L.A. Comic Con

L.A. Comic Con
Former logo as Stan Lee's Comikaze
Status Active
Genre Speculative fiction
Venue Los Angeles Convention Center
Location(s) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Country United States
Inaugurated November 5, 2011 (2011-11-05) (as Comikaze Expo)
Attendance 91,000 in 2016[1] (October 2016)
Website www.comicconla.com

L.A. Comic Con, formerly Comikaze Expo and then Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo and then Stan Lee's LA Comic Con, is a three-day event held during the fall at the Los Angeles Convention Center, located in downtown Los Angeles, California. L.A. Comic Con encompasses several genres, including comic, horror, sci-fi, anime, gaming, and pop culture, with a particular focus on the Los Angeles community.

History

Regina Carpinelli and her two younger brothers, fans of geek culture from Temecula, California, were regular attendees of San Diego Comic-Con International.[2] After moving to Los Angeles, Regina Carpinelli decided that the city needed a large-scale comic book convention.[2][3] The three Carinellis set up Comikaze Entertainment Inc. and started out to organize one.

The first event, called Comikaze Expo, was held on November 5–6, 2011 in the Kentia Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The large exhibitor space featured local artists, tattoo artists, comic book dealers, comic book publishers, press vendors, designers and collectibles merchants. There was an Artists' Alley where celebrities and artists signed autographs and sold portraits. Traditional contests and gaming tournaments included the Cosplay Contest, the Masquerade, Magic The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Warhammer, and several original Nintendo games. There were also panels featuring various celebrities,[4] reunions, and upcoming feature films. Among the events was horror icon Elvira's last convention appearance. There were about 35,000 attendees throughout the weekend.[5]

In 2012, veteran creator Stan Lee and his company, POW! Entertainment, as well as Cassandra Peterson (better known as Elvira), formed a partnership with Comikaze Expo, and the convention was rebranded as Stan Lee's Comikaze.[6] the group enlisted trade show producer Advanstar to expand the Comikaze show and brand to other locations.[7]

The 2012 show was held in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center, and featured about 600 artists and vendors, including gaming publisher Activison, who launched several new games. New activities included a 75,000 sg ft Zombie Apocalypse obstacle course, a Quidditch pitch, and a NERF dart battle hosted by Max Landis. Panel discussions were displayed on a 14 ft jumbotron, including Kevin Smith, a live version of Fatman on Batman with Adam West, a version of the Dating Game with Adrianne Curry, and a Q&A with Stan Lee and Todd McFarlane.[8][9] That year the show had about 50,000 attendees.[10]

In September 2013, a reality show, Fangasm, premiered on the SCFI Channel. The show followed the experiences of seven pop culture fans as they lived together in a Los Angeles apartment building and interned at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo, vying for his attention and approval. The show was hosted by Regina Carpinelli and Cassandra Peterson, and aired on Titan TV.

In 2014 the show introduced Club Nokia, a free Cosplay Dance party for its attendees.[11]

For the 2016's edition, the convention was renamed Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con.[12] The show continued to include panel discussions on a variety of topics,[13] and an all-night dance party.[14]

In 2018, Comikaze ended its relationship with POW Entertainment and Stan Lee, announcing the change of name to Beyond Fest Expo LA [15].

