made an old man very happy," I told the lady who sold me these ears!!!

I strongly suspect I was one of - if not the - oldest people there (knocking on the door to sixty this year), but it didn't matter. There was a youthful, positive atmosphere that I hope translated into cash in the pockets of the organisers so that this will become a regular event.

Geek Mania was the brainchild of Planet JJs Geekery, which, in very real terms, is close to being at the bottom of our road (although too far for me to walk there and back, sadly).

I really must try and get signed up for regular RPG events at the store, which I have to confess we've only actually been in once. Rachel is supportively offering to be my taxi to and from the store if I join their "club".

I also believe that Geek Mania being organised locally is a massive plus for the future of the show, as there's an automatic community investment here.

Either side of the Pandemic, there were several attempts to make "comic-cons" a thing at the Angel Centre, but they never really took off.

Run by travelling groups who organise such events around the country, there was no great incentive to come back if they didn't rake in the cash they had been hoping for at the first attempt.

That said, Geek Mania was definitely busier than any of the "comic-cons" I've attended at the Angel Centre over the years.

Overall, Rachel and I stayed for about an hour-and-a-half, which wasn't too bad by my usual variable health standards, only having to have a single sit down and cookie break.

Even though Pokémon is an alien language to me and seemed to dominate every other stall, I still managed to pick up some mighty treasures (as well as my ears) from the traders:

My Geek Mania haul

My first purchase of the day was a He-Man Funko Pop (because, like dice, you can never have too many Pops). Sadly, they were all out of Frieren-related Pops.

I was excited to find a couple of boxes of old 60s/70s pulp sci-fi anthology magazines on the floor of a bookseller's stall.

She very kindly picked them up and put them on the table so I could sort through them properly.

My main guiding principle here was looking for authors that Michael K Vaughan had mentioned on his Booktube channel, so that it appeared as though I knew what I was doing.

And finally I bought a cute little pocket zine from local artist Katherine Burgess, whose style and obvious talent made me wish I was producing a game - or a supplement - so I could hire her to illustrate it.

"Tonbridge. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy."

Stephen Colbert Lends His Voice To Starfleet Academy as The Enterprise Continues To Explore Strange New Worlds

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy premieres January 15, exclusively on Paramount+.

This thrilling new chapter follows a fresh class of cadets as they train under the watchful, demanding eyes of Starfleet’s finest. Together, they’ll face the highs and lows of academy life: forging unbreakable friendships, clashing in explosive rivalries, experiencing first loves, and stepping into their destiny as the next generation of Starfleet officers. When a mysterious new enemy threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself, these cadets must rise to the challenge or risk losing everything they’ve just begun to fight for.

Starring Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, and Zoë Steiner, as well as Holly Hunter, who plays the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy.

Additional cast members include Tig Notaro and Robert Picardo, reprising their roles as Jett Reno and The Doctor, and guest stars Oded Fehr and Mary Wiseman, reprising their roles as Admiral Vance and Sylvia Tilly, as well as recurring guest stars Gina Yashere and Paul Giamatti.

Meanwhile, here's a thrilling, first look at the fourth season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, as revealed at New York Comic-Con:

Conan The Barbarian Hits His Quarter-Century

Painted wraparound cover for by Alex Horley

The blockbuster Conan The Barbarian comic, from Titan and Heroic Signatures, releases its landmark 25th issue this October.

To mark the occasion, this issue will be a 48-page, standalon King Conan adventure from celebrated Conan scribe Jim Zub, fully painted by Alex Horley.

In his weekly newsletter, Zub stated:

"Solicits and preview pages are making the rounds and it’s so nice to be able to show people some of the jaw-dropping work I’ve been staring in awe at since Alex and I started working on this epic back in September of last year.

"This issue is my first King Conan story, it’s a self-contained adventure, and it’s a fist-pumping sword-swinging celebration of our series – past, present, and future."

He added:

"And just as a reminder – Conan the Barbarian will keep going after issue #25! I know a lot of current comic series seem to be getting cancelled or constantly relaunched, but we are going strong and our latest issues have defied typical attrition patterns and are going up in sales.

"There are many more adventures to come as long as readers and retailers keep supporting the series the way they have so far."

