MCM Expo launches new weekly online manga series

The MCM Expo has grown tremendously over the last few years. Attendance records have been broken and ticket sales for the expo in London next month have reached new heights! This week the expo will expand into a new field in the form of an online manga strip!

Starting this coming Friday (15th April) for the six weeks in the run up to the expo, they will be releasing a new online manga series by Christopher Chong.

The series follows a young girl by the name of Chloe who is attempting to teach her friend all about cosplay in time for the London Expo weekender. The series is six parts in length (hence the reason why each chapter is being released over the course of six weeks) and will be available exclusively through the MCM Expo Buzz website.

This according to Stuart Claw (editor of the MCM Buzz site) "...marks the first of many new pieces of original content that we plan to release on the MCM Buzz as part of the Buzz originals brand. It is a great opportunity for us to help give new talent a voice in this competitive industry and we plan to offer more people that opportunity in the months to come.”


From a personal standpoint, I think it's fantastic that the organisers recognise that the cosplay element of the weekend is now major part of the spectacle that is the MCM London Expo. Although I've yet to read it, I feel the intention of this manga could be to act as more of an introduction to those who might not be familiar with the concept of cosplay and in turn encouraging people to attend in cosplay either in May or at a future expo.

As this is the first manga series commissioned by the 'Buzz Originals' brand, it will be interesting to see if this is prelude of things to come regarding other aspects of the weekend. Cosplay doesn't just cover the anime/manga fan who attend, but all forms of entertainment including Sci-fi series like 'Stargate SG1' and many video games. Could a manga highlighting the indulgence of video gaming activities at the expo be in the works for the future? Back in October, there was a notable increase in video gaming activities including a playable demo of the (at the time) highly anticipated 'Assassins Creed: Brotherhood' game (complemented further by having the voice actor of 'Ezio', the protagonist of the game, Roger Craig Smith also in attendance).

I have friends who have attended the expo and have been enthralled by idea of cosplay but never really had an avenue to get into the nitty gritty (as it were) of the concept. This could be a huge source of information for many people be them new to veterans of it.

As mentioned, the first chapter will be available to read on Friday. Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think if you have any opinions on it.

The London MCM Expo takes place at the Excel Centre in London on May 27th - 29th. For more information visit www.LondonExpo.com



Below you read the full press release:

The MCM Buzz is proud to announce the release of the first part of their exclusive online Manga series.

The series created exclusively for www.mcmbuzz.com by artist Christopher Chong, tells the story of a young girl called Chloe and her mission to educate her friend in the art of Cosplay in time for the London MCM Expo event. The story will be spread over six parts, all of which will be available for FREE on www.mcmbuzz.com starting on Friday April 15th 2011.

“The release of this Manga marks the first of many new pieces of original content that we plan to release on the MCM Buzz as part of the Buzz originals brand,” comments MCM Buzz editor Stuart Claw, “It is a great opportunity for us to help give new talent a voice in this competitive industry and we plan to offer more people that opportunity in the months to come.”

The project is the brainchild of both Stuart Claw and artist Christopher Chong, “Christopher originally emailed in and asked about joining the writing team and when I saw the Manga he had drawn on his website, I discussed with him the idea of doing an exclusive series for us and he accepted,” continues Stuart, “We then brainstormed ideas and once we had the general direction I left him to it and the end result is what readers will be able to see shortly.”

“The project has been an excellent challenge and a fantastic experience.  I've personally had many fun memories and met brilliant new friends at the expo so this Manga has been a great opportunity for me to showcase my passion,” comments Christopher, who in 2010 studied the art of Anime Animation at Nihon Kogakuin college in Japan.

The first part of the Manga will be released on www.mcmbuzz.com on Friday April 15th and then a new part will be available every Friday for six weeks in the building up to the London Expo Event this May.

For more information email info@mcmbuzz.com and learn more about Christopher Chong visit http://majorc.co.uk/sonicimages/