Any other day of the year and the sight of Darth Vader waiting at a bus stop or Freddy Krueger browsing the shops would raise a few eyebrows.

But not during Demoncon. Comic book characters and sci fi stars took over The Royal Star Arcade in Maidstone today for the convention, hosted twice yearly by graphic novel shop The Grinning Demon.

There were plenty of writers and artists, doing live sketches and signing comics, including Lee Townsend who has drawn Spider-Man and Transformers and Grant Perkins who worked on the Penguins of Madagascar.

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Demoncon has grown from humble beginnings, from just 12 artists meeting in a coffee shop to an event attracting scores of guests coming in full costume.

This convention is thought to have had 500 visitors through the doors.

Grinning Demon owner Graham Beadle said: “It has gone really well and we have had so many talented people here. The thing about Demoncon is that it attracts families and not just your die hard fans, so the atmosphere is better for me than your big conventions.

“When we first started maybe four or five people would come dressed up but the numbers that did this year were amazing and the outfits were very inventive. So much effort goes into making them and they look fantastic.”