Last weekend (11th March) saw the second Dunfermline Comic Con take place in Pittencrief Park. As last year, it was organised by the awesome team at Little Shop of Heroes.

After last year’s success, the Con was extended to include a marquee that effectively doubled the amount of space available. The marquee was packed with vendors, artists, and the opportunity to have your photo taken on a replica of Luke’s landspeeder from Star Wars: A New Hope.

If you take a look at the panorama below you might be tempted to think it was pretty quiet. Well, yes, it was when I took this (the doors had just opened) but, believe me, it got much, much busier!

The nice thing, though, was that it didn’t feel as crowded as it did last year. Still busy, but I didn’t feel like there were any points where I couldn’t get to wherever I wanted to go.

So what was happening? Well, there were many artist tables and it was great to get a chance to chat with diverse artists like Neil Slorance (Dungeon Fun), Claire Roe (Batgirl Birds of Prey), Ian Kennedy (Dan Dare and Commando), John Allison (Bobbins), and lots more! One of the things I learned is that the artists are more than happy to chat about their work, their interested (Surprise! Most of the ones I spoke to are massive geeks!), and to let you watch them as they sketch at their tables. I was there with my Daughter this time, and she was fascinated to see the artistic process taking place right before her eyes. A special shout out to my friend Adam for whom Dunfermline Comic Con was his first con as an artist/exhibitor!

There were plenty of vendors too, selling wares ranging from handmade crafts to vintage toys. I saw a few toys I played with in my childhood years and, yes, it made me feel old! I spent a good long time talking to the guys at the

I spent a good long time talking to the guys at the Dunfermline Wargaming and Roleplaying Fellowship table and to sculptor David Chapman (who I also bought an MDF bat’leth from!). We had made a decision that we would look around everything before making any purchases, and it was nice to see the vendors understood (and even agreed). No hard sell, no pressure, everyone was relaxed and enjoying the day.

Of course, what is a convention without cosplay? There was an amazing array on display including some stunning Stormtrooper, Rebel Pilot, and Mandalorian outfits.

I was particularly taken with a chap dressed up as Sulu, from Star Trek, including gorgeous movie-era Starfleet uniform.

Between the two of us, my daughter and I also spotted Master Chief (Halo), several Ghostbusters, a dog dressed up as an AT-AT, and a group dressed up as characters from Peter Pan (my daughter loved this group because of the fantastic steampunk Tinkerbell costume!).

My highlight was seeing the Doctor Who lookalike and discovering Derek the Dalek can actually move! The Doctor took it for a couple of spins around the hall and it was great to watch people’s reactions. I had a quick chat with The Doctor afterwards, and it turns out he built Derek himself!

We didn’t manage to get to the panels but there were three throughout the day on “Comics/books – online to physical”, “Comics, video games and Animation + The British Superhero”, and “Dungeon Fun & Nimona”. Next year!

Just as last year, we had a fantastic day. It was a great opportunity to share in some geekiness with my daughter and the two of us area already looking forward to next year. If you want to know when details of next year are out, keep an eye on the Little Shop of Heroes facebook page.