Comikaze 2015 Haul

Now here's the part where I show you all the great stuff I collected at Comikaze 2015! I already posted about my time at the convention and how I met a lot of really cool artists. This blog post is just to show my Comikaze haul!

[IDW's Fiendship Is Magic subscription covers by Sara Richard]

Here are the 4 subscription covers that were drawn by Sara Richard. If you look at the "P" in the Pony part of the titles you'll see her signature where she signed them! There is a 5th cover featuring Rainbow Dash, but she didn't have it at the convention. It was still really great to meet her! She was super nice!

[art & Niobe collected at Comikaze]

From Left to Right: 

• Sailor Moon art print by Amber Harris. This particular Sailor Moon fan art really caught my eye. It is well done, but also depicts a version of Sailor Moon in a more stronger and sassier character. 
• Niobe comic by Amandla Stenberg and Sebastian Jones, art by Ashley A. Woods. This comic has been gaining a lot of notoriety lately and I had to check it out! The people of Stranger Comics were really awesome to talk to at the convention!
• "Memories of a Kitty" by Sean Danconia. My friend and I passed Sean Danconia's table and saw kawaii Hello Kitty art! We had to have a print! Danconia's work is amazingly detailed and unique! All of his art is something to take in!

[fan art from Comikaze]

• Garnet, chibi Miku, and Bill Cipher are by Melissa Douglas. I had caught her work before at other conventions earlier this year, but hadn't bought anything. This time I snagged some cuties! She seemed to have a lot more art at her table at this convention too. Her Garnet print is what really caught my eye!
• Sailor Mars by Melody Wang. I had previously purchased this print and for a reason unknown, I cannot find it, so I had to re-buy it.  Her work is awesome and she is in the process of creating every sailor scout!

[DMC by Darryl McDaniels]

This is the print and the graphic novel from Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC. I had the pleasure of meeting him and getting a photo with him. He was very sweet!

[My Little Pony art by DrawPonies]

Here are the 3 prints I bought from the artist known as: DrawPonies. His creative pony art drew me in, but it was his charming personality that sold me!

[rainbow narwhal by Bellzi]

I'm not even going to hide the fact that my Rainbow Narwhal by Bellzi is my absolute favorite souvenir from Comikaze! The rainbow narwhal was on display at Bellzi's booth and I really wanted it! Turns out though that one cannot just simply buy the Rainbow Narwhal; no, it has to be won! They are put into mystery bags that cost $40 and there's a chance one will be in there.......and there's a chance that it won't be. Well, I was gifted a mystery bag with a rainbow narwhal in it and I couldn't be happier! I love her! I named her Natasha and she's been a highlight in my plushy collection! Even as I carried her around at the convention I received a lot of positive and exciting comments from people who saw her. - These rainbow narwhals have been at other conventions that Bellzi has attended and it is the same situation where they are put in mystery bags and there is a chance to win one. These are not even listed on their website. So, if you want one, your best bet is to get to a convention that Bellzi is attending!

Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo 2015 - Photos

I already posted about my trip to Stan Lee's Comikaze and gave my opinions and thoughts on both Day 1 and Day 2. Here are just some extra photos from the convention that I wanted to share and that didn't really fit in with the other posts! Enjoy! Feel free to leave comments below and share your photos with me!

Day 1

[myself with a cow]

[us with a plaid fish]

[myself with a giant Funko Chewie figure]

[myself with Agent Afronaut]

[us with a cute pink Deadpool cosplayer]

[myself with R2D2]

[us with a Luke Cage cosplayer]

[myself as Spider-Gwen]

[myself with Selly outside of the convention center]

Day 2

[Selly with a Predator cosplayer]

[us with Raphael from TMNT]

[myself with a lolita cosplayer -help identifying her character, please!]

Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo - Day 2

[us with an Ice King cosplayer]

Day 2 of Comikaze, for us, was spent mostly mingling with cosplayers and catching up with people we had met on Day 1. I cosplayed as Spider Gwen again and my friend Selly was in her Spider-Man suit like the day before!

[more spider cosplay]

Honestly, I love the 2nd or 3rd days of cons, because I feel much more relaxed than the first day and it's less about exploring the convention and more about the social aspect. I met a lot of cool cosplayers and was able to make a better connection with a lot of artists and writers I had met on Day 1.

[myself with Agent Afronaut and Darryl McDaniels]

I was able to meet Darryl McDaniels aka DMC (from Run-DMC). He was super nice and a great guy to talk to. I look forward to reading his work!

