Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con 2016
The talented and awesome
JaW Images Art and Photography shared her photos (we'll upload lots more to our
facebook page soon too!) and experiences from Los Angeles Comic Con 2016...
This year, Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo and the city of LA made their relationship all the way official, as they joined in holy matrimony to officially become...
*drum roll*...
Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con! The convention formerly known as Comikaze is a 3 day convention in Downtown Los Angeles and is one of the essential conventions in California. While not as big as events like Wonder Con and San Diego Comic Con, the event still brings geeks together from all over the West Coast.
To boldly go...over there.
Despite being one of the smaller conventions, Comikaze drew a pretty big crowd. This year, the year of Stan Lee's LA Comic Con, seemed to draw the biggest crowd yet. On Friday evening, LA Comic Con's opening day, the line to get into the Main Hall went out of the convention center doors. My friends and I waited to almost 30 minutes to get into the building, which is something I had never experienced at Comikaze before. Once we got into the building though, everything was fine. All of the vendors and exhibitors were ready to go in the Main Hall, and the area wasn't overly packed.
One of the things I've always loved about Comikaze Expo is that the program isn't over-saturated with “Pop Culture” or “Popular Media” related entertainment. There was always something for every geek, no matter your age, gender, etc. Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con stayed true to that, and kept their program diverse, fun, and interesting. The LA Comic Con celebrity guest list was especially awesome this year and featured the cast of The Flash, the voices behind Pinky and the Brain, actors from Start Trek, Supernatural, and Luke Cage himself, Mike Colter.
Kings of Con Panel, LA Comic Con Day 2
Mike Colter talks Marvel's Luke Cage at LA Comic Con.
The exhibit floor of the Los Angeles Comic Con was packed with tons of cool stuff this year. Some familiar sites and vendors, such as Hot Topic, Aspen Comics, and Castle Corsetry were in attendance, as well as some newr ones that hadn't been seen at Comikaze. The TMNT Van, KITT from Night Rider, the DeLorean from Back to the Future,and other geeky themed vehicles were some of the regular attractions on display. This year, a special appearance was made by Lilith the Impala and actor Jim Beaver from the TV series Supernatural. For local talent, Ivy Doom Kitty, Chrissy Lynn, B-Boy Spiderman, Maid of Might, and Assasin Forte were some of the cosplay guests at LA Comic Con.
I'm never disappointed by the cosplay crowd at Comikaze. There is always such a wide array of costumes. Many cosplayers brought their costuming talents to Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con this year, too. From simple to silly to larger than life, there were so many great characters. As with many cons, my only regret is not being able to to capture them all on camera. They people I did get to photograph were awesome though, especially because they were all down for my silly ideas for poses. I love when cosplayers are down to collaborate, because it adds to the fun and always results in amazing photos.
One of the main events Comikaze attendees have had to look forward to the last few years, is the complimentary Satruday night after-party that is thrown for convention attendees. The Los Angeles Comic Con kept this tradition going with, not one, but two after parties this year, with
Club Comic Con on Friday night and the LA Comic Con Cosplay Ball on Saturday night. I was especially that there were two after-parties this year because I was not able to attend the Saturday being held Saturday night. Having a Friday night party option was awesomely-perfect.
For Friday night's event, Nerds Like Us and Fandom Society teamed up to premier Club Comic Con at the Globe. Bernie Bregman, as always, was the perfect party host with his high energy and humor. The Corps Dance Crew performed a fun, sexy dance routine as X-Men. Later break-dancing cosplayers B-Boy Spiderman and T Stunning Spidey took the stage as Deadpool and Symbiote Spiderman, and had an epic dance-off. The DJ's for this event were all great; each of them had a diverse music selection. More importantly, I don't remember a lull in the evening... You know, when the DJ set isn't great enough to dance, so you go get a drink to pass the time until something better plays? For me there was none of that.
A Tale of 2 Harleys
Unlike Saturday evening's Cosplay Ball, tickets to Friday night's Club Comic Con were not free. Tickets for the event were $20 per person, but I didn't mind paying the price. You got a lot of bang for your buck, for one. There was a lot of awesome music and live entertainment, and DJ Rufio (aka, Dante Basco) is an amazing DJ. Hearing and dancing to his set was a great way to close out the evening.
More importantly the event wasn't over-crowded. As much as I enjoy the complimentary Saturday night post Con party the Comikaze/LA Con offers, the event is always ridiculously packed, and with long lines if you don't get there early enough. I would gladly pay the $20 if only to avoid waiting in long lines for entry, the bar, and the bathroom, as well as have room to actually dance. And as a fan of Dante Basco's events, I hope he brings Club Comic Con back to Los Angeles Comic Con for 2017.
Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con
Photographer: JaW Images Art and Photography
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December 17 2016