L.A. Comic Con

Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con

Former logo as Stan Lee's Comikaze
Status Active
Genre Multi-genre
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 65,000 (November 2014)
Website
www.stanleeslacomiccon.com

Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con, formerly Comikaze Expo and then Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo, 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.[1] After moving to Los Angeles, Regina Carpinelli decided that the city needed a large-scale comic book convention.[1][2] 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,[3] 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.[4]

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.[5] the group enlisted trade show producer Advanstar to expand the Comikaze show and brand to other locations.[6]

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.[7][8] That year the show had about 50,000 attendees.[9]

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.[10]

For the 2016's edition, the convention was renamed Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con.[11] The show continued to include panel discussions on a variety of topics,[12] and an all-night dance party.[13]

Events

To this day, all the events were held at Los Angeles Convention Center.

Dates Attendance
Featured Guests
November 5 – 6, 2011 35,000
Stan Lee, Elvira, Mark Hamill, Tony Todd, Ernest Borgnine, Tippi Hedren, Morgan Fairchild, Robert Venditti, Marina Sirtis, Garrett Wang, Robert Beltran, 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&Deep Space 9, and Jhonen Vasquez
September 15 – 16, 2012 45,000
Stan 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, Cast of Nickelodeon's Salute Your Shorts: (Michael Ray Bower, Danny Cooksey, Kirk Baily, Venus DeMilo, Trevor Eyster, Erik MacArthur) Kevin J. Anderson, J. Scott Campbell, Tony Moore, and Marc Silvestri
November 1 – 3, 2013 55,000
Stan Lee, Elvira, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Bruce Campbell, Michael Rooker, Cast of The Powerpuff Girls (Catherine Cavadini, E.G. Daily, Tara Strong), LeVar Burton, Tony Todd, Cast of Nickelodeon's The Adventures of Pete & Pete (Mike Maronna, Danny Tamberelli), Edward James Olmos, Dean Cain, Alyssa Milano, RuPaul, Louie Anderson, Lou Ferrigno, James Hong, Lynne Marie Stewart, Lori Petty, Paris Themmen, Cast of AMC's Comic Book Men (Mike Zapcic, Ming Chen, Robert Bruce), Naomi Grossman, Lisa Foiles, Michael Ray Bower, Phil Moore, Jon Schnepp, Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons, Jim Cummings, Bill Farmer, and Jhonen Vasquez
October 31 - November 2, 2014 65,000
Stan 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, Original Power Rangers (David Yost and Walter Emanuel Jones), Cast of AMC's Comic Book Men (Bryan Johnson, Mike Zapcic, Ming Chen, Robert Bruce), and Tommy Wiseau
October 30 - November 1, 2015 70,000
Stan Lee, Elvira, Carrie Fisher, Todd McFarlane, Grant Morrison, Rob Liefeld, Summer Glau, Nichelle Nichols, Jon Schnepp, 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), and Grumpy Cat
October 28 – 30, 2016
Stan Lee, Rob Liefield, 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

References

  1. 1 2 "Regina Carpinelli: Our Fearless Comikaze Queen". Defective Geeks 2011-10-21
  2. ↑ "About L.A. Comic Con". 22 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "Los Angeles Comic Con 16′ Spotlight: Kings of Con". Screen Invasion, by Karin Abcarians - 11/10/2016
  4. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2011-11-25.
  5. ↑ "Stan Lee launches his own comic convention". Geekout
  6. ↑ http://www.licensemag.com/licensemag/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=777403
  7. ↑ Clark, Noelene (13 September 2012). "Stan Lee’s Comikaze: Elvira, Quidditch, zombies and more".
  8. ↑ Esposito, Joey (13 September 2012). "Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo Rethinks Conventions".
  9. ↑ Hughes, Mark. "Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo A Rousing Success". Forbes, Sep 21, 2012
  10. ↑ "Comikaze Rises As One Of The Coolest, Hippest Shows In The Country". 5 November 2014.
  11. ↑ "Is SDCC launching a San Francisco Comic-Con?". Comics Beat, 11/04/2016 by Heidi MacDonald
  12. ↑ "Super powers meet higher power at Comic Con". Jewish Journal, by Allyson Gronowitz, Nov. 2, 2016
  13. ↑ "Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con: Behold the Cosplay! (Photos)". The Wrap, Catrina Dennis | October 31, 2016
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