Long Beach Comic-Con Celebrates 10 Years

Geeks from all over converged on Long Beach this past weekend to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Long Beach Comic-Con. Thousands gathered to snag a few autographs, flip through a few hundred comic boxes, and of course, dress up as their favorite characters from movies, TV, video games, and comic books.

Among the crowds that attended the two day event, you could find the local R2 builders club, live professional wrestling, custom cars from all corners of pop culture, and the Space Expo, an educational con within a con. Special guests included Kristian Nairn (Hodor from “Game of Thrones”), most of the cast of the cult classic “Twin Peaks” (including Ray Wise and Sherilyn Fenn among others), and row after row of comic creators throughout Artist Alley, sharing their comics and original art to fans eager to add to their collections.

But no post about the latest, greatest comic-con is complete without a gallery of our favorite cosplayers. This batch barely scratches the surface, but it includes lots of characters we’ve never seen before at Long Beach Comic-Con, many of whom took part in the Cosplay Contest Saturday night in front of a packed room full of fans.

If you missed this year, you can join the fun next year at their sister show, Long Beach Comic Expo, scheduled for February 16-17, 2019.

November 26, 2018 Update:

While at September’s show, I got to play host to local Long Beach radio personality, Alan Holden, giving him a peek at Long Beach’s iconic comic convention. Alan covers all aspects of Long Beach culture and he was eager to check out I’ve been attending for 10 years right in his backyard. It was fun introducing him to many of the regulars I see at most conventions, from cosplayers to vendors to comic creators. Check out the video below, which is more of a slideshow that accompanies what was originally a radio broadcast available just in the Long Beach area. So you get some visual context that radio listeners were unable to experience. If you are heading out to the Long Beach Comic Expo next February, be sure to check out some of these vendors, creators, and cosplayers.

Special thanks to Martha Donato, president of Mad Event Management and producer of the Long Beach Comic-Con and Expo, who took some time out of her busy schedule to chat with us and give us the back story on how this now decade old convention came to exist and why the city of Long Beach is the best place to host a comic convention.