Going batty for comic con in Town Hall

Superheroes of all ages at gathering

They came to Rutherglen from Gotham City, from Baker Street, and from a galaxy far far away.

Nearly 2000 science fiction, comic book and anime fans descended on Rutherglen Town Hall on Saturday for the South Lanarkshire Comic Con, being held in the area for the first time.

Many were dressed as their favourite characters as they browsed stalls and queued to meet guests, including Batman and X-Men artist Frank Quitely.

A local flavour was present among the guests, with Judge Dredd artist Gary Erskine a former Burnside primary pupil.

He thought the day was a tremendous hit.

Gary said: “There seems to be a really good crowd here today. I actually had my wedding ceilidh here and saw a Blondie tribute band play alongside the band Dogtooth a couple of years ago, so it’s brilliant to be doing something like this here, it’s a great venue.”

Burnside comic book writer John Lees was on hand to sign copies of his work.

He said: “It’s really nice to see an event like this here, and to see some activity and excitement around Main Street – when I was a kid I’d have killed to have something like this in Rutherglen.”

Organisers stated around 1700 fans came through the doors, and plenty of locals brought their kids along to take in the fun.

Ryan Kelly, from Burnside, said: “The kids are all into superhero movies and things like Pokemon, so it’s a good thing to having there.

“I’ve not seen anything like this here before so it’s a wee change.”

It was certainly different to see Jedi Knights, Stormtroopers, Sherlock, umpteen superheroes and even a group of Ghostbusters wandering around the town hall.

They were all part of cosplay, where people dress up as their favourite characters.

Christopher Malarky had come through from Edinburgh dressed as Iron Man, with the only problem being that he needed help getting in and out of the costume, made from foam and designed by a friend.

He said: “It’s a bit of a nightmare to get into it, but once I’m actually in there it’s OK. Last year I did 12 cons, including one in America and one in London, and they’re great.

“Something like this is for everybody, all ages, all quality of costumes and TV shows, movies and games and that’s why it’s brilliant.”

Kirsty Faichney portrayed Rogue from the X-men comics.

She said: “Scotland’s got quite a few of these events now, and there’s a real community there. It’s amazing to see all these kids coming along now, and they get so excited when they see someone like Iron Man or Spider-Man.

“Rogue is my favourite – when other girls were idolising Disney princesses, Rogue was who I wanted to be.”

We will have more pictures from the Comic Con in next week’s paper.