The
Words & Images duo of Ann and Rob went off to the Collectormia
show recently, which is a popular event for fans of film, TV,
memorabilia and Cosplay enthusiast – people who like to dress up as
their favourite superhero or villain.
For
the past few years Collectormania has been held at Milton Keynes, so
it was nice to see it now making a new home for itself at the NEC
Birmingham. There was a great line up of stars, such as Dean Cain –
Superman in Lois &
Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,
Helen Slater – Supergirl, Robert Patrick best known playing the
emotionless, liquid metal shape shifter T-1000 in Terminator
2:Judgement Day,
Michael
Shanks of
Stargate, John
Barrowman from
Torchwood,
Ming-Na Wen from Agents
of Shield,
Carlos Valden from
Arrow,
Ernie Hudson of Ghostbusters,
Ben Browder from Stargate,
Dave
Prowse alias Darth
Vader from
Star Wars,
Bonnie Langford, the list went on and on.
There
was a host of sporting legends too such as Frank Bruno MBE former WBC
Heavyweight Boxing World Champion; Ricky Hatton MBE former Light
Welterweight & Welterweight Champion of the World and other
sportsmen including football heroes including Jack Charlton OBE, Paul
Gascoigne, Pelè, Dennis Law, Gordon Banks, Geoff Hurst and many
more.
For
collectors there were stalls selling toys, videos, badges, posters,
mugs, character figures, graphic novels, original art, costumes and
wigs for Cosplayers and lots more. Plus there were displays to enjoy
such as the giant Groot character from Guardians of the Galaxy; also
a great display of Terminator models – perfect with Robert Patrick
sitting nearby; a live theatre where guests gave talks and answered
questions; photo booths for visitors have their photo taken with
their favourite star.
Many
famous faces were accessible and we chatted to Dave Prowse, who
played Darth Vader in the early
Star Wars
films. We were able to remind him that we'd interviewed him on the
25th
anniversary of
Star Wars,
having travelled down to London to talk to him at his gym and here we
were again as the film celebrated its 40th
anniversary.
Canadian actor, writer and
director Michael Shanks, probably best known for playing Dr Daniel
Jackson in Stargate SG-1 proved what a great sense of humour he had
by drawing a moustache and beard on a photo of himself, especially
for us!
As always there were great costumers, and one spectacular one was Resurrection Joe, an awesome looking witchdoctor complete with a skull on a pole and a crow on his shoulder. He told us that he'd travelled on the train from London in his full regalia, causing quite a stir.
“This
character has come from my own warped imagination,” said
Resurrection Joe. “I've always been into horror films, so I created
this witchdoctor character which has taken on a life of its own. I
started it about three and a half years ago, and the costume has just
got better and better. The skull came from Australia, and the real
snake skin trousers came from good old eBay!”
Words and Images UK hope you
enjoy our gallery of photos from the day.
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