With each new convention, I am finding myself becoming more and more a connoisseur of the comic con scene. Each location offers something unique to it’s venue, and with each event, I grow as an attendee. For those confused by that comment, I go to conventions as Press for my outlets the Points of Interest Podcast Network and The Geekly Planet. Now, let’s begin this venture through the Long Beach Comic Con.
Long Beach actually holds two different conventions throughout the year when it comes to the comic book and pop culture world. This Comic Con and their winter event, the Comic Expo. I hope to be writing and talking about that one in the future.
This is my first time going to the Long Beach Comic Con, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say there was an emphasis on cosplay. So many people dressed up for this event, and maybe it was the venue or the atmosphere, but I really noticed a lot of the awesome costumes. Now, as my ever present disclaimer, I did not take pictures of any cosplayers because I have a phone as a camera, which I believe would not do justice to all the hard work people put into their craft. Despite my Darkwing Duck shirt getting a lot of play, the, obvious, real stars of the show were the cosplayers.
That is not to say Long Beach was without its super stars, and they had many that stood out. John Barrowman and Chloe Bennett being two of them. I was excited to get things signed by them and take a picture with them, but then I found out it would cost me an arm and a leg, and I really need those right now. So I had to pass those up, and sadly, Chloe Bennett wasn’t able to make both days of the convention due to a family emergency. But that was not a bad thing as I was able to meet the two men of a thousand voices, Jim Cummings and Ralph Garman.
Jim Cummings, for those who may not know, is the voice actor who gave life to Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, as well as many other Disney characters. But the one duck he voiced that brought me the most joy, was Darkwing Duck. How apropos that I was there in my Darkwing Duck shirt, and he was there ready to sign a picture of said duck and do the VOICE! I wish I could have recorded him speaking in that iconic tone and saying, “Let’s get dangerous!”. I would have given a ton for that, but there were people behind me equally eager to meet the man, so I knew I had to step away and let others through. Still, I had the picture, the signed photo, and the memory.
Ralph Garman, the other man of a thousand voices, was the moderator
for a few panels at the convention. He is known as the other half of Kevin Smith’s Hollywood Babble-on team, and for those in the local Los Angeles area, as the entertainment reporter for the Kevin and Bean morning radio show. Both of which I love. So to see the man in person was a real treat, because not only was he moderating, but he also had his own panel. I sat there in wrapped awe as he talked about his life in Los Angeles, his history with KROQ, and his life as an actor and voice actor. I even got a picture with the man himself, which was a treat, as everyone pointed out with my ridiculous grin, while I stood with him for the photo. The guy is hilarious, smart, and a geek, which made the experience all that more worthwhile.
Needless to say, both those encounters were a big deal, and spurned from my previous encounter with Hayley Atwell, but that’s neither here nor there or anywhere for that matter. What’s here, right now, was the absolute fun I had at the Long Beach Comic Con on that first day. My only complaint was the podcast that took up one of the panel rooms. I found them a bit dull, unprofessional, and lacking in actual entertainment. Now as a fellow podcaster, I probably would have done much worse, but that’s my point. If you’re going to put people there to keep attendees entertained, then we may need more seasoned or at least, more fun, podcasters.
The show floor had almost everything you could ask for. It took every ounce of will power not to buy the comics, the collectibles, and the art that were on display. There was also a Cosplay area, which I guess would be the dead giveaway as to the theme of this convention, where I met up with the Marvel Report. As the name suggests, they were a group of people who like to cosplay as Marvel characters and with whom, my very own editor, Amelia Emberwing of the Geekly Planet, is a member. Tons of fun was had at their booth as they had a raffle to win some amazing prizes. All one had to do was donate to the big Dubsmash War going on with Agent Carter and Agents of SHIELD. So I threw my hat in the ring, and did my donating, which apparently meant that when the actual raffle happened, I’d win pretty much everything. My numbers were called out at least half a dozen times, but when the main prize was up for grabs, and I (for some weird reason) won (which may mean I should buy a lottery ticket), I sacrificed my other winnings so that I could hold the coveted Agents of SHIELD poster signed by the entire cast. That was cool.
Wow, I’m rambling about what happened with me and not with the actual convention. Food trucks fed the attendees and cosplayers littered the show floor as well as every nook and cranny. The panels were fun and informative. From what I had overheard, attendance was up from last year, which means more and more people are finding reasons to go to conventions. You would not be disappointed if you went to the Long Beach Comic Con, with it’s cosplay, it’s organization, and it’s interesting and fun panels. I mean, my night on day one ended with a live performance where video game characters fought to the death in one of the most entertaining and crowd participating events I had ever witnessed. I laughed, I cried, I cheered on my favorite (and sometimes annoying) video game characters as they did unspeakable, overacted kills in front of cheering adults and children. It was awesome.
