Tag: comic con

February 9 / / Cons

Cal Comic Con 2015 Recap and Review

Back before people camped out overnight to watch a panel with the cast of Twilight, people used to go to comic book conventions to buy comic books. Crazy, right?

Cal Comic Con is an event for comic book collectors, by comic book collectors. It’s an old school style con in every sense – there are no movie trailers, celebrity panels, video game demos, exclusive toys or cosplayers, just lots and lots of comic books.

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The Shortboxed crew decided to take a little road trip and drive down from San Francisco, CA to Orange County, CA to check out this show for ourselves, and it was everything we imagined it would be.

Hosted for one day in the Yorba Linda Community Center, it’s very unassuming and bare bones. It’s technically more of an expo (dealer showroom) than a full blown convention – over 30 dealers filled up 2 rooms and an outdoor patio. Some of the largest and most well-known dealers on the West Coast attend this show, and for good reason – all the attendees are hardcore comic book collectors looking for hard-to-find books or to fill gaps in their collection. This is the best show to buy comic books.

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November 5 / / Cons

Stan Lee’s Comikaze 2014 Recap and Review

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.

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October 22 / / Cons

The Best Comikaze 2014 Panels for Comic Book Creators

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Next week is Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo, and the Shortboxed crew will be there covering the entire con! We’ll be doing interviews, attending panels, talking to artists and exhibitors, photographing cosplayers and doing daily giveaways, so be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram both at @shortboxed. We’ll also be updating the blog with daily recaps of the con. While the show may be hosted by Stan Lee and called “Comikaze,” it’s not just a comic book convention – it’s billed as a pop culture convention, which includes comics, video games, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, tv, film and everything in between. The problem with big pop culture conventions is that it can be difficult for comic book enthusiasts and creators to sift through all the noise to find content for themselves – so we did it for you.

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October 6 / / Cons

Alternative Press Expo 2014 (APE) Recap and Review

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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.

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October 1 / / Cons

Long Beach Comic Con 2014 Recap and Review

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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
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