Comic Con Brussels 2021
After Belgium has been on lockdown for quite some time, it was great to see that conventions are allowed again. Even though we still went to the 2020 edition of Comic Con Brussels, it was the edition that was held in February 2020, meaning it’s already more than a year and a half ago. Once again we found ourselves traveling to Brussels, with our Covid Safe Ticket readily available to be allowed inside. As usual, we were treated to a very good convention, albeit one with a few minor remarks we hope the organization will take note of.
Those who have read our previous reviews, or know this particular convention, will already know that we describe this convention to be very good, with decent shops for you to buy merchandise from, nice food stalls, a lot of famous guests that are available for autograph sessions or photoshoots, and so on. This year it was no different, as there were a lot of quality shops spread over the different halls, with varied merchandise. While the POP! figures may have been the focal point for many retailers, we also saw sci-fi merchandise, fantasy items, a lot of retro and new games, a tattoo booth, arts and crafts, and many other things. As mentioned in the past, this is one of the few conventions where we found a lot of items for fair prices, safe for a few scalpers that tried to sell recent Pokémon cards or Switch games at ridiculous prices, while they are still available in certain shops.
CC Brussels sported a very impressive lineup when it came to the guests that would appear for photoshoots and autograph signings. Potterheads, fans of The 100, and those into the Arrowverse had their pick of the litter and a fun chance to meet their idols. We also had a lot of other famous names present such as John Rhys-Davies, Chandler Riggs, Karyn Parsons, etc. Regrettably, a few of the headliners canceled due to not being vaccinated or scheduling issues. A bit more information about the cancellations would have been nice, as some were simply not marked as canceled on the site, and one even had the option to still buy tickets for the photoshoot sessions.
The layout was clear and the pathways were wide enough, making sure the convention could handle the many people that roamed the halls. There were a few congestions here and there, but nothing truly worth mentioning. Again, there were a lot of lovely cosplayers attending the event, even though we saw fewer people in full outfits like we usually do. We do have to say that the visitors that go to these conventions are getting worse with every passing year, as many people just shove others to get to what they want to look at, while others just throw their trash wherever they stand and some even dumped their food items on the catwalk for the cosplayers. We did notice a lack of garbage cans in the merchandise halls, which might already prevent some of these issues. We noticed that due to the lockdown many people seemed to have forgotten some social standards, such as having a shower before you attend an event. People, even if you don’t care yourself, please keep others in mind, and just wash up, put on clean clothes and make sure you don’t bother other people with the smell of a million dead animal carcasses. (Bonus points to who found the retailer with the face mask where brown chunks of an unknown substance were oozing through the fabric.) We truly do not wish to offend anyone here, but some basic respect for yourself and others goes a long way here.
The food options present were great, and it was also nice to see that most stalls offered the option to pay cash or via card. More than often you even had two queues for this, making sure things went quite smoothly. The hall had communal tables to eat, but it never felt overly crowded when we also sat down to grab a bite. The food quality was superb, and while some dishes were priced a bit more fairly than others, we had no complaints about the food in general. This hall also had enough garbage cans to make sure people could throw away their leftovers or empty containers. Of course, not everyone adheres to social norms and actually cleans up after themselves.
Conclusion
All in all, the event has remained somewhat the same as it always has, and thanks to this it also felt the world was ‘normal’ once again. While the crew behind the event still has a few kinks to iron out, Comic Con Brussels was once again a treat that comes at a fair price. There was enough quality merchandise, great headliners that were there for autographs and photoshoots, and enough other activities to partake in, or sights to behold. In the future, we do hope guest cancellations are marked better on the website, and that a few trash cans are added in the other halls as well.
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