Comikaze Expo 2014
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Article by: Geek Girl Zelda
Mistress Zelda recently attended Comikaze Expo and wrote about her experience and shared these photos by JaW Images Photography! We'll upload many more photos to our facebook page soon too!
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Comikaze Expo is a 3 day convention in Los Angeles. While only a few years old, it’s well on its way to cementing itself as one of the most essential conventions in all of California. Even Stan Lee was willing to endorse it by putting his name right on the con – Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo! So that should give you some hint as to the caliber of this event.
While relatively new and smaller than many of the events we get in SoCal, Comikaze packs a lot of punch for your buck. The convention hall is full of cool vendors and exhibitors – it actually has more variety than a lot of the bigger cons. Most of the conventions start to run together, attracting the same celebrities, exhibitors, cosplayers, and crowds, but somehow Comikaze manages to stand out. The focus here is not on “pop culture” or the broad “entertainment” category that many conventions have begun to embrace. You won’t find movies saturating this event, so the convention doesn’t attract as many looky loos hoping to catch a glimpse of a movie star or jerks hoping to watch the “freak show.” Comikaze isn’t over crowded, and it manages to keep the atmosphere conventions used to have – an event by the fans and for the fans. It’s not impossible to get into panels, and you can spend a lot of time talking to your favorite artists and celebrities and the cosfamous without waiting endlessly in lines or getting trampled by the magnitude of crowds. It’s a casual, inclusive, and inviting environment. Don’t believe me? Check out their giant “No harassment” policy signs that are visibly displayed at entrances. Take note, other conventions. This is how you make your members feel safe. And it works! I have yet to hear of any instance of harassment at a Comikaze event.
They manage to squeeze in a lot of cool stuff on the exhibit floor beyond people trying to hawk you goods, too. This year Comikaze showcased several infamous geek vehicles, from the
TMNT van to the Back to the Future Delorean and Kitt from Nightrider. There was also a display from the folks of the coming-soon
Hollywood Sci Fi Museum, which was recently funded through the help of Kickstarter and George Takei.
There is a great cast of panels and events, from costume contests to how-to’s and signings. The folks from
Club Cosplay and
Nerds Like Us even had an afterparty on Saturday across the street (free entry for any Comikaze guests!) which drew 2,100 dancing geeks and had performances from bands like
Songhammer. There was a fabulous geek fashion show as well, featuring some of the most talented and notorious artists in Los Angeles, like
Castle Corsetry,
Adrianne Curry,
Traci Hines,
Ivy DoomKitty, the
Birds of ‘Play,
Chrissy Lynn, and
Strange Like That Cosplay.
My favorite part of Comikaze this year? The vintage arcade and video game installation. They had everything from ColecoVision, the Atari 2600 and the Vectrex on up available for folks to play. It was really awesome getting to see and experience the history of video games. There was a great sense of joy and pride watching kids who never knew video games before the Xbox 360 playing a system that was 40 years old and enjoying it.
And of course, cosplay, cosplay, cosplay. But I don’t have to tell you that – just check the photos! And if you get the chance to go to Comikaze next year, I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Geek Girl Zelda as Krang
Comikaze Expo -
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Article by: Geek Girl
Zelda -
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Photos by:
JaW Images Photography
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November 04 2014