I arrived earlier than planned in downtown Long Beach straight from work. It was nice, but blustery. I knew Stan and Deb would be showing up later in the day. Opening ceremonies would not happen until 3:00PM. It was 2:00PM, and I decided to take a walk down memory lane over at the Long Beach Hyatt, home of many a cosplay gathering during the Anime Expo Long Beach series. It was close to 2:30PM and I decided to get a good spot for opening ceremonies. I was not anticipating for Stan and Deb to show up until much later in the day.

Getting my press badge was easy. There was not much of a line for registration either. Friday was rather lite compared to usual numbers typically seen at Comic Con International.

There were a few costumed caped comic characters. The ones that recieved the most attention were this Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn from Batman.

As the 3:00PM hour drew closer, more and more Stan Lee fans gathered close to the ribbon that Stan Lee would cut to officially open Long Beach Comic Con. I recieved a call from Stan and Deb. They were in the area. Luckily, I had a good view to see this psuedo-historic occasion.

Stan "The Man" Lee appeared in front of many press photographers and fans. When he arrived, he was greeted by a chorus of "Excelsior"s. Before we could get to officially opening the con, the City of Los Angeles and the City of Long Beach honored October 2, 2009 as Stan Lee Day. Take a look at opening ceremonies as filmed by Stan Oh.

Once the ribbon was cut, the attendees rushed into the dealer's hall as if it was Black Friday. We were surprised to see World of Nintendo having their own set up. Miguel, Stan, Deb, and I tested out Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. The dealer's hall consisted of a variety of merchindise any fanboy can appreciate - figures, comics, DVDs, etc. In addition, there was a row of celebrities doing signings. Reportedly, George Lazenby (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) and Anthony Michael Hall (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club) were supposed to show up, but I was dissapointed that I did not get to see them.

Who says that dealer's room products only appeal to fanboys? Deb delves into childhood nostalgia by cuddling with a Stay Puff Marshmallow made famous from (The Real) Ghostbusters.

One of Stan's favorite aspects of Long Beach Comic Con was the wrestling ring. Though I am not into wrestling, it added a certain uniqueness to the dealer's hall. Extra entertainment for those of us lazy to attend a panel.

I was fortunate to meet Ms. Limelight and Hygena from Stan Lee's Who Wants to be a Superhero (season 2). After chit chatting with Hygena, she talked about her concept for her character for the series. Once upon a time, at Comic Con International, she was disgusted by the fanboy stench. Hygena thought it was time for an intervention made of Fabreeze and soap galore. Thus, Hygena was born. I also mentioned to Hygena about my boyfriend who has a thing for maids. She suggested that he should stop by and that I should wear my maid outfit.

Stan and Miguel waited for about an hour to get a sketch from Jim Lee (Superman: For Tomorrow). While the boys were waiting, they were watching Kamen Rider on Stan's lap top. Deb and I were looking at DVDs from child hood past. I will admit, the Sailor Moon boxset looked rather tempting, but instinct told me to hold off on it. Later that weekend, I discovered that they were pirated dvds.

Stan finally got his autograph and sketch from Jim Lee after waiting in line. It was almost like lining up for Space Mountain.

Deb and I also chit chatted with the Peanuts voice cast. We met the actors for Sally, Charlie Brown, and Lucy. We also picked up some insight if one wants to break into the voice acting business. Workshops and getting used to matching mouth movement is imperative for success in voice acting. The cast of the famed comic strip hopes that the Peanuts gang will make a come back once audiences become a little bit more conservative.

We found very few costumers at Long Beach Comic Con. Most of them were of the comic book variety, but we spotted one Ash Ketchum. There were plenty of toddlers dressed up as their parent's favorite superheroes and superheroines.

The con began to wind down at 6:30PM. We had seen all we were interested in the dealer's hall. I mentally bookmarked a few things that Jared would be interested in just for courtesy's sake. Becky met up with us later in the day for dinner and Long Beach nightlife.

The upside of Long Beach is that there is plenty to do outside of the convention center. The Pike had many restaurants and attractions.Miguel, Deb, Stan, and I were just watching the sunset from the pier overlooking Shoreline Village. I do not know how many conventions have this opportunity - to check out the sunset, but all the more reason why Long Beach is a rather scenic place.

We went to Borders to hang out and to poke fun at manga. I was much more enamored with Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies.

Becky knew of a place that had awesome ribs. Stan and Deb were more in the mood for Dr. No's Secret Island Headquarters, but we decided to keep an open mind and hit an eatery known as Famous Daves. After ordering the family platter, we were stuffed. Even when I woke up the next morning, I thought about having leftovers for lunch, but I was still stuffed. Many thanks to Miguel and Becky for this new discovery.

Pictures are copyright by Scarlet Rhapsody. If I took your picture, feel free to use it on your site or cosplay gallery. While you're here, do sign the guestbook. This site was brought to you by the font Mufferaw. Many thanks to Chaz Boston Baden for the image resizing and watermarking program.