This past weekend (November 3-4) was Long Beach Comic & Horror Con, held, well in Long Beach, California!
This was the first time attending this Con, and third Con over all (others include SDCC 2011 and WonderCon 2012) LBCC is definitely a more comic-book and home style feel compared to SDCC and of course not as huge either. LBCC can be most closely compared to WonderCon (no not because both are in Orange County or SoCal). Both are small scaled, with less Mass Media booths and vendors, and more local comic book shops, local vendors, and so on. This con is also good to go through in one day, so if you are planning on only going through the con and not any panels, a one day pass will be great; preferably Sunday as vendors are more willing to bargain and get rid of their items, or if you are willing to pay a bit more but get what you came for, go Saturday and strategize for Sunday. This trip I came out with 8 pieces of art, a collectible Action Figure, and a few comic books, along with a dozen great new connections and people I had the chance to meet.
The amazing thing about LBCC and WonderCon, because of the smaller scale and more relationship feel, making new connections and meeting new people is very easy and everyone is glad to share their stories. I had the chance to talk to a few people through Twitter, and from their meet them in person, and branch out to other people. A few I met included Captain ComicCon, creators of Human Comics, many artists, and the great people behind the buckets of the 501st Legion.
A few notable evens or points of LBCC were Laser Tag with Storm Troopers and Lord Vader himself, an evetn company for indoor Laser Tag brought in a field of inflatables, along with their laser guns, and sensor patches that are put on a player’s chest. The game is just like normal Laser Tag, without the heavy vest and gun, a simple gun with a number of lives and full auto guns! Because this was behind the 501st booth, StormTroopers, ShadowTroopers, and Lord Vader joined the fun against kids of all ages, and even a few Treckies were caught in the cross fire. At the 501st Legion booth, they had a charity event called “Shoot-A-Trooper” where for a donation, any person of any age could take aim with Nerf Guns shooting Troopers, Sith, Jedi, and Wookies! It was an amazing event letting all the kids have the time of their lives. and next to this there were a few celebrity autograph tables and photo opps, along with a life like Chewbacca with Boush Bounty Hunter who came on Sunday for photo opps by a small donation. I myself won a Star Wars Artwork of the Death Star II in a silent auction; I am very proud to donate to the 501st and glad to see the work they do putting smiles on childrens faces and giving toys to them during Christmas. I hope to join them in the next 2 years by getting my armor and becoming an official member!
Other few events included Women’s Roller Derby, a small taped off rink with no fences, and girls on roller skates falling and fighting and running into the crowd; definitely different and exciting.
I did attend just one panel during LBCC, would have been two but they were both at the same time and i wanted to go to the one I had more interest in. I did not go to “The Collection” movie panel, but did go to the 501st Legion Costuming How To’s panel. It was great as all the speakers were part of the 501st and all were wearing costumes while having other costumes they made to talk about; the presentation was very informative and everyone had a good time There were plenty of news tips and tricks that the amateur costume maker would usually not think about.
On that note, cosplayers were of course in abundance throughout the weekend. Literally everything from Pee Wee Herman, LOTR Ring Wraith, Jedi, Sith, Wookies, Clones, Giant Spiders on stilts, Power Rangers, The Avengers, and more! A few of my favorites will be posted under this! It is always great to see the costumes come out during this time, the cosplayers become some of the biggest celebrities during Cons, taking pictures with fans left to right, posing in all their character’s moves, and having a great time.
Out of all the wonderful things about LBCC, there can’t be anything bad, right?
Wrong. The one thing I really disliked not only at this Con, but any Con, is certain Vendors. The Vendors I am not too fond of are the ones there only selling to make money, selling fake items, not bargaining with the attendees, or selling items completely unrelated to these Cons. I always encounter and did encounter during LBCC some of these; typically the asian items (Godzilla, Yu Gi Oh, Pokemon) are the most faked and highly priced. Another note, many of these same sellers either fake other items and/or overprice them. I saw one booth with fake Pokemon cards (still remember the fakes from my childhood) selling fake Sideshow Iron Man statues. such a shame they try to take advantage of the attendees, and, while the Pro’s and usual collector’s know the difference, some new to the Cons fall in the traps. But what can you do?
But, on the brightest side, LBCC is very recommended by my book, and I am already looking forward to next years Con! Until then, WonderCon and SDCC 2013 are the next major Cons to go to! Long beach also has a very beautiful area around the convention center, with great hotels, lots of restaurants, out door malls and more!
driving down about 5 miles on Ocean Blvd takes you to a promenade area with bars and restaurants and stores up and down both streets, and continue to drive for the pier and ocean views! LBCC definitely has one of the best scenery spots to add!
And not to forget, here are some of the amazing people/writers/artists/groups i met throughout the weekend and will be kept up to date in all their works!
Human Comics { HumanComics.com } follow them on twitter!
Omega 1 Comic and Motion Comics { omega1comic.com } follow them on twitter!
Elvin Huntress { warriorshowdown.com }
Department of Zombie Control { departmentofzombiecontrol.co }
501st Legion follow on twitter, facebook, and their forums!
Captain Comic Con { on twitter @iconofcomiccon }
Tony Kim { follow on twitter @Crazy4ComicCon }
and of course my great new friend Tina who introduced me to some great people and new connections at LBCC!
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