I have never been to a Comic Con event. I’ve been to Wonder Con in Anaheim but this is my first time to witness all the media hype about Comic Con. I went to Comic Con/Comic Expo in Long Beach last September 27th. It’s an annual event held at Long Beach Convention Center. It’s much smaller than San Diego Comic Con but I had a ball visiting the different merchants and exhibitors. The highlight of my visit though was having photo ops with all types of pop culture characters from Iron Man to my favorite Ghostbusters (of course I’m an 80s kid). It was a ball seeing these participants in their geeky glory.
I asked Jared from Costa Mesa, clad in an Iron Man costume (yes literally he was in an “Iron” Man costume) about his thoughts on the Long Beach Comic Con compared to San Diego Comic Con, “You know this is really the San Diego Comic Con except it is scaled down so it’s got pretty much everything they have in San Diego it’s just smaller in size. You actually get room to walk.”
Nikki from Rancho Santa Margarita dressed as Black Widow who has also been to the San Diego event many times explained the comparison between San Diego and Long Beach, “In comparison I prefer both in different ways. The large one because it is more of a variety because you get more walks and much more elaborate costumes. The smaller one because it is easier to walk around, more manageable. It is a little bit closer.”
I also chatted a little bit with Charles from Glendora and Jared and Mickey from Palm Springs who were dressed in their Ghostbusters outfits. Charles said, “I think this is much better, a lot smaller….more nerds in a way. A lot friendlier compared to San Diego Comic Con.” And Mickey and Jared from Palms Springs added, “People just pushing around. It’s chaotic and competitive. We haven’t been but we heard, “you can’t move if you’re wearing your costume. You’re more likely to get messed up…you know because there’s too many people. Here you can space out, have fun and take photos.”
Special thanks to AnnaMaria Mannino White
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