Welcome to October
CRAZIES!!! The haunting month is upon us! And because it's a month full of spooks and masks and costumes, what better way to start things off than with a trip to Long Beach Comic Con? Yes, it happened over a month ago, but I already had September's posts queued up. Plus, it just fits the theme of the month better. So let's cut the jibber jabber and get too it! LBCC is a go! Enjoy...
IT, the feel good family movie about a murdering clown! This is both adorable and frightening!
Excellent dudes! I get the feeling we'll be seeing a LOT more Bill and Ted cosplay in the coming years. Hopefully, someone will finally do some Rufus cosplay!
Live wrestling returned to LBCC this year and thankfully, Jim Cornette wasn't there to witness it! As you may have noticed, the wrestlers were dressed up like comic book characters WHILE wrestling! The legendary manager isn't a big fan of such things and he likely would've entertained the fans in a different way had he seen it!
After years of hoping, I finally saw some Steve Urkel cosplay. Next time, somebody needs to do Urkelbot cosplay!
Not to be outdone, this lady did Punky Brewster cosplay! The 80's are taking over y'all!
This is Laughing Sal. She was once a part of the long defunct Long Beach Pike amusement park which sat across the street from where the Long Beach Convention Center now sits. She was a very early form of animatronics that more or less gyrated and jiggled as a laugh track played behind her. There are roughly a dozen of these left and this particular model is among the very few that's still in pristine condition. She now resides in the lobby of the Convention Center and was drawing a bit of a crowd throughout the con.
The Empire might have been more successful with Ghostrider's bike!
John Hammond spared no expense on his gear for the con!
I don't think it would be wise to steal a Power Ranger's baby brother, Jareth!
Probably the best pic of the show! Pennywise and little Skeletor! Remember that story a few pics back about Laughing Sal and the Long Beach Pike? Well, the Pike also inspired another feared figure: Old Bony himself, Skeletor! You see, like many seaside amusement parks, the Pike had a haunted house, only, their's had a REAL skeleton in it! One particular kid was scared out of his wits during a visit to the park and never forgot the image. He later became an artist at Mattel Toys and used that vivid memory as the basis for He-Man's greatest foe! Wild, no?
For decades, sailor suits were a feared and dreaded part of childhood. Now, kids are wearing them willingly for sight gags. My how times have changed!
Their wedding reception was killer!
He was the champion my friend!
The Planetteers! These two were awesome. They cleaned the entire floor of the Convention Center!
Attendance may have been startling low at LBCC this year, but the quality of the costumes was as amazing as ever!
WUBBA LUBBA DUB DUB!!! WE'RE GONNA SAVE THE REBELLION MORTY!!! YOU AND ME!!! AND GET THAT BLUE MILK!!!
MORTAL KOMBAT!!! *Techno Music Hits*
Even the Rescue Rangers are no match for the power of the Dark Side!
Punisher War Machine. Nothing legally stopping this now!
Krampus was there to remind everyone that Christmas isn't too far off!
In years past, there were dozens of fan groups at LBCC. This year, there were only two: The Mandolorian Mercs and the R2 Builders Club. Needless to say, many of us were baffled at the lack of fan groups. They're a staple of every con.
Totally visible eyes aside, this Black Manta costume was pretty cool!
No, that's not a Howard Stern cosplayer hanging out with Garth. But we can dream, can't we?
We wrap things up today with some amazing Wizard of Oz cosplay! Was hoping I'd see more of it at cons this year, given that it's the 80th anniversary of the film and the 100th anniversary of L. Frank Baum's passing, but the costumes I did see were awesome and these folks were no exception!
And that was Long Beach Comic Con 2019. I'm not gonna lie folks. This year's show was a HUGE let down. Attendance was down dramatically, major vendors that used to be there every year were gone and the size of the show shrunk. About two hours into the last day, I gave up and met my family at Disneyland instead where, amazingly enough, lines weren't bad at all! I honestly don't know what happened. Three years ago, I didn't want to leave. This year, I ran out of things to do within the first hour of the show. Part of the problem stems from them moving it to the beginning of September where they have to compete with several other shows across the country that bring in higher attendance, which in turn takes away many vendors. I'm not an expert, but I honestly believe the easiest fix here would be to put LBCC back in mid-to-late September where it thrived for the longest time. It may be time to bring in a new organizer as well, like Wizard World. Their Anaheim shows were a blast and they are very well run. Will I be back next year? It's hard to say. I love Long Beach and it's a fun weekend away. But it's not cheap and it's hard to justify going when the show just isn't growing. We'll have to see how things go. I'll always remember the good times if not. Fingers crossed!
That's all for now folks. We'll be back next week with art celebrating the mood of the season! So get ready for a monster of a time! Until then, take care and I'll catch y'all later!
