Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo - Day 1

My last convention of the year was Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California. The convention started on October-30 and ended November-1. This was my first time ever attending this convention and it is still a relatively new convention, as this is just the 5th time it was held. It seems to be gaining lots of attention, while the attendance goes up every year and the guest list is both impressive and large.

[part of my Comikaze 2015 group before the convention]

Thursday, October-29, my group and I picked up our badges. The convention wasn't open yet, but they allowed guests to get their badges.

[outside of the LA Convention Center for Comikaze]

We walked every day to the convention from the apartment complex we were staying at. It was about a block away, if that. It really was not far at all and not a bad little commute. This was the first time at the LA Convention Center for everyone in my group. This was also my first time really cosplaying to the fullest. I put in a lot of work to look like Spider Gwen, including spray painting shoes! I was really pleased how it turned out and I was really glad to have my friend, Selly, in costume too. We were the only two in our group that made any attempt to cosplay.

[Spider Gwen, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Spider-Man at Comikaze]

I really liked the setup of the convention and a big part of that is the way the convention center is laid out. There is plenty of space outside of the actual building as well as inside too. The other aspect that I really liked about the con was the atmosphere. Everyone just seemed super friendly and social. I have been to a few cons this year where I felt it was hard to engage with people and it seemed like groups just kept to themselves, but at Comikaze it was like everyone was there to mingle and have fun, which is what a con should really be -fans coming together to appreciate and enjoy the arts they love.

[us with artist Melody Wang aka Chukairi]

On with the convention.......... The first thing we did was go see my friend and favorite artist, Melody Wang. (You may also know her online and on social media as Chukairi.) It is always great to see her beautiful face and also I had to re-buy her Sailor Mars print, because for some reason I can't find the original one I bought from her. 

***Side Note: Melody is working on creating her own version of the Sailor Scouts from the Sailor Moon anime/manga series and I'm collecting them! She has completed Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, and she is currently working on Sailor Mercury! I can't wait until she completes my favorite- Sailor Neptune!

[myself with Sara Richard and her Fiendship Is Magic sub covers]

Since we were already on the artist side of the room, we just continued down that path. The main convention room was split; all of the artists were on the left side and all of the dealers were on the right side. Not long after we started down the artist aisles, I came across a woman by the name of Sara Richard. It just so happens that she is the the artist of the subscription cover variants for the new mini series, Fiendship Is Magic, from IDW Publishing. The covers feature 5 of the ponies in a Dia De Los Muertos look. Unfortunately, she only had 4 of the covers there, but I was more than happy to buy what she had. She also was kind enough to autograph them and take a picture with me. I just have to work on getting the Rainbow Dash cover separately.

[us with artist Sean Danconia]

Not long after that, Selly and I found ourselves separated from our group, but we discovered Sean Danconia! He had adorable and amazingly detailed Hello Kitty prints for sale! He was a really cool guy to talk to and actually all of his art is really detailed. If you ever come across his work you should really take a moment to take it all in. Each art piece he had displayed has a lot of intricate pieces going on to create just one artistic print. He was kind enough to autograph the pictures for us (the smallest autograph I have ever seen/received) and take a picture with us! The funny part of this story is that later that night I realized that I first saw his art on NeonMob and had been collecting it for a day before meeting him!

[myself with the artist known as: DrawPonies]

I also had the pleasure of meeting this awesome guy in the picture above who goes by the alias, DrawPonies. We were just walking by and of course I was drawn in by the fact that he had MLP art! He sold me with his winning personality! He was seriously a fabulous guy to talk to! Very witty and humorous! I bought a few of his prints which he was nice enough to sign and then take a pic with me. I hope to come across him again! 

[myself with a giant Optimus Prime statue by Loyal Subjects]

The entire back half of the main convention room was dedicated to Stan Lee, Funko, and Loyal Subjects. All 3 brands had exclusives or debuts at the convention. Most importantly, Funko and Loyal Subjects had giant versions of some of their vinyls, which means: PHOTO OPS!

[myself next to a giant Raphael statue by Loyal Subjects]

Loyal Subjects was debuting their TMNT blind boxes at the convention and had a giant Raphael by their area. They also had several other figures and toys for sale.

[myself next to a giant replica of a Collector Corps box]

So, of course, I had to go to the Collector Corps area and take a picture next to the giant box! Notice that Star-Lord is on the box and that is what the December box will look like, because the theme is "Guardians of the Galaxy". AND before anyone says anything, my October box will be up on this blog soon! I've just been super busy and under weather! -I know, there's always something!

[myself in front of a giant Funko Groot]

Collector Corps is powered by Funko and so of course they had several of their other products on display, including giant replicas of their vinyls. They also had exclusive Stan Lee Pop! Figures for sale.

[myself with the Gudetama staff]

Towards the end of the day, my group wanted to head back, but I couldn't go without seeing the debut of Gudetama from Sanrio! So, we had to head to the South Hall, which was a much smaller area of the convention center.

[us with the Gudetama display]

Gudetama is the new character from the Japanese company, Sanrio. He is an egg who shows many emotions. While the company had already started making merchandise for the character before Comikaze, he was officially debuted in public at this years Comikaze.

[Princess Tiana's dress on display]

Besides hosting the Gudetama event, the South Hall was the main area for autographs from celebrities and cosplayers. It also had other companies and groups with displays for cosplay and actual cosplaying. They had the main stage for the Hot Topic events in there as well. 

That concludes my post on the 1st day of Comikaze. Stay tuned, as I'll be posting Day 2 soon! Questions, comments, and feedback can be left below!