That negative image, however, quickly changed as the day progressed. This year, the organisers of the geek convention have designed the space to ensure the smooth flow of visitors and guarantee more spacious aisles.

This has led to the soaring of ticket sales over the last 24 hours, particularly for Friday. The event is likely to be sold out by the weekend. However, there are still tickets for Saturday and Sunday, albeit with "limited availability".

Whether it was down to "good press", word of mouth on the first day or Fomo (the feeling of missing out), Comic-Con Málaga sold a large number of tickets (84.80 euros per day) on the opening day for both Thursday afternoon and Friday.

This will put to the test the measures this year's management team, led by Fernando Piquer, have implemented to increase visitors' satisfaction.

The crowd on Friday was noticeably larger than that on Thursday. People were rushing to secure a place in the queues for the main events and get a good seat in the auditoriums.

By lunchtime, the Meet the Artist area and Hall M were bustling with visitors hoping to see their idols and take a photo with them. The spotlight on Friday was the One Piece series, as the costumes of numerous fans indicated.

Read dedicated local reporting for Malaga city