Long Beach Comic Con is this weekend at the Long Beach Convention Center and we’re gonna be there checking things out and poking around! Okay, so maybe it isn’t the massive juggernaut that San Diego Comic Con is… but if you know where to look there are some really cool things to discover!

Here are our suggestions on what to see while you’re there!

Kari

This will be my second year attending Long Beach Comic and Horror Con and I enjoyed the panels I saw last year.

Saturday

This year I am interested in Location Location Location (Saturday, 1PM, Room 102B). This panel will have authors disusing how the setting can affect the mood of a story. Often the location of a story is taken for granted but it can play a pretty integral part so I am interested in what these experts have to say.

The 80s/90s cartoons were the best cartoons ever (quality and story) thus I must attend the panel Disney Afternoon (Saturday, 3PM, Room 102B). The panelists worked on such amazing shows such as Gargoyles, Animaniacs, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, and more!

Continuing with the nostalgia theme, there is The Truth Is Out There: Conspiracies, Ghosts & Aliens With Dean Haglund (Saturday, 4PM, Room 102B). I like horror/spooky panels and it would be fun to see him in person (I have been re-watching the X-Files on Netflix).

Sunday

I love doing crafts and am looking forward to Star Wars Origami (Sunday, 12PM, Room 103B/C). I think it will be fun to make Star Wars characters and who knows, maybe it will be a good holiday gift inspiration.

Lastly, I want to check out From Fear To Fiction (Sunday, 3PM, Room 103B/C) where they will be talking about how to channel your fears into something creative.

SJ Borger

Well, as a fan of the Doctor, I am most excited about the live simulcast of the 50th Anniversary episode, “The Day of the Doctor” on Saturday. Long Beach Comic Con will be showing it, plus all the pre-show hoopla (including a recently announced special from the YouTube channel The Nerdist) and I can hardly wait!

Not that that’s the only thing; there’s almost too much happening on Saturday. I may go into geek-overload! Right after the Doctor Who special, there’s a Q&A with John Kricfalusi, who created Ren & Stimpy, at 2 there’s the Beyond Clichés panel, about creating strong and dynamic female characters in comics and video games (yay!); then at 3 p.m. it’s the Disney Afternoon panel, with animators and talent from the Disney studios, and at 5 p.m. it’s Scott Lobdell vs. Marv Wolfman panel, and who wouldn’t want to listen to those two industry giants chat?

I honestly don’t know when I’m going to have time to hit the exhibit floor!

Jonathan

Saturday

1pm – JOHN KRICFALUSI
This is a must attend. I mean, really. The cartoonist who created The Ren & Stimpy Show! He’s pretty much responsible for most of my humor in Middle School (I know… I’m old)… so how could I possible miss this? This’ll be a great Q&A!

2pm – ROBOTECH INDUSTRY PANEL
Harmony Gold’s Tommy Yune was one of my guests on the Kaiju VS Men in Suits panel at Comikaze so I know the guy is legit and very entertaining to listen to! Steve Yun joins him as they showcase all the latest live action and animated Robotech productions! This’ll be great!

6pm – MARK WAID SPOTLIGHT
This one will be a highlight for me. From fan to editor to legendary writer and creator, Mark Waid is synonymous with incredible comics. I can’t wait to hear the man talk and just soak in the knowledge!

Sunday

12pm KEVIN EASTMAN PANEL
Formore Geekscape guest himself… and creator of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, publisher of Heavy Metal just to name a few of his projects! As great as he was on Geekscape, I know I can’t pass up an opportunity to hear Kevin speak some more!

Guests

Lance Henriksen – Booth #313

Guys, anyone who hasn’t read Lance’s autobiography ‘Not Bad For a Human‘ is seriously missing out. It’s an incredibly fascinating read and Lance has led an incredible life. Shit. I just want to shake his hand!

Jim Mahfood – Booth #1512

From Clerks to Tank Girl to his own gallery pieces, Jim’s one of my favorite artists. I love his insane style, met him at NYCC and can’t wait to have him on the show. I’ll use this opportunity to invite him, what do ya say!?!

