Hastings Comic Con 2025 review

Armed only with my Tom Baker scarf and a pocket full of Dalek Rolykins, I was heading off to the first Hastings Comic Con, where for a whole weekend, the geek may not have inherited the Earth, but they did take over the White Rock Theatre, writes Andrew Logan.

On arrival, faced by the surreal experience of a large inflatable Spiderman scaling the walls along with the event security consisting of, amongst others, the Mandalorian, Darth Vader and Jack Sparrow, I knew this was going to be an interesting experience.

As I entered the main hall, full of the bustle of science fiction and fantasy traders, I passed the fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) wheeling a small suitcase behind him. He looked in my general direction and said “I don’t know where I’m meant to be?” I shrugged as he was quickly intercepted by one of the front of house staff and shown to his celebrity quarters. Travelling in the Tardis, I thought, often means that the Doctor doesn’t know where he’s meant to be, but he always ends up where he’s needed.

Wandering through the crowds, I noticed tangible excitement as cos-playing fans, young families and an assortment of aliens, robots and monsters got this party started!

I passed the Southend-on-Sea ‘Ghostbusters Experience’ and a huge inflatable Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, followed by Joker Squad’s interactive Star Wars stand, both of which utilised props and costumes from their respective franchises to create an interactive experience for eager fans.

Exploring further, I ran into Canadian author Norm Konyu, who is now living locally in Battle and who’d written and designed a graphic novel exploring the cross-cultural mythology of the ‘black hound of death’, Downlands, set in the South Downs of England, had done very well in France, allegedly, and was now available from Titan Comics.

On my way down to Studio 27, there were opportunities for Fantasy Face Painting and ‘Lawn of the Dead’s’ Magic Wand and Sonic Screwdriver Construction. Again, a nice touch for the families who were attending encouraging their children to get involved and be creative rather than just consume.

Kicking off in Studio 27 was the White Rock’s very own Youth Theatre project, the members of which had come direct from audition (and without rehearsal) to do numbers from the new upcoming musical version of The Addams Family (a summer treat definitely not to be missed). Harry, a dark Gomez, Josh, a kooky fester, James and Bertie sharing the role of tortured Pugsly, and Bexhill-based Rosie, a brooding Wednesday, all lit the stage with their vitality and presence.

I spoke briefly with Rosie’s parents who told me how performing had always been her dream for many years. It was so encouraging to witness this celebration of local talent, alongside established performers.

Next up was Eastbourne-based actor and performer Jon Camplan. With vibrant enthusiasm, he presented a Harry Potter wand battle workshop (having played a Death Eater in the movies). As the audience volunteers were put through their paces, a powerful bit of homespun magic was Jon’s insistence that ‘There is no such thing as failure. You try, you succeed or you learn.’ Jon had been diagnosed with ADHD in his fifties and was keen, as he put it, to ‘big up the neurodiversity.’ It turned out that he’s also registered as an official Sherlock Holmes (number 3268) for the Knockhatch adventure park.

What came next was not one but two classic Doctors, in the shape of Sylvester McCoy and Peter Davidson. By this point, the studio was packed and throughout the discussion which focused on various ‘Whovian’ anecdotes, the notion of inclusivity, which somehow seemed central to the whole weekend, was celebrated as Peter Davidson said: ‘There is nobody that the character is distanced from. The Doctor is everybody’s friend.’

Having had so much fun, I decided to come back for more on the second day. I had yet to visit the retro gaming room and was itching to play Space Invaders to relive my misspent youth. It was a joy and a very popular attraction, with many of the original old gaming consoles offering such delights as Street Fighter and Pac Man.

On my way down from the gaming room I noticed a familiar figure waiting for the lift. It was 6th Doctor Colin Baker. A small child rushed up to him and said, ‘You’re my favourite Doctor!’ Baker beamed the biggest beam and very graciously replied ‘Why, thank you!’

Colin Baker was the main attraction on the second Who panel, with Nicola Bryant and Sophia Myles, and between them, the warmth and love, for their time on the show, along with its fandom, was clearly self-evident.

After the Doctor and friends had departed, a larger than life-size Bluey and Bingo took to the stage for photo opportunities, followed by the Sussex Cosplay Alliance Cos-Play Parade which included some highly dedicated and industrious fans dressed up in lavish home-made costumes as characters from sources as diverse as Anime, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Batman, the MCU, Hello Kitty and Wicked, to name but a few.

Finally, I managed to secure myself some time with one of the natives of Skaro, an interview with a Dalek. They told me that while they had been attempting to conqueror the earth for a very long time now, they had enjoyed the weekend in Hastings so much, that they felt that they would very much like to come back next year and were even considering booking a Spa Retreat here. ‘Exfoliate!’

And so, very sadly, the weekend was coming to a close, but the general good humour and bonhomie of all involved would certainly help keep me uplifted for the coming weeks.

With more plastic pointy ears than you could shake a magic stick at (that’s ‘wand’ if you studied at Hogwarts), the first Hastings Comic Con cleverly combined elements of a global cultural community, passionate about science fiction and science fantasy, with a local geographical community full of the creative buzz and enthusiasm renowned of Hastings and St Leonards.

It was time to go, but before I did, I spoke briefly with Jane (one of the amazingly helpful and exceptionally friendly White Rock Theatre FOH team) who had herself worked in show business for many years, and who agreed with me that one of the nicest things about the weekend was its inclusivity and its family friendly vibe. However eccentric you might be and of whatever age, all were very, very welcome here.

*All photos by Andrew Logan (except the Hulk – by Paul Way-Rider)

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