Brace yourselves York because today, superheroes, villains, dragons and creatures from outer space have landed in a galaxy not so far away at The Knavesmire.
It’s York Comic Con!
Thousands of cosplayers from all over Yorkshire came to celebrate their ‘inner nerd’ today at York Comic Con.
Characters included Transformers’ Bumblebee, Heath Ledger’s Joker, Star Wars’ Chewbacca, along with Wolverine, all 15 Doctor Who, Stranger Things’ Hopper and so many more.
Cosplayers were able to browse three floors of merchandise stalls, sit in recognisable cars like the Inbetweeners yellow and red Fiat Chinquecento Hawaii and pose for numerous photos showing off their incredible costumes.
The enthusiasts weren’t the only ones at the event because also in attendance were acting superstars such as Dani Harmer, best known for playing iconic noughties rebel, Tracy Beaker in CBBC’s ‘The Story of Tracy Beaker’ and James D’Arcy, most known for his portrayal of Edwin Jarvis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Also there were voice actors Lizzie Waterworth, the voice of Horrid Henry and Marc Silk who has voiced many characters in major franchises such as Star Wars and Danger Mouse.
The event was organised by Unleashed Events who run similar Comic Con events across the UK every year.
Today was avid cosplayer Jay’s 100th Comic Con.
They have been cosplaying different characters since 2017 and today, they were dressed as Heath Ledger’s Joker, their “comfort cosplay”.
Speaking on their costume, Jay said: “Every element of my costume is second hand, I love creating cosplays from my charity shop and Vinted finds.”
Like many enthusiasts at today’s event, Jay said: “Comic Con is extremely important because of the community it brings.”
They continued, saying: “I can be someone else for the day and be confident, plus everyone has been so lovely today and it’s been a really nice environment to be included in.”
The most popular star today was Tracy Beaker herself, Dani Harmer who had people queuing to speak to her all day.
Actress Dani Harmer said: “I love Comic Con because I absolutely love a chat and I get so excited to meet everyone.”
Speaking on signing her pictures, Harmer said: “I’m glad that I have some recent pictures to sign today because at my last Comic Con, I was signing pictures of my ten-year-old self, which felt a bit strange.”
She continued, saying: “I don’t like that people have to pay for my autograph – I get paid to be here but the organisers charge for my autograph, if it was down to me, I’d just give them out for free but I can’t do that because I’ll get into trouble!”
“I don’t want my interactions with people to be really short and impersonal, so my line tends to get a bit long because I like to have a proper chat with everyone who comes to see me.”
Amy Blanchard, who met Dani today, said: “I grew up watching Tracy Beaker, so meeting Dani Harmer was surreal and so nostalgic, little me would be screaming right now!”
“I’m so happy I got to chat to her, she was so lovely and didn’t rush me even though there were loads of people behind me waiting to speak to her.”
Comic Con returns to York on 30th August 2026.