Fully-painted preview of interior artwork by Alex Horley

At last weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, it was also revealed that the popularity of Patrick Zircher's recent Solomon Kane mini-series means a second series is coming next year; and a new title called Savage Sword: Reforged is being launched, reprinting select stories from the original black and white Marvel run of Savage Sword of Conan but in colour.

A sample of Barry Windsor-Smith's coloured art from The Frost-Giant's Daughter

The first issue of Reforged comes with a choice of covers:

A new podcast, called Legends of Conan, was mentioned; Jim Zub hinted at his four-year plan (with annual 'event' pillars) for Conan The Barbarian, including the arc in issues 26 to 28 which will show how Conan became the king of Aquilonia; and a forthcoming, brand new Kull comic book series was also announced during the busy Heroic Signatures panel.

It's a great time to be a comic book-reading fan of the creations of Robert E Howard!

Art tease from Patrick Zircher's next Solomon Kane miniseries

First Class Trailer for Starfleet Academy

Star Trek: Starfleet Academy follows the adventures of a new class of cadets in one of the most legendary places in the galaxy. Under the watchful and demanding eyes of their instructors, they will discover what it takes to become Starfleet officers as they navigate blossoming friendships, explosive rivalries, first loves and a new enemy that threatens both the Academy and the Federation itself.

Starring Sandro Rosta, Karim Diané, Kerrice Brooks, George Hawkins, Bella Shepard, and Zoë Steiner, as well as Holly Hunter, who plays the captain and chancellor of Starfleet Academy. Additional cast members include Tig Notaro and Robert Picardo, reprising their roles as Jett Reno and The Doctor, and guest stars Oded Fehr and Mary Wiseman, reprising their roles as Admiral Vance and Sylvia Tilly, as well as recurring guest stars Gina Yashere and Paul Giamatti.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is my favourite "modern" Trek, and I love the fact that it's continuing to embrace the "weird" that I associate with the original and best Star Trek from the 1960s.

The Return of Tonbridge Comic-Con

"I could do this all day!"

Tonbridge Comic Con & Toy Fair has returned, with (I believe) different people running it, eschewing celebrity signings for more cosplayers, more photo ops, and more traders.

It must be a good five years since there was a Comic-Con at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge (that time I got flustered meeting Hannah Spearritt from Primeval and S Club 7 and got her to sign my copy of the Primeval roleplaying game), but this was quite a different affair.

In a strange - but comforting - kind of way, this fresh iteration reminded me a lot of Cavalier (our annual wargames show), but with people dressed as superheroes and anime characters and staged cinematic photo opportunities in lieu of wargaming displays.

The time we spent at the comic-con was really enjoyable, I got to chat to a load of people (stall holders and cosplayers) and - as you can see - Rachel took loads of pictures.

Today's event was 'nicely busy' (enough people to make me think it was a success for the organisers, but not so many that it felt claustrophobic or made getting to any particular place a struggle).

This definitely helped me adjust to the situation, and I surprised myself with how conversational I was with the many people I spoke to. Normally, I hold back, for fear of my aphasia tripping me up, but this felt really relaxed.

Major kudos to the Captain America cosplayer who we met before we got inside the event. He embodied the spirit of Cap nicely and, after he remarked on my t-shirt, we talked enthusiastically about James Gunn's impending Superman movie.

Meanwhile, inside the Angel Centre, the chap who'd 3D printed then built the array of animated Star Wars droids was clearly a Doc Brown-level genius.

Huyang moved (he didn't walk though!) and spoke with David Tennant's voice

These are the droids I was looking for

Deadpool dance class

"You now have fifteen seconds to comply." Robocop's ED-209 was quite threatening

"Beam me up!"

"This is The Way!"

Rachel snuck into Andy's room to play with Woody and Buzz

"The claw! The claw!"

Just chillin' with Thanos before we destroy the Universe

Radio-controlled baby droids to play with

Lightning McQueen

Our shockingly conservative haul from the day

Much to my (and Rachel's) amazement I didn't actually buy anything at the show (although there was some great art, action figures, and prop replicas that caught my eye), although I did get a free 28mm goblin from a man promoting promoting his self-published fantasy novel.

Rachel treated herself to a "Trust Me, I'm A Dogtor" pin badge to go on her NHS lanyard.

We may have stayed for only an hour, but we had a great time.

The only minor quibble I would point out is that for a COMIC convention, there was no one selling actual comics, which was a shame.