{"id":14252,"date":"2018-10-30T20:39:34","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T20:39:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scarlet-rhapsody.com\/?p=14252"},"modified":"2018-12-10T20:44:20","modified_gmt":"2018-12-10T20:44:20","slug":"la-comic-con-18-woke-up-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scarlet-rhapsody.com\/?p=14252","title":{"rendered":"[LA Comic Con ’18] Woke Up In Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In the months leading up to LA Comic Con I called it \u2018Identity Crisis Con\u2019 due to how often they change up the name.\u00a0 However, when I looked over the guest list and schedule then I realized that no matter what this event is called it will have a strong line up.\u00a0 There were some major guests from the worlds of wrestling, movies, TV, and comics.\u00a0 Despite the strong line up, there are some issues with this event that one should consider before going next year.<\/p>\n

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The location has both good and bad aspects.\u00a0 The Los Angeles Convention Center is not the easiest building to get to due to LA traffic, but if you head out early enough finding a parking space isn\u2019t too difficult.\u00a0 That being said, if you do not find parking at the convention center then you will have difficulty finding any place to park in the LA Live area.\u00a0 The building has some problems as well unless you are familiar with the layout then you may have some trouble finding the panel room you are looking for.\u00a0 Finally, there is the problem of food as most restaurants in the area are expensive and fill up fast.\u00a0 Inside the convention food can be a very mixed bag as it tends to be expensive and, on occasion, causes food poisoning.\u00a0 With a little bit of preplanning most of these problems can be avoided.<\/p>\n

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There are plenty of events and panels to hit at LA Comic Con.\u00a0 The main stage in the dealer hall almost always has things going on.\u00a0 However, most of what I experienced wasn\u2019t very good.\u00a0 The comedy acts I heard made me want to run up to the stage and heckle the terrible performers.\u00a0 The improve group had no applause or laughs.\u00a0 Geek comedy tends to be terrible and should be avoided as programming at all costs.\u00a0 Better to have nothing on stage than a terrible comedy act that makes people want to leave.\u00a0 The Geek So Chic fashion show drew in an audience, but the music choices were painful and most of the clothing wasn\u2019t very creative.\u00a0 The idea of a fashion show isn\u2019t a bad thing, but most designers of \u2018geek clothing on display tended to be very banal or repetitive.\u00a0 You can only see so many Harry Potter or Star Wars dresses before they all start blending together.\u00a0 Hopefully next year they can get a better DJ and some actually creative concepts for clothes.\u00a0 Finally, there seemed to be a band on stage at one point, but with the bad acoustics it was hard to make out anything more than just noise.\u00a0 The dealer hall is not a place for a music acts in fact bands are a bad idea unless there is a room set up for a concert.<\/p>\n

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Panels were not opened until Saturday and some of them would fill up almost instantly.\u00a0 The panel line up was made of three general groupings:\u00a0 guest panels, fan panels, and cosplay panels.\u00a0 For some reason it seemed like there were more cosplay panels than anything else, which seems foolish as that only appeals to a niche audience and even then most of those people are too busy doing other things at the convention to worry about some generic cosplay panel.\u00a0 The guest panels fill up fast, but are worth it if you want to ask a question of a favorite celebrity or industry person.\u00a0 The fan panels are the best part of the line up as they cover a multitude of topics.\u00a0 Panels on 80s cartoons, kaiju movies, and super sentai were great ways to spend time at the con.\u00a0 The only panel I attended that I did not enjoy was the Haunted: Paranormal Explorers panel which seemed to feature random people who happen to believe in ghosts.\u00a0 This is a really weak considering in previous years they had groups that showed off spirit photos and EVP recordings.\u00a0 There were plenty of great panels and while some might be disappointing there is always something else to see.<\/p>\n

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This year I was involved in running two panels Mythology in Final Fantasy and Make Mine Mecha.\u00a0 The first panel was an updated version of my panel featuring more monsters.\u00a0 It was well attended and we even had an artist in the audience that drew a picture of me running the panel.\u00a0 The second panel was the first time we ever ran the giant robot panel at LA Comic Con.\u00a0 Make Mine Mecha panel incorporated some new slides and a discussion of the absurdity that is Doozy Bots.\u00a0 Both panels had strong attendance and some interesting post panel discussions.\u00a0 I really enjoyed running panels this year and I really hope I can come back with more content next year.<\/p>\n

