Con Review gives readers the quick need to know run down of major geek conventions and expos, with ratings and basic reviews that highlight the best of each con while giving you a reference to look back on as you decide where to make your geeky vacations of the future.

LBCC logoCon Name: Long Beach Comic Expo

Location: Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, Ca

Dates: May 12, 2012

Ticket Costs: $15

Website: longbeachcomiccon.com/

History: The 2012 expo will begin Long Beach’s 4th year running both a spring expo and fall convention in sunny Long Beach, California. Its first year was marked by Stan Lee & Long Beach City Councilmember Robert Garcia opening the show with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an overall attendance of 6,300+ unique individuals. The show has continued to steadily grow ever since. The spring shows are one day events, but in the past they’ve included major events like the filming of Felicia Day’s The Guild, live on site.

Major Guests:

  • Joe Benitez
  • Angus Oblong
  • Joshua Hale Fialkov
  • Vince Hernandez
  • JT Krul
  • Scott Lobdell
  • Brandon Jay McClaren
  • Dustin Nguyen

Major Exhibitors:

  • Aspen Comics
  • Battlestar Galactica Fan Club
  • WSS Footwear
  • Desert Wind Comics
  • Ishikawa Environtech LTD

Review:

As far as one-day comic conventions go, Long Beach Comic Expo is tops. A nice coastal atmosphere, surrounded by downtown luxuries of food and entertainment, there is unlikely a better way to spend a day away from home for Geeks. The unfortunate price of downtown parking is the only true flaw to the expo’s location. Long Beach Comic Expo is of course the spring accompaniment to fall’s Long Beach Comic & Horror Convention, run by the same company at the same location. However, during the spring expo, the dealer’s hall is placed in the far right ballroom, while the convention center plays host to several events. Not surprisingly, this might not last much longer, as this year the artist alley and fan booths were forced to spill out of the ballroom and into the main lobby of the convention center. Both of Long Beach’s shows are growing and expanding at a respectable rate, making them bigger and better with each year.

The cost of entry to the show this year was a flat $15, with no incentive of special edition comic variants like the fall show offers. However, there were a few VIP packages sponsored by companies like Aspen MLT that offered additional benefits, varying from free comics and prints to special comic seminars. Yet over all, even with the price of parking ranging from $10-15, this was a very affordable convention to enter. Leaving, on the other hand, might have been a bit pricier depending on how loose you were with your purse or wallet.

The show, being a one-day event, didn’t offer many great deals or sales. Most of the retail exhibitors present were just selling hot ticket items and special back issues (golden age comics, variant covers, and 1st appearances). While a few booths did have some rather great deals, most of the retailers were just making an appearance and hoping to make some money, rather than clearing their shelves like you might see at a full weekend convention.

There were some fun events to be had, particularly for a younger or family style audience. The 501st had a game where you could shoot nerf darts at storm troopers, and there was a room designated for paid laser tag. Alongside these trigger happy forms of entertainment, LBCX surprisingly offered several panels throughout the day; quite unusual for a one-day convention. Yet, outside of the paid seminars, most of these panels were hastily put together and designed more as Q&A with the panelists. The biggest of these free panels was the Aspen MLT panel. Aspen has a strong relationship with the Long Beach convention, and brought many of their staff and creators to the convention, but only David Schwartz, J.T. Krul, Beth Sotelo, and Vince Hernandez attended the panel. Joshua Hale Fialkov, Rob Levin, and Barbara Kesel offered panels that gave interesting insight and valuable information about the comic industry (though several of these required the higher priced VIP tickets for admission). Peter Levin held a great panel discussing the new Nerdist youtube channel, while Crispin Freeman gave a free animation voice acting workshop. None of these were truly Comic Con International level panels, and there was no release of major comic news at any of them, yet they could easily be enjoyed for what they were, perhaps allowing you a chance to ask one of your favorite creators a comic question or two (assuming one of your favorite creators were one of the few creators on hand).

What was perhaps the biggest highlight of the show didn’t even take place in the convention center. Long Beach Comic conventions have become know for having major Geek themed cars outside the convention center’s main entrance. Generally you can find a time traveling DeLorean and K.I.T.T. at any of Long Beach’s shows, but this expo had several vehicles and one surprise: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ Van! Almost an exact replica of the old 1980′s toy, this beautiful action figure accessory had been brought to life in the form of a working vehicle. This car likely stole the show, getting a great amount of attention at the Expo, alongside the sexy TMNT models that showed off the vehicle.

 

Rating:

For a simple one-day convention, Long Beach Comic Expo is not the small boys and girls club con most are. It is of decent size, affordability, and fun. There are more than a handful of creators, with a rather thickly packed artist alley and even a major comic publisher on hand. The addition of panels definitely make it worth the cost of admission for anybody nearby the event. While this may not have anything near the draw of bigger comic conventions like Comic Con International or C2E2, it is well worth a one day trip there and back if you are in the area. Long Beach Comic Expo gets a 7 out of 10, and is worth checking out next year if you have the chance.