Comickaze! A Comic Convention Worth Checking Out!
After not being able to get tickets to San Diego Comic Con this year, I was really bummed out. Shortly after I learned about Stan Lee’s Comickaze; a fairly new convention that seemed worth attending. I was stoked to attend it but after being there I had mixed feelings about it.
When I got there we saw a line going around the building and we figured that it would only take 20 minutes or so to get my girlfriends ticket. Sadly, we were mistaken as it took us nearly an hour to get her wristband. It just didn’t seem like they were well-organized or able to accommodate the amount of people attending the convention. With a name like Stan Lee backing it, you would think that there would be the expectation that many people would come, especially since this wasn’t the convention’s first year.
After we finally got her wristband, we walked the convention floor and saw what the convention had to offer. You had the typical comic stands, toy sellers and other vendors selling their stuff. A few celebrities were signing autographs ranging from Lou Ferrigno, Andy Dick, James Hong, Adrienne Curry and many others. There was a good number of artists selling their pictures and rightfully so. When you have Comic in your convention name you should have artists or comic something. San Diego Comic Con is mostly about Hollywood TV and movies now and few comics and artists are even present! Finally a Comic Convention doing something right! There were also many cosplayers. The costumed fans varied in age from young and old and took the time to dress up as their favorite characters. There was also a portion of the convention set up to have Quidditch games and another section set up for card games. The card games didn’t seem out of the ordinary to have at a convention but I’ve never seen a Quidditch game anywhere let alone at a convention! It was cool and interesting to see. When conventions take a risk to do something different that the normal shows you go to, it stands out. Quidditch matches! Maybe next year they would host something like a tournament or something. That would be great to see!
I wanted to pursue the food options at the convention and it seemed there were only few food stands inside. We decided to get food from the main food court. Be warned as it is typical convention fare charged by the convention center so a measly hotdog may cost you eight bucks. There were some food trucks around but they didn’t seem to be part of the convention. It would be nice to see the convention strike a deal with a few food trucks just to give their attendee’s a little option that would also help out the local community as well.
One thing that I enjoyed the most about the convention was that the main stage was part of the convention making it more friendly and open to anyone who was walking nearby. I got a chance to see Kevin Smith, Mark Hamill and the man himself Stan Lee on the main stage. Being close to them just made the show that much more exciting than having them closed off in a room with limited seating. These open air interviews really let you know you are at a show interacting with the fans that love your work. Too many times you go to conventions where everything is out of reach and exclusive so that fans can’t get a taste and have to rely on third-party sources; news, internet etc. At Comickaze you can be part of the action.
Overall Comickaze was a cool little convention with enough stuff to keep you entertained from the vendors to the panels. My only real complaint was lines to get in. Other than that snafu, the convention was fantastic; from the main stage and interesting panels to the celebrities that were there to greet their fans. If you are looking for an alternative to the Comic Con in San Diego, and don’t mind the LA area, Comickaze is the place to be!
no mention of the giant red power ranger statue? i saw it in the pictures you took, how giant was it really?
I’d say it was about 20 feet or so.