My 4 year old son loves anything Marvel. We decided to surprise him with a trip to the Middle East Film and Comic Con. My husband and I had never been to a Comic Con and didn’t really know what to expect. The only thing that kept popping into my head was Anime cartoons and people dressing up as Star Trek characters. Despite looking up the schedule online, I still felt unprepared and had no idea what to expect once I arrived.
This year the MEFCC was held at the World Trade Centre in Dubai. It is the 3rd year of the MEFCC but the first year it was held here.
MEFCC is so much more than just a bunch of comic fans getting together. There are workshops, vendors, artists, games, guest speakers, even the legendary Stan Lee was in attendance. I am not a big into comic books, but even this housewife knows who Stan Lee is! People dressed as their favourite characters created such a positive vibe to the already electric atmosphere of the event.
One of my favourite things at the event was the Art Wars Dubai Exhibit. Twenty UAE based artists took the classic Storm Trooper helmet and added their own individual style. They were all fantastic but some of my favourite was “I Will Never Be Your Son” by el Seed because of its humour and “Smaghtrooper” by Mohamed Abdul Latif Kanoo because it took this most recognisable helmet and made it Middle Eastern.
Another fantastic section was the Dubai Artist Gallery. Local artist set up to sell their art which was displayed in various forms – coffee mugs, notepads, books, canvas, t-shirts there was no limit. It was just a hall of creativity. Most impressive was that alot of the vendors were so young. Still university students. I was amazed. Such a great entrepreneurial spirit.
One of my husbands favourite stands was the Games Workshop. As a child he had played Blood Bowl which is now a discontinued Games Workshop game. He loved looking at the little figures which brought back happy childhood memories.
My husband and I loved the event. I would not recommend for small children. There are long queues, and it is very crowded. My son did enjoy some of the events but at 4 years old, I felt he is still just a bit young to participate in what was on offer. This made him cranky. I did see families with young children in attendance but I think it would be hard to navigate the venue with a stroller because the amount of people in attendance.
My husband and I loved the event. We weren’t able to get around to all of the exhibits because of our cranky 4 year old. We definitely would go back next year but may be on our own without the kids.
