Well another Long Beach Comic Con has come and gone. This past Sept. 27th and 28th, 2014 was the most recent iteration of the successful comic convention event which continually draws top-tier comic talent and focuses mainly on comic book and artist/writer related material.
The crowd was evident with the lines on Saturday waiting to get into the event, with pre-registered attendants getting in an hour earlier than same-day ticket purchasers.
Creator talents included the perennial Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti (Harley Quinn, Power Girl), along with additional special guests such James O'Barr (The Crow), Dan Brereton (The Nocturnals), and Laura & Mike Allred (Madman, Silver Surfer, X-Force).
The artist alley was smack dab in the middle like a true comic convention should be, with multiple rows of noted professional talent such as Dustin Nguyen (Batman), Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Bunker) along with a mix of amateur and up and coming creators such as Babs Tarr, artist on the upcoming Batgirl series.
The CW Series "The Flash" also had a trailer from the show appearing where attendees could test their speed. Along the back of the hall was a laser tag area, Lego playing area for the kids as well as a Chevy dealer sign-up booth.
A large area covered the convention comprised of actual comic book dealers such as Pulp Fiction, Jay Company Comics, Comics Wise, Phat Collectibles, along with a myriad of toy sellers and independent booths.
The Sunday event was slight in traffic compared to Saturday in the a.m., but parking under the convention was already full by the opening time and foot traffic was steady throughout the day on both days.
Lines for creators was small or non-existent compared to larger conventions such as the recent San Diego Comic con or the close-by Wonder Con in Anaheim. The only booths that had significant long wait times included the Allreds and Amanda Conner/Jimmy Palmiotti booths which had stretches of fans waiting for their signatures. Word to the wise to LBCC staff, please separate out your top talent guests so they are not back-to-back to each other since the lines begin to merge and other booths/guest artists get drowned out by the fans of the other creators.
Overall the event was enjoyable and very stress-free compared to San Diego Comic Con and even the ever-growing popularity of Wonder Con-Anaheim. Heres hoping for the LBCC staff in bringing in more top-tier comic talent that does not routinely attend Southern California conventions to appear at this nice local and friendly convention.
