Comikaze, Part I
[2012-09-16 00:00]
At the LA Convention Center, we joined the line of attendees that extended a short distance out of the entrance. It seemed like a short line to me, compared to the lines at the San Diego Comic-con which can stretch around the block. It turns out that the outside part of the line was just the tip of the iceberg -- inside, the line hairpinned back and forth several times on its way to... where? We couldn't see an end to it.
My cousins and I were amazed at the orderliness of the lines without any rope barriers or even markers on the floor to guide folk. In the end, it probably wasn't intentional as some guy finally just came up to us with a box full of wristbands which he gave to us in exchange for our e-ticket (no scanning of ticket to prove they were real, etc.). He said the same wristband would get us in tomorrow, but I'm not certain about that. We'll see.
This contributes to my overall assessment of the 'con, which is that it's like the first time I went to the San Diego Comic-con: it's still early in the event's evolution. The way some things were handled or organized seemed a little less-than-ideal, but it's clear the organizers are trying. The good news, according to my cousins, is that the LA Convention Center is much larger than the portion that Comikaze occupies, so there's lots of room to grow.
Anyway, highlights of Comikaze, so far, are (listed in no particular order):
Robots: two R2D2s and a wall-E were being piloted around the main exhibition hall. Very cool, although they did tend to cause a crowd, which made getting around a little difficult.
The Guild: We attended a Q&A session with the cast of The Guild, which I dig. Felicia Day was as adorable in this event as she is in the show. Jeff Lewis (Vork) is also quite funny. He and Felicia riff off of each other very well.
James Hong: An amazing actor, who's been in just about everything, I was very surprised to see him at Comikaze signing autographs (I picked up a picture of him as Lo-Pan in "Big Trouble in Little China"). Other celebrities attending include Linda Blair, Morgan Fairchild, Adrienne Curry, Andy Dick (surprise attendee), and Sybil Danning. Ron Glass (Shepherd Book from Firefly/Serenity) also has a booth but it was empty. Hopefully he'll be there tomorrow. Elvira and Stan Lee are also prominent in the event, but I haven't actually seen them yet (although I saw the lines waiting to get Stan's autograph).
Cosplay: Lots of folk in costumes, some of which are/were amazing. A lot of steampunk, which my cousin said has exploded in popularity recently. The Cosplay Contest was a bit disorganized, but the costumes were cool. A couple of steampunks won the group contest (first prize: $1000); someone dressed up as someone from Halo (video game) with a Really BFG won the individual award (first prize: $200). I also liked the steampunk X-Men (according to overheard conversations, there were several steampunk Boba-Fetts attending, but none entered the contest) and the Adipose from Dr. Who.
Kevin Smith (Clerks, et al) interviewing Adam West (Batman) was a hoot. There was a panel of the cast/crew of the up-coming movie "Sushi Girl", which looks interesting and includes Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker).
Zombie Apocalypse: there's an obstacle course you can run while trying to avoid zombies. My cousins are going to try it tomorrow -- I'm too adverse to getting overheated and sweaty (which is already a problem for me in the LA heat) so I'm just going to watch.
There were/are not nearly as many panel discussions or exhibition booths as in the San Diego Comic-con, but attendance was estimated to be around 40,000.
Lunch was at Lawry's Carvery a block up/down from the convention center. It's quite good and has good prices, especially in comparison to food served IN the convention.
For dinner, my cousins took me to Loteria Grill in Hollywood, which is very good. One of my cousins got a burrito with beef tongue, the other got some kind of mushroom tacos, and I got the red-snapper tacos (offered as part of their anniversary special).