A POP-culture explosion covered Dovercourt Skating Rink with the return of the Essex Comic Con.

The colourful event, held at the rink in Lower Marine Parade, saw a spectrum of comic book superheroes, villains and sidekicks take over the venue for a day of Marvel madness.

For the annual event held on Sunday, a host of screen stars and cosplayers met with fans and visitors throughout the day.

The comic con also had a range of famous film characters from Storm Troopers to Chewbacca for guests to be photographed with.

Throughout the day there were also a host of stalls selling a range of gifts, arts and crafts, as well as food stands, drinks stalls and rides for children.

There were also guest signers, a falconry display, reptile encounters and professional wrestling at the rink.

Chris Scutt, who runs Dovercourt Skating Rink and organises the Comic Con, said this was the third year he has held the event.

He said: “The comic con was very well attended and enjoyed by people from as far away as Bristol.

“We had a vast number of cosplayers and everyone enjoyed the day.

“Our Wrestling League show went well and we had a variety of traders come along to the event. Davy Jones, from Pirates of the Caribbean, and Iron Man were a couple of the best loved new cosplayers in addition to Vader Raiders – who are a Star Wars costume group - and KN Cosplay.”

The event ran between 10am and 4pm.