This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo, which bills itself as the “first and largest pop culture convention in Los Angeles.” Not sure how they came up with those statistics, but whether or not they are the first or largest, we really enjoyed it. Since it’s hosted by Stan Lee, you’d think it’d be a comic-first convention, but it was definitely a pop culture smorgasbord with comics, video games, cosplay, anime, tv and film.
Category: Reviews
The old adage of blaming the last guy won’t work in this pre-apocalytic political and sci-fi thriller. As the new president, Stephen Blades must bear the weight of a 7 year secret his predecessor has left him. The answer to the ultimate question, “Is there life out there?” is answered. And the answer is a resounding yes. And the worse part, they’re most likely not friendly.
I’m really digging the writing, art and creative style of creator Rich Foster. His ability to convey a strong, immersed short story that is ‘Red Giant: The Baron Goes Hunting’ is promising. It opens up a world in which most readers would desire more issues. I sure do.
Join No’Madd as he embarks on a journey to save the himself and probably more importantly, the world, from slave alien beings and their overlord. The adventure takes place on a planet where the inhabitants wield axes and swords, fight ant-like creatures called Gnats, fly airships, pilot sea vessels, battle autonomous laser-firing robots and God-like super beings! As you can tell, author Andrew Kafoury packs a lot of content into his first series. And rightly so, as several characters are introduced in what the author promises to be the beginning of several graphic novels. Although this first series focuses on No’Madd, each character can potentially have their own back story and adventure.
Did you make it through our weekly picks already? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Comic book movies are a great introduction to characters that you might not have met or heard of before. I mean, Guardians of the Galaxy, right? Someone says ‘We are Groot’ to you before you see the movie and your reaction might be ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa… we just met, buddy.”
If you want bite-size action and adventure stories replete with your favorite characters, try some of these animated superhero series on Netflix or Amazon Instant.
Thor – the god of thunder, member of the Avengers, son of Odin and prince of Asgard, is deemed unworthy of wielding the mighty hammer Mjolnir. Rising out of the downward spiral of his unworthiness, a new warrior emerges to become worthy of wielding the hammer – and she becomes the new Thor.
So what does this mean for the Thor that we’ve known all our lives? He’s still here, but a mystery woman is taking on the heavy title of Thor in one of the biggest and most controversial changes the Marvel universe has ever seen.
The Alternative Press Expo, otherwise known simply as APE, is a convention in San Francisco, CA that focuses on alternative and small press comics. What does this mean exactly? Outside of the major publishers like Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse and others, there are an infinite number of independent creators and publishers that release their own comics. APE is the show for those creators, giving them a platform to interact with and showcase their work to fans without being buried by major publishers at more traditional, mainstream comic book conventions.
This past weekend we had the pleasure of attending Long Beach Comic Con for the first time. It’s an annual show in its third year, and draws around 20,000 attendees over two days. The focus of the show is definitely on comics and creators, and less about pop culture in general, which is what I was hoping for.
The vibe at LBCC was very friendly and welcoming, and it drew a diverse mix of comic book fans and geeks. What I liked most about the size of the show is that it felt substantial in the scope of the expo hall and programming, but it never felt crowded and overwhelming, unlike San Diego Comic Con, which draws over 120,000 attendees.
In the rest of this recap I’ll be covering:
- Expo Hall
- Artist Alley
- Programming
- Cosplay
- Final Thoughts