{"id":62578,"date":"2026-05-29T14:52:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/?p=62578"},"modified":"2026-05-29T14:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T13:53:17","slug":"hastings-comic-con-is-back-this-june-and-the-sequel-is-even-bigger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/2026\/05\/29\/hastings-comic-con-is-back-this-june-and-the-sequel-is-even-bigger\/","title":{"rendered":"Hastings Comic Con is back this June: and the sequel is even bigger!"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Red Dwarf and Star Wars celeb guests, Pok\u00e9mon, Daleks, true crime, and more confirmed for 20-21 June<\/i><\/b><\/p>

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Hastings Comic Con<\/a>\u00a0returns to the White Rock Theatre on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st June 2026 with cult TV stars, Star Wars experiences, Pok\u00e9mon tournaments, retro gaming, cosplay parades and much more, across a packed two-day weekend by the sea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Star Wars<\/b>\u00a0fans can\u00a0ride a full-size tauntaun\u00a0<\/b>replica from\u00a0The Empire Strikes Back<\/i>\u00a0(included with their ticket), while interactive displays will transport visitors to a galaxy far, far away.\u00a0The Scavengers Yard<\/b>\u00a0is an immersive environment filled with detailed props, alongside a depot of familiar service droids, and it\u2019ll be hard to miss the\u00a0towering 10ft Grummgar<\/b>\u00a0from\u00a0The Force Awakens<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Celebrity guests include\u00a0Chris Barrie, Norman Lovett\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0Doug Naylor<\/b>\u00a0who reunite for a special\u00a0Red Dwarf panel<\/b>\u00a0confirmed for Saturday 20th\u00a0\u00a0June in Studio 27. They will be joined by\u00a0Guy Henry<\/b>\u00a0(Star Wars: Rogue One, Harry Potter<\/i>),\u00a0Brian Herring<\/b>\u00a0(Star Wars, Doctor Who, The Muppets<\/i>),\u00a0Kate Harbour<\/b>\u00a0(Bob the Builder, Chicken Run<\/i>), and\u00a0Marc Silk<\/b>\u00a0(Scooby-Doo, Star Wars<\/i>).<\/span><\/p>

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In\u00a0Artist Alley<\/b>, internationally-recognised comic book artist\u00a0David Lafuente<\/b>, known for\u00a0Ultimate Spider-Man<\/i>,\u00a0Harley Quinn<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0Batman Eternal<\/i>, is now confirmed to join\u00a0Hannah Berry<\/b>\u00a0(UK Comics Laureate 2019\u201321),\u00a0Cian Tormey<\/b>\u00a0(DC Comics<\/i>),\u00a0Rob Williams<\/b>\u00a0(Judge Dredd<\/i>),\u00a0Colleen Douglas<\/b>\u00a0(Amigo Comics<\/i>) and\u00a0Jordan Thomas<\/b>\u00a0(Flash Gordon<\/i>,\u00a0EC Comics<\/i>). Visitors can chat to the artists and watch them at work.<\/span><\/p>

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The\u00a0Portsmouth Pok\u00e9mon League<\/b>\u00a0will be offering\u00a0casual play and competitive tournaments for all ages throughout the weekend. Visitors can join Learn-to-Play sessions perfect for beginners looking to get started or for experienced players refining their Pok\u00e9mon Trading Card Game skills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Elsewhere across Hastings Comic Con,\u00a0Doctor Who<\/b>\u00a0fans should look\u00a0out for full-size\u00a0Daleks<\/b>, a\u00a0Cyberman<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0K9<\/b>\u00a0on the main stage courtesy of Who-ray.\u00a0Tom Baker<\/b>\u00a0voices the interactive adventure quest\u00a0The Storymaster’s Tales: School of Wizards and Witches<\/i>\u00a0for all ages 7+ to play.\u00a0<\/i>A\u00a0Ghostbusters<\/b>\u00a0van will be parked outside the entrance full of movie props and the \u2018Mean Green Ghost\u2019 himself\u00a0Slimer<\/b>\u00a0will be roaming around looking for hot dogs! And\u00a0Hastings’ own True Crime Museum<\/b>\u00a0brings a genuinely unsettling collection of artefacts exploring the darker side of criminal history, including a real brain drill once used for lobotomies.<\/span><\/p>

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Take on the\u00a0Table Top Escape Rooms<\/b>\u00a0alone or in teams, who will be able to compete against each other at the same time. Retro gaming fans can expect a huge variety of arcade consoles provided by\u00a0Game Over<\/b>, with classics including Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Ninja Turtles, Street Fighter and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Cosplay parades\u00a0<\/b>are back by popular demand, giving all cosplayers the chance to amaze the audience with their creativity on stage, hosted once again by\u00a0Sussex Cosplay Alliance<\/b>\u00a0on both days. A huge range of\u00a0toys, souvenirs, art and\u00a0merchandise will be displayed by traders\u00a0at Hastings White Rock: perfect for\u00a0collectors or anyone happy to support small businesses and independent artists.<\/span><\/p>

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Hastings Comic Con is produced by The Guildhall Trust, the team behind the hugely successful Portsmouth Comic Con.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

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Hastings Comic Con Producer Curt Hill\u00a0<\/b>said:\u00a0<\/b>\u201cFrom legendary comic creators and cult TV stars to Star Wars environments you can step into with dozens of replica props to see up close, this is shaping up to be a proper pop culture weekend by the sea. We can\u2019t wait to welcome fans back this June for an even bigger event than before.\u201d<\/i><\/span><\/p>

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New for this year is a\u00a0weekend ticket\u00a0<\/b>that covers both days for \u00a325. There are also concession tickets for students (\u00a311), under 14s (\u00a310), and under 5s (\u00a31). Tickets are available now at\u00a0hastingscomiccon.com<\/a>\u00a0where more information can be found. Find the latest updates and announcements on the Hastings Comic Con\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0pages.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Red Dwarf and Star Wars celeb guests, Pok\u00e9mon, Daleks, true crime, and more confirmed for 20-21 June \u00a0 Hastings Comic Con\u00a0returns to the White Rock Theatre on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st June 2026 with cult TV stars, Star Wars experiences, Pok\u00e9mon tournaments, retro gaming, cosplay parades and much more, across a packed two-day weekend […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":62579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1563],"tags":[],"directory-category":[],"event_categories":[],"class_list":["post-62578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-days-out"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-06 15:16:23","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62578"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62583,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62578\/revisions\/62583"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62578"},{"taxonomy":"directory-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/directory-category?post=62578"},{"taxonomy":"event_categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thefamilygrapevine.co.uk\/midsussex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event_categories?post=62578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}