Events

DatesLocationApproximate AttendanceGuests
November 5 – 6, 2011 Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA		35,000Stan Lee, Elvira, Mark Hamill, Tony Todd, Ernest Borgnine, Tippi Hedren, Morgan Fairchild, Robert Venditti, Marina Sirtis, Garrett Wang, Robert Beltran, Sybil Danning, Jhonen Vasquez, Cast of Nickelodeon's All That (Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, Lori Beth Denberg, Katrina Johnson, Alisa Reyes, Angelique Bates and Lisa Foiles), Cast of Bad Kids Go to Hell, Cast of Police Academy, Select Cast of Star Trek Voyager and Deep Space 9
September 15 – 16, 2012 Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA		45,000Stan Lee, Elvira, Adam West, Burt Ward, Todd McFarlane, Kevin Smith, Mark Hamill, Norman Reedus, Tony Todd, Felicia Day, Tara Strong, Dana Snyder, Julie Newmar, Neal Adams, Marv Wolfman, Zak Penn, Lou Ferrigno, Daphne Ashbrook, Ron Glass, Amber Benson, Kevin J. Anderson, J. Scott Campbell, Tony Moore, Marc Silvestri, Cast of Nickelodeon's Salute Your Shorts (Michael Ray Bower, Danny Cooksey, Kirk Baily, Venus DeMilo, Trevor Eyster and Erik MacArthur)
November 1 – 3, 2013 Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA		55,000Stan Lee, Elvira, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Bruce Campbell, Michael Rooker, LeVar Burton, Tony Todd, Edward James Olmos, Dean Cain, Alyssa Milano, RuPaul, Louie Anderson, Lou Ferrigno, James Hong, Lynne Marie Stewart, Lori Petty, Paris Themmen, Naomi Grossman, Lisa Foiles, Michael Ray Bower, Phil Moore, Jon Schnepp, Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons, Jim Cummings, Bill Farmer, Jhonen Vasquez, Cast of The Powerpuff Girls (Catherine Cavadini, E.G. Daily and Tara Strong), Cast of Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete (Mike Maronna, Danny Tamberelli), Cast of AMC's Comic Book Men (Mike Zapcic, Ming Chen and Robert Bruce)
October 31 - November 2, 2014 Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA		65,000Stan Lee, Elvira, Kevin Smith, Kevin Conroy, Burt Ward, Gwendoline Christie, Alfie Allen, Stephen Moyer, Kristin Bauer, Barbara Eden, Mindy Sterling, John Barrowman, Jewel Staite, Tara Strong, Howie Mandel, James Hong, Eric Roberts, Tommy Wiseau, Original Power Rangers cast (David Yost, Walter Emanuel Jones), Cast of AMC's Comic Book Men (Bryan Johnson, Mike Zapcic, Ming Chen and Robert Bruce)
October 30 - November 1, 2015 Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA		70,000 Stan Lee, Elvira, Carrie Fisher, Todd McFarlane, Grant Morrison, Rob Liefeld, Summer Glau, Nichelle Nichols, Jon Schnepp, Grumpy Cat, Cast of Nickelodeon's All That (Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, Lori Beth Denberg, Katrina Johnson, Alisa Reyes, Angelique Bates, Danny Tamberelli and Lisa Foiles), Cast of Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete (Mike Maronna, Danny Tamberelli)
October 28 – 30, 2016 Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA		91,000[16]Stan Lee, Rob Liefeld, Alan Tudyk, Mike Colter, Chris Hardwick, Adam West, Burt Ward, Darryl McDaniels, Gerard Way, Taboo, Lance Henriksen, Neal Adams, Michael Biehn, Kevin Smith, Robert Picardo, Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, Ted Raimi, Leisha Hailey, Kate Moenig, Walter Jones, Nichelle Nichols, Dominic Purcell, Cary Elwes, Dan Harmon, Rob Benedict, Richard Speight, Shannon Purser, Teddy Sears, Mike Tyson, Kel Mitchell, Marc Silvestri
October 27-29, 2017 Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA		Neal Adams, David Anders, Dino Andrade, Karan Ashley, Mark Bagley, Scott Bakula, Eric Basaldua, John Beatty, Chloe Bennet, Michael Biehn, Zach Callison, J. Scott Campbell, Greg Capullo, Ming Chen, Charlet Chung, Greg Cipes, Dameon Clarke, Tom Cook, Jonny Cruz, Jim Cummings, Camilla d'Errico, Felicia Day, Grey DeLisle, Shannon Eric Denton, Lar DeSouza, Michaela Dietz, Kevin Eastman, Carlos Ferro, Andy Field, David J. Fielding, Sandy Fox, Todd Haberkorn, Kyle Hebert, Chuck Huber, Grant Imahara, Walter E. Jones, Tom Kane, Walter Koenig, Phil LaMarr, Lauren Landa, Lex Lang, Ken Lashley, Jae Lee, Stan Lee, Rob Liefeld, Jim Mahfood, Darryl McDaniels, Gates McFadden, Todd McFarlane, Scott Menville, Vic Mignogna, Kirby Morrow, Daran Norris, James O'Barr, Alan Oppenheimer, Phil Ortiz, Katee Sackhoff, Keith Silverstein, Marc Silvestri, Rikki Simons, Felipe Smith, Kevin Smith, Ryan Sohmer, Austin St. John, Tara Strong, James Arnold Taylor, Veronica Taylor, Burt Ward, David Yost [17]
October 26-28, 2018 Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, CA		[18]

References

  1. ↑
  2. 1 2 "Regina Carpinelli: Our Fearless Comikaze Queen". Defective Geeks 2011-10-21
  3. ↑ "About L.A. Comic Con". 22 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Los Angeles Comic Con 16′ Spotlight: Kings of Con". Screen Invasion, by Karin Abcarians - 11/10/2016
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  6. ↑ "Stan Lee launches his own comic convention". Geekout
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-28. Retrieved 2012-12-13.
  8. ↑ Clark, Noelene (13 September 2012). "Stan Lee’s Comikaze: Elvira, Quidditch, zombies and more".
  9. ↑ Esposito, Joey (13 September 2012). "Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo Rethinks Conventions".
  10. ↑ Hughes, Mark. "Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo A Rousing Success". Forbes, Sep 21, 2012
  11. ↑ "Comikaze Rises As One Of The Coolest, Hippest Shows In The Country". 5 November 2014.
  12. ↑ "Is SDCC launching a San Francisco Comic-Con?". Comics Beat, 11/04/2016 by Heidi MacDonald
  13. ↑ "Super powers meet higher power at Comic Con". Jewish Journal, by Allyson Gronowitz, Nov. 2, 2016
  14. ↑ "Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con: Behold the Cosplay! (Photos)". The Wrap, Catrina Dennis | October 31, 2016
  15. ↑ https://www.bleedingcool.com/2018/04/11/stan-lee-comikaze-la-comiccon-beyond-fest-expo/
  16. ↑ "Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con Hits Record Turnout Of 91,000 Attendees". Marketwired. Retrieved 2017-10-25.
  17. ↑ "Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con 2017 Information". fan Cons. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
  18. ↑ "Stan Lee's Los Angeles Comic Con 2018 Information". fan Cons. Retrieved 2018-07-21.

Coordinates: 34°02′23″N 118°16′13″W / 34.039737°N 118.270293°W / 34.039737; -118.270293

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