Long Beach Comic Expo 2017 - Aquaman, Outer Space, and Cosplay

Long Beach Comic Expo may be the little sister to the Long Beach Comic-Con, but considering how fast its growing, it may soon become bigger than its sibling.

Packed with wall-to-wall comic industry icons and up-and-coming independent comic creators, Long Beach Comic Expo 2017 gave attendees row after row of original artwork to snatch up, including works from George Perez, Mike Zeck, and Michael Golden, all ready to be signed and framed on walls across southern California. Assuming anyone had any money left after visiting the special guests and Artist Alley, vendors hawking all sorts of collectibles and rare comics were ready and waiting to accept funds for pieces that were ready and waiting to reconnect you with your childhood, before your mom threw away all that “junk”. I walked away with some signed prints from Mike Zeck, one of the first comic artists I grew to love, mostly due to his work on the original Secret Wars and Punisher series and covers for Captain America, GI Joe, and countless others. Of course, I couldn’t leave the building without picking up a few blind boxed KidRobot Simpsons mini keychains. Oddly, I have incredible luck with those blind boxes. I never have gotten a duplicate. Must be my x-ray vision.

One of the most special moments at this year’s show was when two little friends of mine got to meet the Justice League’s Aquaman, Jason Momoa. Considering they are only 6 and 8 years old, neither of them knew him as Conan the Barbarian or Khal Drogo on Game of Thrones, and they barely knew who Aquaman was (they’re more Marvel leaning kids, except for Batman), but now that they’ve met the very friendly and very bearded fish whispering hero of the upcoming DC film, you better believe that Jason/Arthur has become one of their favorite heroes.

Between walking to and from the panels scattered throughout the Long Beach Convention Center, laser tag for charity along the back, and the Space Expo up front that celebrates the history, science, and fun of real world space exploration with kids of all ages, you can’t take a step at LBCE without bumping into a cosplayer. And considering the event took place just days past Valentine’s Day, there was a lot of original, wonderfully creative cosplay to fall in love with. Here’s just a sampling of our favorites:

Long Beach Comic Expo will return next spring, but you won’t have to wait that long for another reason to visit Long Beach. The original Long Beach Comic-Con 2017 will take over the convention center Labor Day weekend, September 2 and 3.

Main image features the OC Joker from the Gods & Goddesses of Gotham.