Stan Lee’s Comickaze From A Panda’s Eyes
Stan Lee’s Comikaze
Los Angeles Convention Center
Stepping into the LA Convention Center, away from all the bustle and noise of downtown, I suddenly felt at home in the main lobby. Why was this panda so secure in the nerve-racking civilization known as downtown LA? I was surrounded by cosplayers, bags of swag and nerds sporting thick rimmed glasses and very clever shirts; my very own piece of San Diego Comic Con in the vast toxic mainstream wasteland that is the city of Los Angeles. That is exactly what Comikaze turned out to be; a flourishing counter-culture oasis in the mainstream desert. Unlike the San Diego Comic Con, Comikaze is still a fairly quiet affair to the Hollywood industry. You wont see Twilight panels or corporate sponsored girls handing out free stuff. Instead you see panels like Fatman on Batman with Kevin Smith, a convention floor that is equal parts artist alley and vendors with random geek merchandise that you can’t find on a regular basis, collector toys, trading cards and limited edition comics.
The panels pertained to various facets of geekdom, such as, a DIY cosplay panel, the aforementioned Fatman on Batman, a fifty year retrospective of  Doctor Who, Nerdcore-Rap panel, and Wild And Crazy kids reunion, among various others cool and awesome stuff little ol’ me couldn’t cover on my own. Also at the con, various indie films were being screened like Sushi Girl, Strange Frame, Puppet Master X and a Screening I had the pleasure to attend my self  ”Bad Kids Go to Hell”. Catch my review of it here
Along with awesome panels you had the cosplayers, fanboys being fanboys and the artists. Their was an excellent showing of indie artist and writers at the convention. Awesome dudes at devastator were showcasing there quarterly published comedy/comic magazine detailing facets of geekdom such as fantasy role-playing, video games and cartoons. When flipped over these ‘zines become pick your own adventures, short stories or my favorite, a table top game “Wizards of Cock block Forest”. Around the way from Devastator, I saw one of the most original comics I will ever see. Penguins vs possums is a comic in its first issue which details the dark and turbulent battle for supremacy in the animal kingdom that has been going on since the dawn of time. This comic got it starts in the office with co-workers doodling notes back and forth on post it notes.
There was plenty of physical activity for the few active nerds out there. The zombie apocalypse obstacle course was set up on the side of the convention floor. IT had several obstacles and hired zombies which you can pay to join or to run away from. The genuine ambiance surprised me, army dudes and paramedics walking around, fire bomb siren going off in the back , over all a pretty cool way to kill time between panels. On the opposite side of the convention floor there was a very alien subject to me. There was a Quiditch pitch where muggle matches of the sport kept all the potter heads and little children entertained. It looked like a combination of tag, dodgeball and rugby. The official running each match were very helpful getting people ready for there first ever round of the sport. For those who think it’s a fake sport…well it is but its pretty demanding, There is even a tackle version of it. Overall more entertaining than NASCAR and golf combined.
