Long Beach Comic Expo 2017 Review

Long Beach Comic Expo 2017

February 18th - 19th

Long Beach Convention Center

February 27, 2017
by Alex Vargas, Jean Vallesteros
Photos by jamesvallesteros.com

Long Beach Comic Expo is the little sister convention to the larger Long Beach Comic Con, but every year it seems to get bigger and bigger. It took place February 18th and 19th at the Long Beach Convention Center. This is a convention that we’ve been to the past few years and every year we’ve enjoyed it. It’s not the largest convention in the area, but there is always something to do and the floor is packed full of nerdy goodies. When we arrived Saturday morning, we were surprised to see how many other conventions were going on in the same location. The parking attendants directed us and a number of attendees to the wrong side of the convention center. 

Customers: Dapper Fett and Mrs Dapper Fett

About 10 minutes later, there was an attendant swap out and we were shown to the correct convention center entrance. The threat of rain loomed over us for the majority of Saturday, but this did not keep away the collection of movie cars out front. Southern California is known as the movie-making capital of the world, and it is nice to see props like these (even fan made props) from popular movies out for all to enjoy. Usually this is something you only see at theme parks like Universal Studios. Upon entering the convention center, you are greeted with music and employees directing you to the various ticket windows. One of my favorite things was the location of the weapons check table- it was the first table guests passed by. It can be a pain looking for the weapons check at larger conventions. Here, it was easy to find and they were quick. The convention floor was organized by artist alley, cosplayers and vendors. Aisles were wide and easy to walk through in costume, which as a cosplayer, I am thankful for. Food offerings were plentiful and easy to find. LBCE brought back the laser tag, something guests can interact with rather than just look at.

Costumer: Dapper Fett

Cosplayer: German

For the second year, the convention worked with the Girl Scouts of America. My wife, having been a part of the girl scouts when she was a child, wished that events like this had existed during her time. The children and parents were excited to see all the costumes and had a great time with the workshops. We sat in on the Kids Can Cosplay panel and it was nice to see the girls asking questions at the end. They were genuinely interested in costumes and how they were made. After the panel, the girl scouts were invited to craft their own super hero costumes using supplies provided to them. There were no weird looks between parents, children and cosplayers. Everyone was welcoming and made sure that their time at LBCE was fun. To top it all off, the Girl Scouts was given a booth and sold Girl Scout cookies! Their booth was always busy and my friends and I definitely helped with their sales. We walked away with a good 9 boxes of cookies. Sometimes you just want something to nibble on at a convention, and these cookies hit the spot!

 

Kids Can Cosplay Panel

From Left to Right

Lil Cup Cake Pony, Jay of KCC also Moderator, MiniBobaFett and Axel.

Overall, we had a good time at LBCE. There was some confusion in the morning but that was mainly due to the number of events in one place. Parking was cheap and the convention was busy. We’re looking forward to LBCC in September.

Cosplayer: Americo 

Cosplayer: LostWeasleyChil

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