Ahead warp factor five! Comic Con all set to boldly return to Peterborough this March

Great Scott! Get ready to charge batteries to power and set phasers to stun; Comic Con is coming back to Peterborough - and The Force is very strong with it.

Following its “hugely successful” debut event last September, Striking Events are all set to return to Bushfield Leisure Centre in Orton Centre on Sunday March 17.

The event was a monster smash last year, with cosplay competitions, Batman’s tumbler car, and a packed hall of exhibitors delighting fans of all ages.

This year’s event promises to be just as popular, with a lightsaber academy and retro gaming arena complementing the staple cosplay comps and exhibition stands.

A full-size Lightning McQueen car, a Gotham city police car and – most impressive of all – the Delorean time machine from Back to the Future will also be on hand: Bazinga!

The organiser of the event, Mark Woollard, is looking forward to bringing Striking Events’ grass-roots style shows back to Peterborough.

As someone who has worked within the comic con industry since the 1990s, Mark knows a thing or two about what makes a truly enjoyable event.

He believes that, now comic cons have become large scale events with big name celebrities the main focus of attention, many people are harking back to simpler times.

“Our events are slightly different to most comic cons,” he explains, “in that most comic cons now rely on celebrity guests to get people in.”

While offering opportunities to see a Starfleet captain or one-time Ewok in the flesh is understandably attractive, this invariably raises costs, resulting in higher ticket prices, which themselves come on top of additional fees levied for things like autographs and photos.

"We don’t have celebrities so once they [visitors] have paid their admission, everything inside is free,” Mark says.

Mark reflected that, as well as helping people’s bank balances, this business model takes a lot of potential stress out of the day as parents don’t need to worry about paying for any additional fees once they’ve bought their ticket.

"We want people to have a good time, so we don’t charge extra for anything; even the lightsaber academy is free,” he explains.

"We concentrate on the attraction so that everyone can enjoy it together and have a nice day.”

This approach is something many attending last year’s event certainly appreciated.

Mark said a good proportion of those visiting in 2023 were families, many attracted by the modest outlay.

“It went really, really well here last year,” he said, “even despite the heat we had around 1,300 people attend the show.”

Tickets for this year’s event cost £10 for adults, £8 for teens, and £5 for children when booked in advance.

A family ticket (two adults and two children) will set you back £26, while all carers and under-fives get in for free.

Tickets can be purchased via this link, and more info can be found at facebook.com/PeterboroughComicCon.

Check out our photo gallery of last year’s event to get a flavour of what to expect at this year’s show.