Half the fun of going to comic cons is learning about new comics, shows and products that you might have missed elsewhere. After attending my first two comic cons last October, I was determined to go out of my way to discover the greatness people had to offer. I certainly found it in different shops, independent comics and art.

Both of these buggars in the photo above came from the A Place in Space stall. This shop is located in Croyden. It’s so close to my neck of the woods I was almost embarrassed that I had never heard of them before. But alas, they had a great selection of Funko Pop! figures that were calling out to be purchased. My husband and I have a slowly growing collection that I’m afraid needs to stop growing soon or we will be out of a room.

Being the fantastic wife I am, I picked Ultron for my husband. But of course I had to nip Hong Kong Phooey for myself. The unfortunate thing about comic con is if you’re not into superheroes, you really miss out on a chunk of what’s going on. I greatly appreciated that someone carried a bit of nostalgia for a unusual collector like myself.

Another store I came across was Travelling Man. All of their stores are mostly up north (another thing that greatly pleased my Northern husband), but they also have a very nice online shop. I assumed that most stalls would run deals at the convention this weekend, but clearly marking up prices seemed to be the game for most vendors there. Travelling Man was one of the few exceptions. They had such a great selection of books and board games, and all at a great price. They will definitely be a shop I keep an eye out anytime I leave London. I also send my apologises to the nice man who tried to talk to me about the Saga volume I bought. This was another gift for the husband and I could only say “yessssss” in response to any questions. Plus my conversation skills usually extend to “hmmm” and “aaaaah” anyway.

A great part of MCM was the fantastic Comic Village. Absolutely every type of comic and manga art under the sun was there from superheroes to sloth people to unicorn women. And it covered big names like Marvel, but had a superb amount of indie comics and prints available. This was the first place I headed to on Friday because I knew exactly what I was looking for: a Lee Bradley print. I have seen his work at every con I have been to in London. There was one piece in particular that had been on my mind since the last batch back in October.

Enter his The Walking Dead illustration with Gizmo and the gremlins. Everything about this piece is something to love, but for some reason I had talked myself out of buying it then. Thankfully it were prints still available and I bought one without the slightest bit of hesitation. Unfortunately every bit of free time I had seemed to be at a contrast with Mr Bradley’s schedule. Every time I popped back to his table for a chat, he was busy or had gone. Next time, sir.

I picked up one indie comic for a read from Attackosaur Comics. Their comic Devil Executioner immediately caught my eye because the cover art reminded me of early Karl Moline and because it appeared to be one of the only horror comics available at the convention. The work on the inside is quite interesting. Written by Martin Ian Smith and art by Nicolás Giacondino, Devil Executioner is one beautiful badass book.

It is a contained one-shot comic, which is really a cool way to get exposed to a new area of comics. This particular story follows the gun-toting exorcist Father John Torrento as he tries to save the life of of an Italian girl who has been possessed by a demon. I’ve always found real exorcisms extremely fascinating. The fact that I happened upon a comic that was based on those instances was pure, happy luck. Actually, I’m so into this comic it probably deserves its own write-up later.

Clearly I spent a fair bit of cash this weekend (sorry, bank account), but I’m already really looking forward to the next con – theLondon Film and Comic Con that’s happening in July. Lots of great guests coming up on that one, but for now this commences my coverage of my crazy weekend at the MCM London Comic Con. I am off on my honeymoon in Scotland this weekend, but I promise to return and not touch any stones at Craigh na dun.