[us with TMNT cosplayers]

After mingling in the main convention room, we headed back to the South Hall before leaving to see what was going on there. There were tons of actors and cosplayers there for autographs. It seemed like just about every generation of Power Rangers were represented there by 1 or more actors from the series. We also ran into a group who had some really great Ninja Turtle cosplay going on!

Honestly, Day 2 was pretty chill. I don't have as many pictures to show off here, but what I can say is that we had a lot of fun! I would definitely consider Comikaze one of my top conventions that I've attended and I would definitely go back next year! The atmosphere and ambiance was perfect and I know a lot of that has to do with the organization putting on the con, so I would say Comikaze did an excellent job! I didn't attend Day 3, because I left for home that day. I'll post all my convention goodies soon! 

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!

Neon Star by Tokidoki Blind Bags Series 2

[Neon Star Series 2 blind bags]

So, Neon Star has a new series of blind bags out! This would be Series 2, because the first set of blind bags were released at the beginning of this year in yellow bags.

For those who do not know- Neon Star is by Tokidoki and features the characters made by Simone Legno, who is the creator of Tokidoki. They also created some new characters for the line, which happen to be owls. The brand launched last year in 2014 and was exclusively at Claire's, but now can be found on Tokidoki's website as well.

I feel they launched this brand to be aimed more towards children and the younger fan base of Tokidoki, and it does seem to put out less edgy products than the regular Tokidoki line.

[check list for Neon Star Series 2 blind bags]

The back of the package shows all 7 characters that come as part of this series. I only wanted 4 of the 7 figures. I was hoping to get: Donutella, Donutina, and the 2 Unicornos. 

I'm not like a lot of people out there who feel they have to have the whole set of a collection that is released. If I'm not happy with the majority or all of a set, I'll only collect what I really want. I only collected a few of the figures from the first Neon Star series as well.

[4 of the 7 figures from the Neon Star Series 2 blind bags]

I actually went to Claire's in search of hair clips and that's when I saw these awesome blind bags! I picked up 4 bags (pictured in the very first pic of this post) in hopes of getting the 4 I really wanted! Well, as you can see in the pic above, I did indeed get all 4 that I wanted!

[Unicorno figures from Neon Star Series 2 blind bags]

The figures are cute, but I have some issues with them. Namely, with the Unicornos. Look at the picture above and you'll see the paint job is pretty bad. The hot pink Unicorno on the right is the worst culprit. The moldings on these are not great either. Even on Donutella, the molding looks a little rough.

[reverse side of the Unicornos]

Here is the other sides of the Unicornos. The paint looks significantly better and you can see the white one has a flower on her other side. 

[size comparisons]

Overall, I like these and they're cute. They are a lot bigger than the first series, but they're also not as well made. They're not quite as big as the Tokidoki Unicorno blind box figures though. I'm actually still dumbfounded at how poor quality they are though. I expect more from Tokidoki and even if this is a sub-brand of the brand, I'd still think they would put more effort into ensuring the quality of a product with their name on it. I'd love to see if any of you out there have the same issues.

Kraken Con Fall 2015

[the USS Hornet during Kraken Con Fall 2015]

Saturday, September-26, was Kraken Con in Alameda, California. It was held on the USS Hornet, which is a US Navy ship that has been turned into a museum. Kraken Con is similar to SacAnime, because it holds cons twice yearly; they had one in April this year in Oakland, California and then of course their second one was the con I just attended. 

[Before Fall Kraken Con 2015]

I arrived late, because I had to work earlier and thus I had no time to cosplay, but I was able to throw on some fan gear and look okay. I received a lot of compliments on my dress and I wore this to SacAnime earlier this year too (unfortunately, I have not pictures from that day) and also received a lot of praise for it there. I bought the dress from Hot Topic and it was on sale too. In my opinion, Hot Topic has really become a great source for fan gear and collectibles in terms of current media and pop culture genres. 

[Luigi and Mario cosplayers at Kraken Con Fall 2015]

On with the con! When first walking into the convention area, I spotted these adorable girls cosplaying Luigi and Mario from Nintendo.

[myself with a Sailor Moon cosplayer at Kraken Con Fall 2015]

Once inside the con, or aboard the ship, it took a minute to figure out where everything was. To the left of the entrance was the small room that was not only the viewing room for movies, but also the exhibit hall. Unlike most cons, there was no separate Artist Alley and vendor room; it was just all together in one area, which was fine, because it was very small in both numbers of attendance and exhibitors.

