Momma Told Me: Not Even Close To Wordless, Wednesday: Comikaze 2012 Snapshots

Blog Archive

Not Even Close To Wordless, Wednesday: Comikaze 2012 Snapshots



This past weekend marked the second annual return of Stan Lee's Comikaze to the L.A. Convention Center. If you've never heard of it, don't feel bad- neither had I until we passed a billboard, a few weeks back, on our way to an Angels V. Red Sox game. I don't think I really try to hide my nerd side here, but I suppose it may come as a shock to see me deviate from tech and fashion to share a glimpse of my inner geek. In truth, I've always wanted to go to a larger convention, such as ComicCon but, let's face it, I can't seem to get my act together to get to BlogHer, let alone several days of pure recreation and spending in San Diego. So I donned my Converse, my favorite pair of jeans, and a Panda hood, and hopped in the car for an afternoon of nonsensical cosplay, mind bending panels, and over-priced merchandise.



Only in it's second year, Comikaze is Stan Lee's convention baby; and also a baby in the sense of convention size. Running just 2 days, this event filled one smaller wing of the L.A. convention center. I didn't mind, as I only have enough attention span for 4-5 hours anyhow, and the entrance fee was a modest $20. In fact, parking was near as much at $15, and the only grumble in terms of value. Those familiar with conventions know your average ticket will easily run you over $40, and the fact this was virtually in my backyard made it a no brainer. I had to attend.



Now, I wouldn't call myself a 'comic' enthusiast, but Comikaze was much more than graphic paper novel stars. In fact, it was co-chaired by Elvira, Mistress of The Night, promising some great sci-fi and even Horror integration. Even if you are not interested in the various celebrity panels, autograph station, 'live' Quidditch match, or otherwise, the $20 admission was well worth the experience of walking around. While I am certain some of the 'characters' we encountered were professionals for entertainment purposes (see Captain Jack), the majority was comprised of ordinary fans participating in Cosplay. Superhero imitators were everywhere, with some impressively professional costumes and accessories. It was entertaining to simply walk around and try to guess them all! Some of my favorite moments include the Jedi Elvis (who has his own website) posing with Xena and Friend, Nyan Cat, a Red Twi'lek, and live character of Dark Helmet (Spaceballs). Of course there were also multiple Storm Troopers and Lokis walking around too!


I was torn about the inclusion of Celebrity Autograph Stations, which highlighted classic actors such as Lou Ferrigno (of Hulk fame) and Richard Anderson (Six Million Dollar Man). Primarily, I found the classic sci-fi actors to be poorly targeted for the 20 something demographic in attendance. I actually was a little sad to see Mr. Anderson tucked away in a corner (between two merchandise booths), with no attention at all. And Mr. Ferrigno was charging $40 for a simple autograph, which tended to alienate those who actually did recognize him. I'd rather pay additional for a special program that permitted me to collect autographs free of charge, rather than see stars set their own self worth.


One of the cooler elements of Comikaze was the presence of the R2-D2 Builders Club, which meticulously creates operational and life size replicas of big screen animations. Wandering through the crowd was Wall-E, interacting with children and just plain adorable with those big, sad, eyes! Of course there were a few R2 units moving around as well.



Personally, the biggest highlight for me was the SyFy Face Off Station, where Season 2's finalists were hard at work on a cast of Batman characters. I just love the shot above, because you can see the Joker in the background, Orchid in the foreground, and Ivy to the right. (Ivy's face is covered in this shot, but more visible in the earlier shot. Honestly, I could watch these artists work all day, I find it simply fascinating, and getting to check back in on the progress throughout the afternoon was a real treat!

Of course there were plenty of vendors selling amazing collectibles and handmade wares. Surprisingly I didn't spend a dime! I did, however find one curiosity I couldn't live about and spent the remainder of that night guilting my boyfriend for letting me walk away without buying it.....No fear, I have acquired it on Amazon, and will be showing it off, here, very soon!


**Note: This post was in no way solicited. All opinions there in are mine and mine alone.

8 comments:

  1. OMG - that looks like so much fune. I am sure you and your family had a blast

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks like you had a lot of fun and didn't get too overwhelmed like you would have at a much bigger event. Sometimes smaller events are more fun and you actually get to interact with the people and things going on around you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've always wanted to go to Comic Con or something like it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow $20, awesome price! Crazy how much parking was though!My brother went to Fan Expo (in Canada) just a few weekends ago, same idea.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm not much into sci-fi or comics but think that would be interesting and fun to attend. I'm such a big fan of the show Face Off and probably would've spent a lot of time in that area too. As for Lou, I don't care much for him. He gave me a bad taste by the way he played in Celebrity Apprentice.

    ReplyDelete