Thousands brave storm for Wales Comic Con - review with pictures

The annual spring event, of a twice-yearly gathering of fans and genre stars at Glyndwr University, was blighted on its first day, Saturday, by heavy rain and strong winds that buffeted the marquees. This meant that after queuing outside for admission, or for a photo shoot with one of the stars, fans looked like they should be advertising new Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy.

But this was the most star-studded Wales Comic Con yet and it takes more than some typically robust Welsh weather to stop a weekend caped crusader or a part-time Imperial Stormtrooper get their desired selfie, posed pro photo or autograph with a favourite actor, even if it did cost anything from £20 up to £125 a pop, the latter being the fee for either a photo with, or autograph from, Harry Potter star Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley.

Other big names charging £80 included David Tennant, Jurassic Park's Sam Neill and 24's Kiefer Sutherland.

By my reckoning Tennant was the most busy with a huge queue of Doctor Who fans wanting to pose beside the Scottish actor, who has peformed on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in brooding TV thriller Broadchurch since departing the Tardis in 2013. It just goes to prove, once a Timelord always a Timelord as far as the Whovians are concerned. There was an extra special reason for a large cohort of Doctor Who enthusiasts among the comic con goers as Tennant was being reunited with his former companion through time and space, Billie Piper.

Sean Pertwee, the son of the third Doctor Jon Pertwee, who as Batman's butler Alfred Pennyworth has introduced cockney slang to a new generation of confused Americans, was one of four actors from hit show Gotham at the event.

On a question and answer panel, alongside homecoming Welsh actress Erin Richards, and American actors Robin Lord Taylor (who plays Penguin) and Camran Bicondova (Catwoman), Sean revealed that he had unleashed a social media storm of puzzlement when he used the phrase 'do you up like a kipper' in the stylish dark fantasy about Batman's origins.

After five years and five series, Gotham screened its 100th and final episode in the US last week but British fans will have to wait until Channel 4 shows the last season later this year. The final episode was also directed by 32-year-old Richards, from Penarth, who has made a career on US TV via situation comedy Breaking In and as the glamorous gangster Barbara Kean in Gotham.

Robin Lord Taylor, whose character Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin has become a firm viewers' favourite as the show's anti-hero, told the audience that he would not return to the role unless the main cast members were all reunited, and no such project was on the table. He added: "These characters have been around for some 80 years, and they should be constantly reinvented to reflect the times they are in."

Actors from two new major Nextflix series met fans at the show and took part in panels. These included the witchy trio of Lucy Davis (also from TV's The Office and daughter of Jasper Carrott), Michelle Gomez and Miranda Otto from the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and, from The Umbrella Academy, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Justin H Min and Jordan Claire Robbins. Both shows are American productions made in Canada.

Game of Thrones fans queued to meet Irish actor Liam Cunningham, one of the few characters to survive to the current final series of GoT as Davos Seaworth, and Mark Addy who played King Robert Baratheon in the first series.

Other draws included Hellboy star Ron Perlman, The Walking Dead's Michael Cudlitz, Sam Caflin from The Hunger Games, Jennifer Morrison from Once Upon a Time, and Welsh actor Matt Ryan from Constantine and DC's Legends of Tomorrow. A late addition to the bill, fresh from his table banging antics on TV's Question Time, was veteran actor John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

There were also lots of merchanise stalls to browse and, of course, many fans came dressed as their favourite characters or as their own weird and/or wonderful creation.