Birmingham Memorabilia/Comic Con November 2014: Show Joker some love!

Last weekend was Birmingham Comic Con again, and for once I wasn't a zombie!  I'd spent the last 6 months planning this outing, and spent the weekend as The Joker from Arkham Asylum :) So I'm now begging favours and asking please give my photo below a Facebook 'like'. The pic with most likes will get posted across MCM'c social networking sites, and together we can all spread some Mr J love! :)

Post by Mcm Expo.

Last weekend was Birmingham Comic Con again, and for once I wasn't a zombie!  I'd spent the last 6 months planning this outing, and spent the weekend as The Joker from Arkham Asylum :) So I'm now begging favours and asking please give my photo above a Facebook 'like'. The pic with most likes will get posted across MCM'c social networking sites, and together we can all spread some Mr J love! :)

Birmingham Memorabilia/Comic Con November 23rd 2013

It's been a while since I last posted (as usual!), sorry about that.  It's been a busy few months with my board game review blog taking off massively, a new relationship on the go, zombie appearances being booked (and subsequently cancelled), and a load of fun hobby times!

 

Well today's update is all about Birmingham Memorabilia/MCM Comic Con which is taking place over the course of this weekend!  I attended yesterday, and Zombie Walter White was putting in an appearance once again!  As with most zombie days, it started at an unreasonable hour of the day.  I was up at 5am so that I could start makeup at 5:30, in order to be leaving for the train station at 7:00 for an 8:30 arrival.  I went by myself, mostly so that I could spend the majority of the day not breaking zombie character, and I managed to achieve that fairly well :)  I did start speaking normally when people asked me direct questions, or broke character to wave at a couple of kids who were otherwise probably about to start crying at the sight of me!  Oh and I saw a couple cosplaying as Jon Snow and Ygritte out of Game of Thrones, so I chased after him shouting "Jun Snu!", but was happy to break character for that!

 

Anyways, I arrived at the NEC on time (I just made it onto the train as the doors were sliding shut!), and once I was in I immediately starting shuffling and groaning about the place.  I didn't have a massive budget, and the zombie contact lens obscured my vision so badly that I couldn't see most of the stalls' wares anyway, so that helped me to keep from overspending!  I did pick up one massive bargain though, in the shape of Sedition Wars - a tabletop system/board game which normally costs around £50, and I picked up a sealed copy for £10!

 

 

Aside from bargain-hunting (and taking any opportunity to dress up as Heizomberg), my main aim for the day was to meet Chris Barrie, aka Rimmer from Red Dwarf.  In past Memorabilias I've met Danny John Jules (Cat) and Craig Charles (Lister), and I've got Robert Llewellyn's (Kryten) autograph from sending him a fan letter when I was younger, but Chris Barrie was the one crew member I was yet to add to my collection.  The queue to meet him was quite long, but I was happy to wait, and he was happy to post for a photo with my very own Mr Flibble, which brought a massive smile to my face :)

 

 

Aside from meeting this legend and picking up my lovely cheap game, I managed to refrain from spending for the rest of the day (aside from lunch, obviously).  I was stopped for plenty of photos as usual, but on this occasion I actually made the effort to drop out of character and take photos of other folks' amazing costumes!  But before I end this post with a stream of photos, I have a begging favour to ask my readers...

 

 

Please like my photo by Mcm Expo on Facebook! :)  They were taking official photos and whichever one gets the most likes wins a Nintendo WiiU, which would make me a very happy zombie.

Anyways, here are my other photos of the day...

 

Zombieing through the ages...

I was just uploading my latest zombie photo to Twitter, and when I went to select it from my zombie photo folder I suddenly felt inspired to make another post.  When I went to the audition last year I'd never even been in zombie makeup before, so here's a nice little selection of how my zombie look has changed throughout the last 11 months!  Some of these are simply down to how the studio in question wanted their zombies to look on the day, and some are developments in my own zombifying skills.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

June 2012: Wish.co.uk's Zombie Audition

The place it all began! On this occasion the makeup was kindly done on-site by one of the other auditionees.

 

 

January 2013: Warm Bodies photocall

My first paid zombie job, and as such the moment I was able to call myself a professional zombie!  Makeup done by myself, and one of my earliest attempts (my first ever attempt was 5 days earlier).

