We had the pleasure of attending L.A. Comic-Con for the first time. Here is our review of Los Angeles Comic-Con and comparisons to previous conventions we have attended in the past. 

Our convention season here at BGeeky Blog for 2018 has come to end! While the conclusion of a busy convention year feels bittersweet, we could not help but share our thoughts and compare L.A. Comic-Con to other larger conventions.

Badges and Attendance 

We had the opportunity to attend L.A. Comic-Con (previously known as Stan Lee’s L.A. Comic-Con) as press and members of the industry. Despite Stan Lee’s dissociation to L.A. Comic-Con since 2017, there were still avid con-goers in attendance. However, L.A. Comic-Con struggled to attract major talent to allure attendees to sell out. Even though the L.A. Convention Center is based in the heart of the city and Hollywood. The con itself promoted discounted badges in hopes to appeal to potential con-goers, but still was not able to sell out a single day of the convention weekend.

Attending the con itself is cost friendly, running about $60.00 for a 3-Day pass  (excluding fees and taxes) or $99.00 for a V.I.P badge. L.A. Comic-Con in 2016 attracted 91,000 attendees. However, I do not believe this year they came close to reaching or surpassing prior con attendance despite L.A. Comic-Con’s projected goal of 100,000 attendees.

Events and Organization

While the ease of badge purchasing and pick up was a breeze, there seemed to be an apparent last-minute effort by L.A. Comic-Con to fine tune their programming and talent. While we understand that larger conventions don’t release a final program and talent list two weeks prior to the con. We felt that L.A. Comic-Con was working more to fill up their programming a week prior to the convention.

There could also be an improvement with the clarification of panels outside the exhibit floor map. If panels or events were outside the exhibit floor it was as though they did not exist. We had to look up an L.A. Convention Center formal map in order to find screenings and panels we had interest in.

And the Main Stage, as an acting “Hall H”,  was within the exhibit floor itself for the larger talents. This created a less intimate setting for panels and comfort as attendees had to stand for the full length of the panel to enjoy.

This leads to the issue of Main Stage seating as the only seats were for ADA and VIP. Sadly, ADA attendees, despite having a designated seating area, could not enjoy panels due to other attendees obstructing their view by standing. VIP seating was on a lifted stage off to the side (which stayed unfilled for the majority of panels).  This created an obscure angle to view the main stage.

Cosplays 

L.A. Comic-Con’s cosplay game was on point! We kept commenting on the eclectic cosplayers during our days at the con. Sure you have your usual overhaul of DC and Marvel heroes. However, we enjoyed seeing nostalgic 90’s cosplays, anime and cosplayer’s personal takes on fan favorite characters.

Cosplay will always remain a key reason to enjoy going to cons and the opportunity to reunite with friends we met through our outlet. Even attendees got to meet their favorite cosplayers at cosplay alley and throughout the convention during meetups hosted by the cosplayers themselves. L.A Comic-Con even catered to cosplayers with a cosplay repair booth hosted by Clover. Overall, attendees were letting their geek flag fly whether they were in full cosplay, incognito cosplaying or wearing nerdy gear and we loved it!

Overall Review 

L.A Comic-Con is still trying to figure out its footing and identity. However, we enjoyed the ability to walk an exhibit floor without feeling corralled like cattle and getting to see exhibitor booths that we may have missed due to the accessibility of other larger conventions. If we had one major critique it would be panel programming and panel rooms.

We also think they could create a more intimate Main Stage/Hall H type of room for panels with larger talent with more Q&A opportunities for fans to ask talent questions.  And the L.A. Convention Center definitely has the space to host larger panels as seen at Anime Expo where they housed the AMV competition. We felt that the Main Stage panels were overrun by guest moderators that did not allow the opportunity for fans to connect with the cast. Overall, we enjoyed the L.A. Comic-Con and look forward to October 11th-13th, 2019!