Splat! Bang! Kapow!

Kapow Comic Con is mere days away, my first ever comic con! After years of secret nerdiness I'm stepping out in public in fishnets and a top hat, no less (yes, I'm cosplaying Zatanna. Speaking of which: boots or pumps? What do you reckon?)

It's not just the panels that I'm excited about - it's the whole atmosphere. For the last few years I've looking longingly at grainy You Tube videos from the San Diego ComicCon. How much did I wish I'd been there when the entire Avengers line-up was unveiled last year? For someone like me it's the equivalent of being able to say "I was at Live Aid".

Britain has always been regarded as cultured and restrained rather than geeky. Hell, even our sci-fi icon chooses to travel through time meeting famous authors and politicians rather than Blowing Shit Up. So it's about time that we showed that we can do nerdy just as well as the Americans. Hopefully, Kapow will take off and it will become a mark of honour for a comic, film or TV programme to show there. Mark Miller already has some panels lined up for next year (pleeeaaase let The Hobbit be amongst them...) so let's hope that this weekend I get to be present at the birth of a tradition.

Plus, where else can I dress as Zatanna and not be taken for a whore?

So here's what I'm looking forward to most:

DC Creators Panel
This'll be one I go to on my own. The friends I'm going with aren't really into comics unless they're being adapted for the screen, so I'll be sitting by myself getting quietly very excited.

Thor
I'm not into Thor. At all. But my housemate showed me a picture of Chris Hemsworth and I've decided I may have to rethink my position on Thor. Plus, I suspect that it could also be Movie X, especially since they've gone to the trouble of flying their lead actor over.

Toby Whithouse
I love Being Human. I am also a writer. Therefore, Toby Whithouse is one of my heroes. This is especially exciting for me since I once had tickets to hear him talk and missed it because I was laid up with flu. Screw you, illness! Who's laughing now?!

Misfits
Unfortunately, this panel is shared with Skins and is missing two crucial components: Robert Sheehan and Howard Overman. But Misfits is Misfits, and Iwan Rheon and Lauren Socha are two of the reason's it's so damn good. I will be there with bells on.

Merlin
It's one of my favourite guilty pleasures and is also one of the only panels in which the entire cast will be in attendance along with one of the creators. And if Anthony Head can drop by for a guest appearence, even better.

But there are a couple of things bothing me about Kapow:

1. The Merlin panel clashes with the audience with Mark Gatiss! How can I choose between the two? Mark Gatiss is a genius, a gentleman and a raconteur, but Merlin is silly, fun and easy on the eyes. So, yes, basically this is a decision that boils down to whether I go to listen to a writer and actor I've always admired, or go to ogle Colin Morgan and Bradley James. I'm horribly shallow.

2. Where are the two big British properties: Doctor Who and Harry Potter? Both have big returns coming up and both have a cast and crew that actually live in the country. Doctor Who showed at WonderCon in America last weekend but can't drag its arse to London? Come on BBC, sort it out!