Long Beach Comic Expo 2015

On Saturday, we officially kicked off Con Season at Long Beach Comic Expo! The Expo is usually the smaller of the two (already small) cons they have during the year, and this year they really stepped it up. There were more than double the number of vendors from last year (60 to 145), lots more fun activities and panels, plus it was moved into Hall C to accommodate it's increased size. I liked this change quite a bit; it seemed like a more upscale section of the convention center, plus the area right outside the doors was a perfect place for the cars they always have (KITT from Knight Rider, the Jurassic Park jeep, the Delorean, etc), and for cosplayers to pose for pictures. It actually felt a bit like WonderCon in that respect.

While we were wandering the exhibit hall, a moment of silence for Leonard Nimoy was called for over the loudspeaker. Everyone held up their hands in the Vulcan salute, and it was rather moving. (It's kind of hard to tell, but that's what's going on in this picture below.)

The first, and only, panel we went to was the GI Joe voice actors. I never really watched the show, but this panel was made incredibly enjoyable by the hilarious participants. Keone Young, who I recognized from True Blood (he played the guy who invents the synthetic blood making True Blood possible) (he's also in a million other things), was there, and Mary McDonald-Lewis was freaking awesome. She has such a great outlook on life and was so funny!

The exhibit floor also featured some fun activities! They had a couple areas set up where you could play video games projected onto a large screen. We saw them playing Streetfighter, and Mario Brothers, and I'm sure they had more. There was also a Star Wars laser tag area. Just a few more ways they jazzed up the exhibit floor, and gave attendees more cool things to check out!

There was, of course, lots of great cosplay. In addition to the two below, my favorite that I regret not getting a picture of was Tina and Louise Belcher from Bob's Burgers! Their cosplay looked great! We only saw one Jack Frost this time; perhaps his random popularity is fading?

For lunch, we went across the street to The Auld Dubliner for burgers and Dublin Donkeys. Afterwards, we went to the Geeky Mamas store, which was adjacent to the restaurant. I love this store and I really hope it survives! They always have a great selection of toys, prints, and crafts. I got a very reasonably priced Pacific Rim Jaeger.

Of course I managed to find more than a few things to purchase in the exhibit hall. I got a super cute and super soft Spider-Man shirt, a Bubble Power She-Ra (wtf is Bubble Power??), a stack of comics that were 3 for a dollar, and 3 trade paperbacks that were 5 books each (X-Babies, and Marvel vs. Zombies 4 and 5! Now to find 1 through 3...). I also got an adorable Mario magnet made of tiny perler beads (those things are becoming so popular, I always see a bunch of cute crafts made with perler beads being sold.)

All in all, LBCC really stepped up their game this year, and good for them. Their next show, Long Beach Comic Con, is September 12 and 13. Can't wait to see it! On to Emerald City Comic Con in a few weeks!