By and photos copyright Owen Quinn
Another day. Another Doctor.
I got to tick the 13th Doctor off my list when Jodie Whittaker appeared at Northern Ireland Comic Con along with her on screen companion, Yaz aka Mandip Gill. It was a bittersweet experience to be honest.
Jodie was positioned alongside the Tardis and was great. She was so genuine, excitable and happy to chat. She was honestly happy to visit Northern Ireland even though she would only be there for one day so sightseeing was out.
We chatted for several minutes. There was no sense of rushing people and she was a great celeb to meet. I got one of the comics signed. I’d met another Doctor!
But here’s the bitter part. There was no option for a combo for her or for Mandip. A combo is when you pay at the table for a selfie and an autograph. For example for Cooper Andrews who played Jerry in The Walking Dead charged £60 for a combo while Steven Ogg who played Simon in The Walking Dead was $50 at Dublin Comic Con. They’re commonplace and good for people who may not have the cash for a professional photo. By taking away a combo option, fans are then forced to go for the professional photo which is always dearer. A combo saves you money. To use Jodie as an example her autograph was advertised at £75 on social media but was £80 on the day. A professional phot was £80 bringing to a total of £160 for her. I understand she is the Doctor and as a lifetime fan of the show she had to be added to my collection. She is iconic in the sphere of being the Doctor and in the sphere of its history. I know a lot of people that refused to pay that.
So I was told that the next photo op was 17:10pm and tickets would be sold at 17:05. I waited and went to the table to pay fpr a photo and complete the day. However when i got there they were talking about refunds. I asked for a photo op but was told the photo shoot had been cancelled. According to the staff, they had just learned that Jodie had to leave early. I found that strange given they had booked her flights over so knew in advance what time she would have to leave to go home. Now it didn’t help that |Northern Ireland Comic Con took the photo ops off the site at least two days before Saturday the 7th taking the opportunity away from anyone to see if there were earlier slots. All I got were a couple of poor photos taken from a distance. See below.
So I never got my photo with Jodie leaving it as something to be done sometime in the future. She was great and entertained the crowds with the Doctor Who panel alongside Billie Piper and Mandip Gill. I’d love to meet her again but as long as the organisers don’t mess up again.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 