They were lined up in front of the Bella Center west entrance stretching back about a kilometre before the doors to Comic Con Copenhagen opened on Saturday morning.
The surprisingly good autumn weather made it easy for the faithful to show their colours … and what an array of colours it was given the multitudes of costumes from sci-fi and horror films: a dozen Star Wars stormtroopers and at least four Batmans, a bunch of Deadpools and even one complete group of the tallest, thinnest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles anyone has ever seen. If fact, one remembers the film versions of the various superheroes as being somewhat more, shall we say, buff than those visiting Comic Con. Captain America’s suit was straining mightily around the waistline.
Inside there were artists and dealers of every stripe flogging any kind of memorabilia one can imagine – much with only the most tenuous of connections to the aforementioned comics.
It’s the games, stupid
These days, the big draw, especially for the hordes of teenage boys who make up the bulk of the crowd, are the games. Several manufacturers were at hand to promote their latest forays into the multi-billion kroner gaming market.
Activision’s ‘Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare’ was a big hit among the group of boys that your non-gaming reporter took along to test the new offerings. Although some early looks at the game had received mixed reviews, these testers pronounced the game “awesome” and said they were looking forward to both the Beta and full release later in the autumn. The Activision spokesperson said they were actually thankful for some of the negativity they get when releasing early versions of a game because it helps them make improvements.
Girls very much welcome
Another hit was Ubisoft’s ‘For Honor’. Saturday saw the very first Nordic competition of the ‘Game of Thrones’-like sword-fighting battlefield game, and it was indeed a smash. Several team members on all six of the winning sides said that the worst part of the competition was that the game ended. They wanted to keep on playing, which is high praise for a game still in development that won’t be released until next February.
READ MORE: Comics ain’t just for adults!
One of the surprises among the crowd at Comic Con was the large number of women and girls in attendance. No longer the domain of young, hormonal boys, female players are the fastest growing segment of the gaming market, according to the Activision rep. And of course, the young men still enjoy the sight of multiple Laura Crosses and Suicide Squad’s Harley Quinn Daddy’s Lil Monsters walking around.
It’s just a plastic chair, really
The lines to meet and have photos taken with the almost famous celebrities on-hand were as impressive as they were baffling.
But the most baffling of all was the 100-deep line of people waiting to have a picture taken on a plastic replica of the throne from Game of Thrones.
But, as one participant told me: “People feel comfortable enough here to be themselves and do what they want. This is our tribe.”
Indeed.
