Day 1: Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo

Well, my co-pilot and I made it into LA this morning from Las Vegas. I remembered my I hate driving in LA: terrible road conditions, confusing signage, and psychotic drivers.  Oh, and don’t forget my favorite: the lane-splitting motorcycles.

Death wish.

Anyway, made it to the hotel without incident, dropped the car and bags off at the hotel (Radisson USC: very nice, BTW) and made for the LA Metro to jump a few stops north to the Convention Center.

First, the crowd outside.

Or should I say, the lack of a crowd.  I don’t know if most people took advantage of the ability to pick up their passes on Wednesday and Thursday, or if we just beat everyone there today, but there was no line to speak of to pick up my co-pilot’s pass.  It was actually quicker than picking up my press credentials.

But I digress.

No crowd.  Busy, but no crowd.

As for the venue: the LA Convention Center is HUGE.  I don’t know if it’s bigger than the Salt Palace, but it seemed more spacious than the Salt Lake Comic Con was.  See my coverage of that event HERE, and HERE.

It was very easy to move around on the exhibit floor.  Wide aisles and plenty of room on the perimeter.  We’ll see how it holds up tomorrow, when the crowds should be at their largest.

Crowd control was a non-issue, since there wasn’t a real crowd.

And now, the Cosplayers.  I am continually amazed at the incredible detail and minutia that some of these people put into their costumes.  Seriously.  I don’t think I could do it.  Of course, the costumes ran the gamut from the classic to the current:

The really cool part of events like this is talking to the various characters and hearing how excited they are about both their costumes and the event in general.  And I met nary a single person who said “no” when I requested a photo.

I’m always impressed by that.  Everyone, no matter how crowded or hot the venue, is generally very pleasant when it comes to stuff like this.  It makes events like this very enjoyable to attend.

On a personal note, I was able to get a photo with Edward James Olmos and chat with him for a few minutes afterwards during a lull.

What a wonderful man.  Thoughtful, well-spoken, and willing to discuss video and comics as an evolution of literature in the classic sense.  The addition of images as a narrative level, and how, as an actor, the silence between the words is a wonderful tool.

Good stuff.

I spoke to several authors and illustrators as well.  They are all dedicated to their craft and of telling engaging stories, which, no matter where you stand on pop culture in general, you must admit is the goal of all us creative types, isn’t it?

More tomorrow, fan-boys and -girls. Get some rest.