Long Beach Comic Expo!
Jondee here at the Long Beach Convention Center,
The Long Beach Comic Expo is this weekend at the Convention Center. All photos provided by our own, Patrick “Bishop”! The fans gathered in the hall next to the Terrace Theater which held the screenings. The convention was down a hall and it opens up to the exhibit hall with comic companies in the front. There was Top Cow, Skybound, Aspen, and IDW as well as many other companies. The point of interest at the left side of the hall was the Columbia Memorial Space Center which had a large space for an inflatable space shuttle and rocket with many activities. On the right side was the Cosplay Corner with many tables for the popular cosplayers. I saw tables for cosplay clothes as well as the groups like the 501st and There was a number of comic retailers sprinkled throughout the convention, not locked into a single area. At the back of the con was the Party Xtreme Lasertag and to the other side was the Kids Area. My interest was in the Artists Alley. I was a bit confused by the organization of the rows, but found most of the artists and writers I was hoping to see. The convention featured screenings including the horror film, Chatter, which had director Matthew Solomon and some of his cast including Brady Smith present.
Chris Claremont had a large line of patient fans. He was very friendly and liked to talk to fans. Terry and Rachel Dodson also greeted their fans. I mentioned to Terry about the idea floating around that Laura Dern’s character in Episode VIII may be Evaan Verlaine, a character in his Princess Leia comic book. Verlaine is an ace pilot from Alderaan who gathers the survivors of Alderaan to Espirion. Leia hints that Evaan should be nominated as princess for Espirion. I also saw artist Chuck Patton on the Animation Island tables. He had prints of his Justice League of America covers from Justice League Detroit. Chuck liked the tv series were his characters are now showcased, Cisco Ramon on Flash, and also Vixen who is going to be in next week’s Arrow, both were featured in Justice League of America Annual #2 (1984). Joe Staton was at Artist’s Alley, he had prints and mini-prints of the Green Lantern Corps, he co-created Kilowog, also prints of the Dick Tracy comic strip he worked on, it was nice talking to him. I also stood in line for Alan Tudyk, who was there for his series Con Man, and also his comic book, Spectrum #0 (based on Con Man), which will come out on Free Comics Day. He mentioned that Kaylee was cut out of a promotional photo that featured Wash. It was also nice seeing Kelly Hu who also had a number of fans in her line. There were many other actors, voice actors, and other celebrities at the con. The next con there, the Long Beach Comic Con, will return to the convention center on September 17 to 18th.
