Geekscape Satellite: Looking Back On Long Beach Comic Con!

The Long Beach Comic & Horror Con celebrated its 4th anniversary at the Long Beach Convention Center (surprisingly enough) just last weekend, November 3rd and 4th. This was my first time attending the LBCHC/LBCC and I definitely had a great time. LBCC of course, is one of the smaller cons and I have to admit that the estimated 10,000 guests who attended were barely felt at all. There were five dedicated panel rooms, all located in the front lobby area. This layout unfortunately made it feel more like a hotel con; intimate but somewhat lacking. Even though it was a small convention, I thoroughly enjoyed the panels that I attended.

If you’re interested in ‘How to’ panels, this is definitely the convention for you. Most of these panels dealt with writing, character design, voice acting, developing ideas, and even the pros and cons of using Kickstarter to fund your project. One panel, which was not quite instructional, yet was still very helpful for the indie creator was called, “Creating Save the Supers” This panel was hosted by The Guild‘s Sandeep Parikh who started the panel off by walking through the process of getting the show made. Parikh mentioned he originally wanted to make the show back in 2004 when he first moved to Los Angeles. A pilot was produced with some of the current creative team but according to Parikh, it was simply missing something. One of the original actors, Mickey Hawtrey (World Man), actually reprised his role for the currently running season. Discussing the humor of the show from the original pilot to the existence of the show today, Hawtrey commented that there is “encouragement of improv.” A hilarious exclusive blooper reel was shown that highlighted the creative gems that come from the improvisation. You can watch Save the Supers on YouTube and My Damn Channel. Now the show may seem like a well-funded TV ready show, but the producers spoke of using what little resources they had to make it look as close as possible to primetime television. Of course, in Hollywood it all comes down to who you know, and the importance of help from friends and family. The show’s producer Jeff Winkler said they are a “community of beggars.” This information helps make the prospect of creating a quality series a little less daunting: you need to work with what you have and not shy away from asking for help.

Another panel that spoke of acquiring assistance was Grimm Fairy Tales. At this panel, an animated pilot produced by Titmouse animation based on the comic book series of the same name was screened for the audience. The comics and the pilot take a darker approach to the Grimms’ classic fairy tales. The pilot’s animation is not completely fluid, but also not as stunted as motion comics tend to be. From the clip that was screened, Grimm Fairy Tales appears to be a bloody, sexy, and fun adventure. There is currently a Kickstarter to raise funds to finish the pilot and make the rest of the animated series a possibility. They did manage to meet their original goal, but they have increased their maximum in order to make more episodes and ultimately an animated feature. If you’re interested, check out their Kickstarter here.

Of course, this convention doesn’t only focus on comics: LBCC is both a comic and HORROR convention. There were a few panels I visited that dealt with horror in comics and YA (young adult) literature. One such panel was Monsterverse Horror Comics. Monsterverse Entertainment, a newer comic book publisher, was started by Kerry Gammill and Sam F. Park due to their mutual love of horror. Both men are incredibly fond of the classic Hollywood horror films and according to Park, they wanted to create “good old fashioned horror comics” but make them fun for modern readers. This series will be an anthology hosted by Bela Lugosi, much like the Crypt Keeper for Tales from the Crypt. Each issue is drawn by different artists and written by different writers. Park explained “[We] want each comic to have its own personality…and originality”. The digital age has changed the landscape for almost all forms of entertainment. Park said, “[It is] a wild and crazy time for comics”. However, he doesn’t believe that comics are on the way out. It’s an interesting realization that if you go to your LCS and they don’t have what you’re seeking in stock, you can simply buy a digital copy. Gammill and Park said the Lugosi anthology’s distribution is expanding. Currently, issue #1 and #2 are available on Amazon, and you of course can check your local comic book store.  Monsterverse Entertainment also has a two part graphic novel called Flesh and Blood currently available.

The exhibit hall was just downstairs, and though it was relatively large, the layout could have definitely been improved. Artist alley was centrally located, but was not clearly marked or sectioned off. When you attempted to walk through the aisles, there were many booths that had a large vendor on one side and two vendors on the back which forced you into a creative zig zag if you wanted to see everything. There were also blocks that had four venders (two on each side), and this spacing irregularity hampered the flow of traffic. Beyond all the booths there was a women’s roller derby game that attracted many onlookers. Overall the layout of the exhibit hall did not encourage people to explore every section of the floor and booths at the far corner or those mixed in the middle were potentially overlooked.

Regardless, attendees appeared to be enjoying themselves at the convention and as expected. many dressed up for the occasion A few costumes that stood out were two sexy Punishers, a cute Mario and Luigi, and an elegant steampunk outfit. In the cosplayer community, race can still be a touchy issue but, fortunately, there seems to be an increase in cosplayers who dress up regardless of skin tone. One should be able to cosplay/dress up as whomever they choose and it was great to see this expressed at LBCC.

If you prefer smaller cons, enjoy the hotel conventions, or simply enjoy the informative instructional panels, then I’d recommend that you check out the Long Beach Comic & Horror Con. It was a great place to browse new art and comics from emerging artists. Parking at this venue however, can be a little tricky and if you plan to be there all day, you’ll need to locate a garage. One tip I have for you: make sure to shop around a little because I found a parking lot across the street from the convention center that only ran me $5 all day, but it was a little tricky locating the entrance.