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The meat of LA Comic Con dwells within the dealer hall.\u00a0 This is the area is divided into four main areas.\u00a0 The main stage, the artist alley, autograph section, and the dealer section.\u00a0 The Artist Alley featured both indie and professional artists each showing off their work.\u00a0 There are a fair amount of booths making it one of the great places to check out when not panel hopping.\u00a0 The autograph area had waves of people coming through.\u00a0 Sometimes there would be long lines and huge crowds while other times you could easily walk up and meet your favorite guest.\u00a0 The dealer section had a large variety of booths from clothes to figures to comics to movies.\u00a0 There were some great deals and I was lucky enough to pick up the bluRay collection of the Toxic Avenger and get it signed by the legendary Lloyd Kaufman.\u00a0 This was one of the best dealer halls I have seen all year.<\/p>\n

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One of the most important aspects of any event is the vibe of the crowd.\u00a0 As this is a fairly large event there is plenty of opportunity to run into negative or rude people.\u00a0 However, for the most part people were really friendly.\u00a0 The crowds can get a bit overwhelming at times, but considering the size of the LA Convention Center there are plenty of places to go if you need some space.\u00a0 There was good panel attendance and the audience wasn\u2019t made up of lemmings because when something was bad people moved on to better programming.\u00a0 There is a fair amount of cosplayers, but very few of them are stuck up.\u00a0 This is a convention where people are attending to have some fun and therefore the vibe tends to be far better than one would expect at a LA convention.<\/p>\n

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This is a convention where there isn\u2019t much reason to go multiple days.\u00a0 While there are some great guests and panels it isn\u2019t enough to go all weekend.\u00a0 The first day can be outright skipped as it has almost no content and Sunday is very little more than a shopping day.\u00a0 Saturday has the meat of the event, but that will only appeal to those who want to hit panels or see a one day only guests.\u00a0 Depending on what you seek from this convention will determine which day you want to attend.\u00a0 If programming and guests don\u2019t matter then go on Friday for some easy shopping with no crowds.\u00a0 If you want content go for Saturday and for a mix of content and shopping go on Sunday.\u00a0 \u00a0While there isn\u2019t anything wrong with going for more than one day LA Comic Con isn\u2019t the kind of event that demands you attend more than one day due to how programming is handled.<\/p>\n

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Overall, I had a good time at LA Comic Con.\u00a0 It was a good event with some fun programming and good shopping.\u00a0 My panels went smoothly and I can\u2019t wait to run panels here again.\u00a0 While it does not have enough content to make it worth going for all three days a one or two day trip is highly recommended.\u00a0 There are some great guests from comics and TV as well as some great panels run by competent people (for the most part).\u00a0 I\u2019d like to thank the event staff and all the cool people I met during the convention.\u00a0 I\u2019m looking forward to attending next year and until then please enjoy my list.<\/p>\n

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THE LIST:<\/p>\n

1. Last con of the year
\n2. Cosplay plans fell apart
\n3. Making contacts
\n4. Losing business cards
\n5. I got to meet Mr. Kaufman again
\n6. Toxie!!!
\n7. Jerky Hut
\n8. Scum and Villainy Bar
\n9. 80s Cartoons
\n10. New panel ideas
\n11. Got some robots!
\n12. Looking for just the right artist
\n13. Nothing worse than bad comedy
\n14. Next Cosplay: something-something haven\u2019t decided
\n15. I want a nap
\n16. Three days was a bit much
\n17. Doing my own thing
\n18. Didn\u2019t get a chance to roll those interviews
\n19. Saturday parking is madness
\n20. Next time try some creative ideas
\n21. At least I was looking good
\n22. New ideas to update the panels
\n23. Shout out to Kaiju Kingdom
\n24. Forgot my notebook
\n25. Re: 24 \u2013 I forgot so many things
\n26. Shopping for the first time in some time
\n27. Note to self: Try to pack things earlier
\n28. I could have been a model?
\n29. Better music means a happier audience
\n30. Oh man, that old time soda!
\n31. I\u2019ll miss you Stan Lee<\/p>\n

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Written by Jared the Greek
Email: jaredjgriego@gmail.com
Twitter: @JaredTheGreek
Insta: @JaredTheGreek<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n