 

 

February 2013: Makeup test

Not for any event in particular, just a makeup test to try out new techniques.

 

 

March 2013: Zombie Bootcamp

My first TV appearence (yet to air), being filmed for a documentary at Ram Training's Zombie Bootcamp.  Makeup done by on-site artists.

 

March 2013: Birmingham Memorabilia/Comic Con

Just a nice casual event, dressing up as a zombified version of Arthur Dent for Birmingham Comic Con.  Makeup and costume all self-done.

 

April 2013: Whitchapel

Zombied up for ITV's Whitechapel.  Makeup done by on-site artists, and clothes provided by me but zombified by the costume department.

 

May 2013: giffgaff advert

Something I can't wait to see on air - the giffgaff advert directed by Matthias Hoene (Cockneys vs Zombies).  The skin tone, eye-shadowing, head wound and nose blood were all done by me, and the veins added by the on-site makeup team.  The costume was a shameless recycling of my Whitechapel outfit!   

 

May 2013: Zombie Weekend promotional video

My very latest (from today, in fact) zombie look. This was for the promotional video for Silent Studios' upcoming Zombie Weekend in August.  Again I provided my own clothes to be slashed/bloodied up there, and on this occasion the makeup/prosthetic was done entirely by my good friend Justin (one of Silent Studios' makeup artists).  He let me keep the face piece afterwards, so I look forward to getting more use out of it in the future!

Zombies & TV

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned an exciting project which had been confirmed and given the green light, so I think it's about time I elaborated a little.

 

Back in January I had a phone call off the lovely folks at Wish (who I am now starting to think of as my zombie agents) saying that they'd been approached by a company filming a documentary series for the Discovery Channel, who were after someone who is just a little bit nuts about zombies.  Oddly enough they thought I'd fit the bill :)  After a few weeks with no news I'd started to forget about it (if the This Morning cancellation taught me one thing it's that nothing is set in stone), and started playing the waiting game for my next zombie role.  But eventually I was contacted again, put in touch with the show's producer, and a week or so later was sat in the corner of the flat as the film crew started tweaking the room to make it optimal for filming.  To say it's been a surreal experience doesn't quite do it justice!

As it's still yet to air I stll don't know how much I'm allowed to say about the show, but it should be hitting the small screen around the world in a few months time, and once it does I know I'll be safe to spill the beans entirely!  The working title for the series is Extreme Worlds, but with a while to go until the broadcast date that's subject to change.  Obviously I will be posting updates closer to the time.

 

In other zombie TV related news, I've got a bit part in a popular british drama series just over the horizon, along with many of the zombies from the Warm Bodies photocall, so it'll be great to work with them again :) Even better to work with them in a capacity that involves actual zombie behaviour rather than just zombie poses!  Don't get me wrong, I loved the photocall, but I do enjoy letting rip with my zombie growl, and that doesn't really come across in a photo!  Once more, I'm not going to jeapordise things by revealing more than I'm allowed to, but as soon as the show hits the air I'll be the first one jumping up and down whilst shouting "Look! It's me!!!"

 

In non-TV zombie news, my makeup attempts are coming along in leaps and bounds.  Last weekend I attended the Birmingham Memorabilia/Comic Con as a zombified version of Arthur Dent from The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, and here's how I looked...

There are a few elements I'm still looking to improve, but with each passing attempt these grow fewer. I'm going to use a blacker/scabbier blood to fill in the cheek and forehead wounds in the future, as I'm still not happy with the fresh red look.  If I'm as rotten as my skin makes out, I certainly shouldn't be bleeding those kind of shades. I was happy with the teeth and the mouth blood on this occasion, but on reflection I was a bit disappointed with the eye shading.  I've done better than this before so I know I can do so again.  Oh and I love the white contact lens, I think it rounds things off just perfectly.

 

So I guess that's it for this update.  I can't wait for the documentary to air so I can embark on a full-on ramble about what an amazing weekend it was!  And I can't wait for the filming on this show in a couple of weeks!  All systems are go in the world of zombies at the moment, and here's hoping they carry on this way!