[DC's Bumble Bee cosplayer at Kraken Con Fall 2015]

I felt like the con was in a very bad location. It felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. To get to the con we had to drive through a rather deserted part of Alameda, which is okay for a journey to a shipyard or military base, but not that welcoming for a con. Parking was free and there was plenty of it; that's an upside considering that con parking can be near impossible to find and/or expensive. The con did offer shuttle service as well.

Inside of the ship it was kind of smelly. My sailor source says that is normal for being on a ship and included that if one lives on a ship for a while the smell is actually worse. Again, it's okay for a museum of a Navy Ship that is actually on the ship, but it's not pleasant for a con. 

There was not much room for setup inside. The layout of the con was awkward. For example, the volume of the viewing for movies was not on since it was in the exhibit hall. A guest of the con, Christy Carlson Romano, was actually doing her autographs outside, because there was no room on the ship to do it. Everything was going on around the museum display and that only added to awkwardness. 

[Takoyaki by HiroTako]

I didn't even purchase anything from the con, except some Takoyaki. The takoyaki was delicious! A street food vendor called "HiroTako" was aboard and selling it, and it was very good and authentic! My only issue was getting to it! I had to climb up numerous stairs that were only a one way direction. That meant anyone trying to go up or down at the same time as others had to wait. It's understandable for a ship, but not for a con; just another reason why the con should not have been on a ship.

Since I have never been to Kraken Con, I cannot compare it to the one held in Oakland earlier this year or to any others in the past. I can say from this experience that I'm disappointed and I felt like the location really hurt the con's turn out. If I were a part of the organization I would make sure that next fall I held the con in a much better location that allowed for a more pleasant experience for the attendees. The food vendors were excellent though and they had a topnotch guest list, but definitely needs improvements in the future for the overall experience.

If you attended Kraken Con then please let me know what you thought! Any other comments are free to be left below!

Bandai Sailor Moon Outer Senshi Gashapon Liprod Cans Part 3

[Photo Credit: Bandai Promotional Ad]

Today I'm sharing the Bandai Gashapon Cans Part 3 that were released for the 20th anniversary. These were released in the Spring of this year, so if you're a Sailor Moon fan these are not new to you. I purchased my set off of eBay, which was the cheapest option for me. Vendors have these for sale at cons, but the price of just one wand is as much or more than I bought this set for on eBay. Obviously, the more affordable option for me was eBay. - My decision on buying the third set first is that I wanted Sailor Neptune's wand. If you haven't figured it out yet, my favorite outer scout is Sailor Neptune!

[Bandai Gashapon Cans Part 3]

The rods arrived in cans, as the title reads. There are four rods total in Part 3 and so there are four cans. My cans arrived in a very padded envelope. They were surrounded in cardboard, but no fancy packaging or anything, so I do not have anything to share in that aspect.

[Bandai Gashapon Wands Part 3 in packages]

Inside of the cans are the rods that come packaged in plastic and each part of the rod is separated in the plastic from the other parts of the rod, so each part of the rod has to be cut open.

[Bandai Gashapon Chibimoon Wand disassembled]

After opening up each part of the package, the wand or rod will look like the picture above. In the picture is the Chibimoon rod (for those who don't know) before I put it together. In order: Back stick, base of rod, stand, head of the rod.

I did not take pictures of every wand disassembled, but they all look like the picture above, so not much to see.

[Left to Right: Chibimoon, Sailor Pluto, Sailor Uranus, Sailor Neptune]

Here are all 4 wands after I assembled them all. The assembly is quite easy; all I had to do was put the clear stick into the base, then put the other end into the rod. Before that I attached the head of the rod onto the base of the stick of the rod.

The only advice I'll give to those who may purchase these in the future- the plastic part that holds the wand up is a little tricky to set right. If at first you put it in and it doesn't seem to say in or hold right, just keep adjusting it, because it will go in and stay in, it just seems that some of them need to be put in at just the right angle.

As you can see, these are all fully plastic and the rods sport metallic coloring. If you look closely at Sailor Pluto's wand you can see my reflection! The heart part of the three outer scout rods are indeed mirrors; you can see yourself in them.

[base of Sailor Pluto's wand]

Just an FYI- Your eyes did not deceive you! Inside of the base of the stick part is lipstick. The lipstick is plastic and not for real use. The base of the rod does not come off either. However, turn the rounded knob and the lipstick can be lowered or raised. I choose to make it visible, but not fully raised.

Here are all of the wands in detail!

[Chibimoon]

[Sailor Pluto]

[Sailor Uranus]

[Sailor Neptune]

The rods are all lightweight and as I said before, made of plastic. There is a bit of cheapness in the feel to them, but I do think they look cute. If you're a Sailor Moon fan than these are obviously a must have!