The Pony Awards at London Film And Comic Con (Video)

Comic book, film and TV writer Tony Lee likes to keep a tight ship in the Comic Zone area he runs at the London Film And Comic Con. Years ago, when one guest joked that as part if a series of exorbitant demands, he wanted a pony. And so Tony Lee went out and bought a My Little Pony figure to present it to the guest in question.

Thank you for the pony @mrtonylee Delighted to be invited along to #LFCC My first comic con as a geek and the show that kicked off my artist life all those years ago! #grateful #ponycon pic.twitter.com/ZIVeBiWHJS

— Rainbow Wrangler (@YelZamor) July 27, 2019

Of course, once one guest gets a pony, every guest gets a pony. And so Tony Lee now buys bags of mini-ponies to hand out to each guest.

And @mrtonylee gave us each a pony! Perfect for my @IDWPublishing synergy collection! #LFCC2019 #ponycon 🦄 pic.twitter.com/23Aeaivu4i

— Emma Vieceli (@Emmavieceli) July 25, 2019

This has become so much of a tradition that it is now a recognised incentive at the show – and he told me that this year, he got four guests solely on the promise of the ponies.

Thank you, @mrtonylee for my pony! #lfcc2019 #ponycon pic.twitter.com/ZOBMrt9r8t

— Gary Erskine (@garyerskine) July 25, 2019

But pony ownership has its responsibilities as well. And so when Tim Pilcher committed the crime of letting a non-comics guest into the comics green room to fill up on food, he was reprimanded and had his pony taken away, Similarly, Chris Achilleos had his pony privileges suspended when he took more wall mountings and space for his booth than he was entitled to.

So @Tim_Pilcher has lost all pony privileges at #LFCC2018 #noponiesforTim #badguest pic.twitter.com/Rr5LIwXW3W

— Tony Lee (@mrtonylee) July 26, 2019

This became quite a thing.

Came back to the stand to find @mrtonylee has stolen my little pony! 😡 #Ponygate pic.twitter.com/o8AcUaRoOe

— Tim Pilcher @LFCC (@Tim_Pilcher) July 26, 2019

But when Heathrow started cancelling flights due to the weather, and hotels started giving up unchecked in rooms after 10pm, certain arriving guests found themselves without anywhere to stay, Pilcher was the first to offer his room to others, while he would share with friends. And as a result, after the Vertigo panel at London Film And Comic Con we got a very special award.

Remember, with great ponies must come great responsibilities.

Thank you SO much for my pony upgrade and public embarrassment from @mrtonylee, Amy & the whole @Showmasters #LFCC2019 #ComicsZone team. #Ponygate ended satisfactorily without lawyers getting involved. 😂👍😳 pic.twitter.com/VixyfgpBZG

— Tim Pilcher @LFCC (@Tim_Pilcher) July 27, 2019