A Review Of Kapow! Comic-Con 2012

By Jasper C-H on Monday, May 21st, 2012

Let me start off by saying that this was the first convention I have ever been to. And I freaking loved it! The atmosphere was awesome, I’ve never been in the same room with so many geeks and it only added to the already-fantastic experiance with hundreds of comic book fans surrounding me. The entire line-up for the weekend was also brilliant, and it made the Con really stand out from other UK ones. It was like the British version of SDCC! As this was my first Con, I obviously didn’t attend last year but from comparing the content I think I can say that this year had a wider variety of guests and events.

I spent a couple of days (weeks) preparing for Kapow, and as soon as I entered the Business and Design Centre where it was being held the whole schedule I had written up went out the window. I was completely starstruck. Mark Millar and sisters Lucy and Sarah Unwin had really pulled out all the stops to make this a fantastic weekend for the fans, and attempting to rival the star power of San Diego Comic-Con. Compared to other UK comic conventions (filled with nobodies and has-been’s), Kapow can safely sit up there with the likes of other fantastic US and international conventions. But obviously, it wasn’t a perfect weekend… What didn’t I like about it?

As somebody who isn’t a regular comic reader (I prefer to read graphic novels), I didn’t like the fact that last year’s event seemed to have a better Film and TV line-up, but this was the other way around. With Joe Queseda, Dan DiDio, Mark Millar, Warren Ellis, Bryan Hitch, Scott Snyder and more all in attendance, this was a perfect line-up for comic die hards. But I’m more interested in the Film and TV line-up, so I felt a tad dissapointed that the movie panels weren’t as good as last year.

Adding to that, I felt that there could have been a better organisation of the panels on the weekend. The majority of the good panels/events were on Saturday, and Sunday featured un-interesting panels (except for the Sony panel) and the incredibly awful and dissapointing Movie X (more on that later). So, maybe have a bit of diversity across the weekend next year eh?

And the details on Movie X come here! All hints given towards the identity of Movie X were that it was Prometheus, and those hints were rumours, the fact that the Alien prequel is out in the UK soon, is rated 15 (as was Movie X) and Ridley Scott was attending last year’s convention for something to do with Movie X. Well, it wasn’t Prometheus, but rather Iron Sky, a movie that I, quite frankly, had never heard of before the convention. The premise is, that in 1945 Nazis escaped to the Moon and built a whole new society. Now, they’re returning to the Earth. Yes, it was as awful as it sounds. So awful in fact, that half an hour in I got up and left, and by that time half the room (which seated 500 people and was completely full) had too. As I didn’t even stay for half the movie, I can’t give a review but from what I saw the whole thing was a massive pile of crap and it’s no wonder it’s Direct-To-DVD. If the organisers want to ensure that Movie X gets a full house next year, they’ll have to preview a GOOD movie.

All in all, there is only minor quibbles and I had a fantastic weekend. I really can’t wait until next year, as each year needs to be better than the last, and I am desperate to see what Millar and co have to offer next round. Oh, and did I mention that the cosplay was absolutely brilliant? Check out an assortment of pictures from Kapow below!