Finally having a few moments to relive Saturday of Long Beach Comic Expo as I work through the photos from the day. There were plenty of wonderful encounters and some moments that had completely slipped my mind until I looked through the photos.
For a show that I almost skipped with other things going on, but decided it was just what I needed. Start off my Comic Con season with the Expo and well it would get me on track for the rest of the year. What I didn’t expect was to keep so busy and have so much fun that when I finally returned home after the weekend I was so exhausted I fell asleep within an hour of getting home. That is the sign of a very good con.
While the layout of the floor did drive me nuts at times, I kept loosing track of where I had come across various artists and writers, Artist Alley not being stuck in a corner or along a wall was refreshing placing them smack dab in the center of the floor. This meant that as you crossed back and forth you couldn’t miss it unless you hugged the outer aisles and who would do that at a show?
But I am getting ahead of myself. First up was the hotel, once again I chose the Long Beach Hyatt Regency. Way to be made to feel special, being remembered in a good way by not just the valet (I think it’s my car he likes) but also the staff at the front desk and one of the staff in the lobby bar. By the way, I have much more sympathy for those who rely upon the 405 after hitting it on Friday night and having the longest drive to Long Beach I have ever had.
Before the show opened on Saturday, I had a leisurely breakfast and coffee while sitting out at the tables in the back of the convention center chatting with other attendees. Had to take photos of a couple kids that were cosplaying because they just looked like they were going to have so much fun (and they hammed it up for the camera a little too).
Once inside, first stop was my traditional stop to see friends at Top Cow. After some quick hellos it was time to wander and figure out where things were. One of these days I might actually study the floor diagrams before hitting a show floor, but then I wouldn’t have as much fun simply wandering and exploring. As I mentioned earlier, the layout did cause me to find artists/writers and then have to wander to find them again. I think it wasn’t until Sunday that I really was getting a handle on where I had found people.
Tracked down Rafael Navarro and Mike Wellman so I could drop off a gift from a mutual friend to Rafael. One that mission was accomplished I felt free to just chill out and wander for awhile. As I didn’t check to see who would be in artist alley it was a pleasant surprise to come across a few artists I had met at other shows including Mike Matola, Jeremy Haun, Joshua Fialkov and several others that I had seen at shows before but had not been able to speak with before. Ok so I didn’t get a chance to speak with Joshua at the show as he was busy whenever I swung by, but that is a good thing to see.
There was the editor panel that had Matt Hawkins, Vince Hernandez among others which was interesting to attend. Some things they shared seemed like common sense (which sadly is not so common) and other things were enlightening. But if you ever consider attempting to break into the comicbook industry, you should be sure to learn what editors look for in working with artists, writers, letterers, inkers etc. It could save you a world of grief.
Had some fun seeing September Mourning at the show and even catching some of the Reapers in the wilds of the show floor. Always enjoy seeing the band as not only do I enjoy their music (no they were not performing at LBCE), but for the members I have gotten to know a little over the past couple of years find them to be fun people to catch up with for bit, and to photograph of course.
One of the benefits of a smaller show it you can actually take time to chat with the different people that have tables/booths at the show. This give them a chance to actually tell you about their art, their book or whatever else they may be there to promote. This means that a show such as Long Beach Comic Expo I can discover books I might not otherwise ever know of. To give them a shot and maybe even a shout out.
Took a little bit to figure out where the celebrity signing area was. It had been tucked in a corner past the space museum which if you simply looked down the front row the space museum looked to be the last thing in the row. Surprise, go past the inflated space shuttle and there was where the celebrity signing area was tucked. Headed down there to find Peter Shinkoda and Tommy Walker from Netflix’ Daredevil. Had met them in the fall and wanted to be sure to swing by to say hello. Had fun chatting with them for a bit, had to make sure to keep swinging by to have some laughs with them when they weren’t busy and I was back down that end of the show. Best move I think I made as this led up to what became the highlight of the weekend for me. Fast forward to the end of the show day, headed across the street to have dinner with a friend. A dinner I almost skipped by the way. Place was packed but we managed to grab a table in the bar. We had just started dinner when Peter and Tommy walked in also looking for a table. As the place was packed and they had already met me, they ended up joining Dylan and myself. This made the evening even more fun as we had a good time with two very cool guys and found out that as much as I already knew Tommy was a comicbook geek, I didn’t realize just how much of one until that evening. Thank you Peter and Tommy for being such fun guys to hand out with. Looking forward to when I get to see you again.
Now that I have blathered on for awhile why don’t I finally show you the photos from Saturday at Long Beach Comic Expo. Amazingly for all that there was to see and do, I shot a bit less than I thought I did on Saturday.
