Long Beach’s comic books scene is known for the Long Beach Comic Con in the fall but one Con isn’t enough so this past weekend was Long Beach Comic Expo! Long Beach Comic Expo is a much smaller, single-day convention but it had a lot of folks show up and a lot of great people with booths. I was lucky enough to get to go take a look for a bit and bring you back some photos.
The space for the convention was much smaller than the usual exhibit floor of the Long Beach Convention Center, this one could easily fit inside the other convention with plenty of room for more. Though the room was small the number of booths and visitors was jam packed, you were never too crowded but getting through some areas would require waiting patiently as people squeezed through in the back sections. It was able to give a cozy feeling while still able to offer a variety of vendors and creators.
Even with all the people around, you didn’t really have to worry too much about lines to see your favorite people. It was a very easy-going convention that lets you talk with the people there without feeling rushed. Plenty of vendors had comics both new and old, plenty of toys and props to be sold. One of the things I wanted to get was a LARPing Master Sword but it sold out pretty quick.
The amount of fan groups and cosplay organizations that were there was nice to see. They had some of the larger set ups and had lots of crowds wanting pictures and information about them. It’s always nice to see the fans getting fans for the things they love. The Star Wars and Star Trek fan booths were two of the more popular with it being real difficult to walk through that area at some points.
The cosplay there was also pretty great, my favorite moment was the meeting of two Deadpools. Having Fun-Size Deadpool meet his full-size doppleganger lead to a great photo op. There was even a Wall-E robot there to tread around the crowd that had his own fans following him around. He effectively had an entourage everywhere he went, I was lucky to get the pictures I got.
My favorite part of the event was that a lot of great artists were there. Todd Nauck (he will always be someone I like for his art for the original Young Justice comic) was on hand to draw, his entire section was so packed that it was hard to get a photo of booth since he and everyone around him were some of the busier sections. This whole area outside of the main room had a bunch of tables set up and that area was a little harder to navigate due to the crowds convening out here, but it was still pretty cool to see different artists and shows available out there.
Have you seen that Haunted Arkham artwork that’s been going around online? Of the Batman characters drawn up as if they were the paintings in the entry room of Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride. That artist, Abraham Lopez, was on hand selling not only that print (both as a nice frame size of all of them but as large individual pieces) but his other works alongside fellow artist, Richard Garcia. The two had plenty of cool stuff for sale and we’re always having folks come up asking for sketches.
I was able to bump into a few people I know thanks to writing for Comic Attack, Madeline Holly-Rosing of Boston Metaphysical Society, Jim Mahfood of Everybody Loves Tank Girl, and Dustin Nguyen of Li’l Gotham. It was great to meet Mahfood and say hi again to Holly-Rosing and Nguyen, he even gave me a signed Li’l Gotham print. I’ll say it again, read those three series I just mentioned. Read Li’l Gotham, it’s my favorite Batman book, possibly ever if only cause the Cinco de Mayo issue has a Bane taco party and sombrero Zatanna. Read Boston Metaphysical Society if you want to see some people fight a monster made of bricks. Read Everybody Loves Tank Girl if you ever wanted to see Tank Girl make the sequel to the Tank Girl movie. Go forth and read.
So that was Long Beach Comic Expo, a fun one day convention that I hope returns next year. It was a blast getting to see folks and seeing other folks have a great time. I think the people there were having a lot of fun too so I hope to see even more folks there next year. I’m always for gatherings of people who are passionate about the things they love when it comes to things like comics and such. Thanks to everyone at the Comic Expo for a great day, maybe I’ll see some of you there next year. The best part is that Long Beach Comic Con is still in November so I can head back that way in November.
Alexander Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
