Petition launched after Telford Comic Con is axed
A petition has been launched after a popular comic book convention which attracts thousands of people to Telford each year was axed.
MCM Comic Con has been coming to Telford's International Centre for the past decade, but it was announced last month that the event will not go ahead next year.
Organisers said they wanted to focus on expanding shows in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, and London, and will not be returning to the county.
The news was met with dismay by fans and an online petition has now been launched by Shonalee Bourne, of Telford, calling for the event to continue.
MCM Comic Con has been hugely popular in the Telford area for the last decade.
It has included appearances from celebrities, the chance to try new video games and to dress up as characters and take part in masquerades and competitions.
Members of the cast of cult sci-fi show Red Dwarf had regularly attended the event, taking part in panels and signing sessions for fans.
Comic Con events in Liverpool and Northern Ireland were also cancelled as part of the new approach.
The petition at www.change.org, which will be sent to the event organisers, says: "Many people are unable to attend the events in London and Birmingham and have lost access to Comic Cons in general.
"Passionate pop culture fans are left with little events to attend and are now made to spend more money on travel and tickets for bigger events that are crowded and hard to enjoy.
"I am to help bring back the Comic Cons we have known and loved for years and stop them being cancelled so many pop culture fans can experience the joys of Cons in a close area.
"Keeping these MCM events would mean more people can do what they love and find a community in which they belong."
The petition has been signed by more than 50 people so far.
In a statement released on its Facebook page last month, MCM Comic Con said it had been a “difficult decision” to cut back on the shows.
It said: “Our goal at MCM is to provide the ultimate pop culture experiences for our fans throughout the UK.
“In order to deliver bigger and better events, brands, guests and entertainment for our fans we have made the difficult decision to discontinue the MCM Comic Cons in Telford (Midlands), Liverpool and Northern Ireland.
“We know that we have lots of incredibly passionate and dedicated fans in those regions and we want to sincerely thank them for all of the energy and support they have given to us and our shows over the years.
“Moving forward our focus will be on significantly growing and expanding the shows in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London. As these shows evolve into larger, more exciting pop culture experiences we hope that all our fans throughout the UK will continue to support us and join us at all of our shows in 2018.”