Darick Robertson – Booth #1709

Another artist fave… and awesome music fan! Darick did a signing at the Geekscape SDCC booth and we should get him on the show finally. I mean, who doesn’t love his work on Hitman and The Boys?!?

Tone Rodriguez – Booth #1612

Mr. Rodriguez did the incredible cover for Super Action Man and has been a long friend of Geekscape. Absolutely I have to drop by and pay him a visit. Or maybe S.A.M. should…

Derek

I unfortunately won’t be attending this year’s Long Beach Comic Con as I’m stuck in Canada until at least the new year, but I’m insanely jealous of the Geekscape writers that are lucky enough to be going.

Looking at the schedule, it’s easy to see why LBCC is a convention that’s in a continuous, rapid state of growth: the programming is simply excellent, and it’s bound to draw in thousands upon thousands of new attendees this year.

Had I been lucky enough to attend, here are the panels that I’d be most looking forward to (and their descriptions, of course):

Saturday

1:00PM – Room 103BC: Star Wars Origami With Chris Alexander – Come on by and learn step by step how to make some of your favourite Star Wars characters out of paper.

2:00PM – Room 102C: IDW: The Panel of Doom – IDW’s annual panel extravaganza is back! Come hear what IDW Marketing guy Dirk Wood and IDW Senior Editor and Grand Poobah of Big Books Scott Dunbier have coming your way! Surprises, Hi-jinx, Q&A and Fun! Come armed with questions, you just may get a prize or two!

5:00PM – Room 102C: Boom! Comics – What’s Next For The Independent Publisher? – From Movies and television to comics and more, Boom! is making a name for itself in the industry! What do they have up there sleeve for 2014? Come find out!

6:00PM – Room 104A: Mark Waid Spotlight – What is in the mind of Mark Waid? Come find out how Mark comes up with his great ideas and stories for some of the most iconic comic characters in the industry.

Sunday

12:00PM – Room 104A: Kevin Eastman Panel – He co-created one of the most enduring comics in the last 20 years! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Heavy Metal, and The Other Dead, just to name a few of the projects he has going on. Get inside the mind of Kevin Eastman as he opens up about the past, and future projects!

2:00PM – Room 102B: How To Get More Freelance Work – How can writers, artists, and other freelancers market themselves better? Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, join us to discuss the freelance world with Steven L. Sears (comic writer/creator and writer/ producer for three decades of TV series, including Xena: Warrior Princess), Brooks Wachtel (artist and Emmy-award winning animation writer), Christian Gossett (artist, writer, director, creator of The Red Star graphic novels, concept designer for George Lucas), Sarah Gaydos (Editor of comics like Young Justice, Batman Beyond Unlimited, and Star Trek), and Shaene Siders (writer for movies, games, and comics like Discovery Channel’s Megalodon and Prehistoric Sharks).

4:00PM – Room 102B: The Writer’s Journey: Breaking Into Comic Book and Hollywood Scriptwriting – The old days of sending in unsolicited pitches to big comic book companies in the hopes of getting hired are dead and gone. If you are an unpublished writer with dreams of making it in the comic book industry, and you don’t know how or where to begin, this is the panel for you. Join Hollywood screenwriter/graphic novel producers Brandon M. Easton (ThunderCats [2011] , Transformers: Armada, Shadowlaw), Geoffrey Thorne (In the Heat of the Night, Ben 10, TNT’s Leverage, Star Trek: Titan, Genre 19) and Jonathan Callan (Ben 10: Omniverse, Generator Rex, Slugterrainea, The Prisoner Webcomic) as they share insider information, publishing secrets and the professional realities on how to develop your ideas into a viable comics proposal.

That, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much to see and do at the Long Beach Horror and Comic Con, and I’m sorry that I can’t be there. I hope that all of you that do attend have an absolute blast, and be sure to look out for Jonathan, Kari, and SJ while you’re perusing the floor!

Banner Photo Credit: FlashFloodMedia