People often debate when summer truly ends. Some say it’s the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend. Others say that it’s the minute you can buy a pumpkin spice latte. A handful of people might tell you that it ends precisely at 12:01 on September 22nd. However, I have come to the conclusion that it’s the minute the convention floor closes on the second day of Long Beach Comic Con. The long standing con, now in it’s 7th year, grows in popularity and consumes more of the convention center with each incarnation. The tremendous growth a side effect from time and dedication the organizers put into crafting such a stellar show. It has truly become one of my favorite conventions to attend in Southern California over the past 2 years attending.
This year I was only able to hit three panels the entire weekend which is definitely a bummer given some of the programming available this weekend. Part of this was due to the fact that I didn’t allocate my time properly and spent much more time than expected on the exhibition floor which has become massive compared to my first time attending the con. I suppose it’s a good problem to have and going forward I definitely won’t make the same mistake twice. Or at least I’ll tell myself that but given my track record with this kind of thing I’ll be here a year later complaining about my error once more. All the vendors looked especially happy with the influx of fresh new faces, in particular the artist alley seemed to see a significant boost in interest. Always a popular staple, the artist alley seemed to have even more eager attendees present than in the past which has been the trend in recent years. I suppose the kids are finally finding out about the awesomeness of the artist alley.
As for the panels, my cohort Sara and I pretty much posted out at the Eat.Geek.Play. room during the time we had for panels. Easily one of the better choices I’ve made in my life. I got to see Christos Gage in such a casual setting talk shop with Kevin, founder of EGP, for well over an hour and it was kind of the best. At one point Nicholas Brendon rolled through and made things slightly awkward but amazingly hilarious. You never know whats going to go down at the EGP room and you’ll always get to see some great interviews. If I have one recommendation for all future attendees is that you see at least one panel here. You will not regret the decision.
The con, as well as the expo, gets better every year. Both events are well on their way to taking over the entire convention center in the near future and that idea is pretty damn exciting. With the expo coming up in just a little over two months you’ve still got plenty of time to get tickets but why not save yourself some time and pick up a weekend badge now?
See you in February of 2016!
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