After some postponements and cancellations of previous editions, Ian Somerhalder, Paul Wesley and Joseph Morgan attended German Comic Con Dortmund last weekend at Dortmund Westfalenhalle, next to the Signal Iduna Park Stadium. Alongside them, they invited very big guests from very big franchises: Joseph Quinn (Eddie in Stranger Things), Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna in Stranger Things), Simon Helberg (Howard in The Big Bang Theory), Álvaro Morte and Esther Acebo (The Professor and Estocolmo in Money Heist) and many, many more.
Saturday morning
As always, I arrived pretty early thanks to my early entry. I liked the fact they let us in into the venue, even if the halls weren’t open yet -it was VERY cold outside-. As soon as I left my coat in the cloakroom, I ran to the photo boxes and autographs area. My friends and I had almost the same extras, so we were accompanied almost the whole time.
My first activity at German Comic Con Dortmund was the autograph with Ian, and it was great despite his jet lag and him being exhausted. We had a quick chat, and he was super happy when I told him how much we’d raised for our campaign already! After that, I went to the queue for the photos, and thanks to my fast lane pass, I could go in pretty quickly. As soon as he saw me, he screamed my name and hugged me super tight. I was surprised when he automatically agreed to my pose idea. He hugged me so tight again before leaving, and something funny happened when I left:
I had to pass a group of people behind a wall to get out of the photos area. The moment they saw me, they started clapping and cheering. I thought they’d mistaken me for someone else, so I waved at them to make sure they knew who I was. They only clapped and cheered way harder, so I just went on with it. It was actually hilarious.
After that, I went to Joseph’s photo queue, and I also got in pretty quickly. As soon as he saw me, he smiled so big and hugged me, since he recognized me from our stage-it chats and our Zoom calls. We had a quick chit chat, and when I told him how to say “I love you” in sign language, he just went on with it for the photo.
I had Álvaro Morte’s autograph then, so I ran to his table. He greeted me in English, but when I greeted him in Spanish, he started talking in Spanish as well, visibly surprised. It was such a relaxed and cool conversation, and it was great to know that he was enjoying the convention – it was his first ever convention appearance.
Saturday afternoon
After Álvaro’s autograph, I only had Joseph’s autograph left.
I had lunch with my friends to calm down a bit and get ready, and then went there. I went in pretty quickly, and the experience was funny even before I got to Joseph. The staff lady asked me my name to put it on the post it, so Joseph could write it down. As I was spelling it, Joseph stopped signing, raised his head and looked at me. He smiled and went back to the signing. I knew he’d recognized me.
When it was my turn, he just threw the post it away and talked to me. I gave him a small bag with gifts for him and his family, and explained to him about my campaign. Ironically, people were screaming so loud outside we could barely hear each other. He said he’d absolutely love to participate and asked me to send him every detail. Before leaving, he stepped out from his table and gave me the biggest hug.
When I was done, I accompanied my friends to their extras and waited for the Vampire Diaries panel. It was, by far, the worst experience I’ve ever had in a convention. There wasn’t a queue to get into the panel hall, people just waited outside the doors without any order. When they opened the small door to the hall, everyone ran to get in, causing a massive stampede. Thankfully, my friends were bigger than me and could cover me, but it was actually scary.
The panel was a delight, and after that we just finished wandering around and left.
Sunday morning
Today a friend from Spain joined us, so as soon as we went in, we went to Ian’s photo queue. It was her first time meeting Ian, and I wanted to make sure her experience was the best.
The photo was delayed for an hour, but as soon as it was our turn, the fun began: Ian screamed my name and hugged me so tight as soon as he saw me. I asked him to recreate our first ever photo, and it turned out great! He hugged me before leaving and said we’d meet soon -duh-. I waited for my friend outside, and I was so happy to see she was crying with joy. And in the end, I gifted him a small cake for his upcoming birthday.
After the m&g we got lunch in a veggie truck and got ready for the afternoon.
I had Charlie Cox’s photo, and it was such a funny interaction. You know those moments when someone is aiming for a hug while the other offers their hand, and then you both change it so it takes a while for you to greet? That’s exactly what happened to us. It was actually hilarious, but I loved the experience and his kindness.
Later I had his autograph, and it was so chill and cute! He remembered our photo. When I told him about my disability and how I loved the fact Daredevil is blind, he asked me more about my deafness and even spoke a bit in sign language.I was touched, and he laughed when I mentioned teaching his buddy Tom Hiddleston sign language for “I love you.”
It was adorable. Then I only had Ian’s photo and auto left, so I went to the queue with my Spanish friend. We decided to have the autograph first. She accompanied me even if she didn’t have one, and it was so funny to see Ian a bit too happy thanks to his bourbon. He was absolutely lovely and even talked a bit to my friend. When we left, we went to his photo queue, and I gifted my friend one of the two photos I had.
When it was my turn, he screamed my name and hugged me – at that point I was sure it’d become a tradition. I asked him if he remembered our 2019 super hug, and he said he did and brought me in his arms for another super hug. I could hear my ribs cracking, but I didn’t care. When I thought the photo was done, I let go, but Ian squeezed me harder and yelled for one more photo, so I just hugged him again. He thanked me for everything and congratulated me on my cochlear implant before leaving, and my friend was just as happy and excited as me when she came out of her photo. It was truly magical.
This was our last activity, so we just went to meet our friends and left. It was truly a weekend full of great experiences with our favorite people.
German Comic Con Dortmund Review
As always, attending German Comic Con Dortmund with great people and meeting with my favorite people was great. However, there were some very nasty things concerning their organization that must be addressed:
In this convention, we had to pay 5€ for a print in the autograph table if we didn’t bring our own item. I find this quite rude and ridiculous, given that we’ve already paid a lot of money for it. Plus, no other convention makes you pay for a print at their table, and they ONLY allow cash! This was absolutely ridiculous.
I also find it ridiculous and not helpful, the fact that we had to go to the main entrance if we wanted to buy photos or autograph tickets. Until last year, you could get tickets at the guest’s table. This is a logical thing to do to avoid jams and people running up and down and wasting time. At least they allowed card payment there.
My main complaint this year is about the organization and security measures. There was a literal stampede to get into the Vampire Diaries Panel, because there was no security staff or walls to organize people. It was an absolute chaos to get in, and I’m surprised – but grateful – no one got hurt.
The experiences were so worth it, and I enjoyed the weekend. But they need to improve some important aspects to help their customers enjoy it even more. I’m so thankful for my friends and staff who helped me. Can’t wait for the next German Comic Con in Dortmund!
If you want to read more convention reviews, you can click on the link here and check out our thoughts on Comic Con Liverpool.
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Hello! I’m Paula, a Spanish deaf girl who absolutely enjoys and loves watching movies and shows, as well as traveling, reading and writing. I grew up reading adventure books and writing fictional stories, and continued watching cartoons, movies and shows. I soon found myself enjoying that SO much that it became my special place and a way to escape from reality and problems, while it helped me to learn a lot and grow. My friends call me Dori and/or minion, but it's only my distinctive aspects that make me unforgettable. Don’t believe me? Well, consider yourself challenged to prove me wrong.
