L.A. Comic Con 2023 - Highlights
Immersed in a world of comic books, films and television shows, fans from all over the world came out to see all the offerings Los Angeles Comic Con 2023 had to offer. From endless merchandise to panels of some of the most beloved TV and movie franchises. No matter where you looked there was cosplay everywhere paying homage to some of these famous icons. I had the honor and privilege of covering this event for the first time as “Press”.
Vendor Hall
This event ran from December 1st through December 3rd at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I went on Saturday so I could be there in the middle of all the action on the busiest day of the convention. Upon entering the convention center I was able to go up the stairs and post up on top overlooking the mass of people who were huddled together waiting to be let up into the vendor hall. Once the vendor hall opened, I went inside and tried to go down every aisle. It’s rare I go to a convention when I’m filming and take the time to really look at the merchandise. It’s hard to juggle my camera on a gimbal and handle the merchandise. Usually I window shop and if something does stand out to me I will go into the booth and check it out. In this case, I went into a lot of different booths because I loved what they were selling. There was a vendor selling flannel shirts where the back panels had different character prints on them from various films and tv shows. I was tempted to buy a flannel that had Ghostface from Scream on it. They were only $40 which wasn’t bad at all for a quality flannel. There was an artist selling scenic images of beaches and historic landmarks but with dinosaurs and Star Wars characters painted into the scenes. Those were cool. There was a woman selling pop art style posters of various Disney movies and shows. My favorite was the Honey I Shrunk the Kids poster and the Heavy Weights one. I had to do a double take when I saw the first one. I was like, “I loved this movie as a kid!” I’ve never seen any of these 90’s Disney movies represented at conventions before. While I was filming b-roll at a different artist’s booth, he and I started talking and we talked for a good 10 minutes about his work and how he started selling his art at conventions. We both talked about our 9-5 jobs and how it’s a struggle to be creative in an environment where it’s not always appreciated. His art was gorgeous by the way. He uses what looks like watercolor to paint and he does all sorts of superhero character portraits. There were of course vendors selling lightsabers, swords, and comic books. There were superhero statues, collectible figures and autographed memorabilia signed by cast members from The Avengers. There was a vendor selling silicone rings themed off of Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. There was just a lot of cool stuff. I didn’t really see any repeats aside from Funko Pops. Each vendor had their own unique items.
Marvel Comics Panel
The Office Panel
L.A. Comic Con had a lot of panels going on the whole weekend, but some of the most anticipated ones were the Lord of the Rings reunion panel and the Harry Potter panel with James and Oliver Phelps and Bonnie Wright. Prior to attending, I had already made commitments to be at another panel not on the Main Stage but in one of the panel rooms so unfortunately I missed both of those big panels. I did, however, get to see The Office panel with Rainn Wilson and Paul Lieberstein as well as The Boys panel with Erin Moriarty and Karen Fukuhara. Before I started covering The Office, I caught the tail end of the Amazing Spiderman comic book panel. On stage were Zebb Wells, Cody Ziglar, Melissa Flores, Dan Slott, and Ryan Stegman. These are all well known comic book writers and artists. Over the years you start to see comics being pushed out of comic conventions as being the primary focus, so it was nice to see them on the Main Stage talking about their craft and the work that they do. None of these big Marvel or DC movies would exist without them so it’s only fair they get the credit and attention they deserve. They should always have a place at comic conventions. The Office panel was fun. Peter and Rainn talked about some of their memories working on the show. The fans got to ask questions. One of the fans was a young man dressed up as Prison Mike. That was pretty funny. The cast were asked what their favorite blooper was on the show. Rainn replied with the “You are evil like a Hobbit” blooper. He thought it was fitting because the Lord of the Rings cast were there. Another fan asked if the fire drill episode was as chaotic as it appeared on camera. Peter explains that yes, yes it was. He said the cameraman fell down and that wasn’t part of the script so what you see on-screen is actually what happened and they shot it all in one take. While I was waiting for The Boys panel to start, Jamie Campbell Bower who plays Vecna in Stranger Things came out on stage to do a solo panel. I hadn’t planned for him, so it was great that I was there front and center to see him. He was definitely a fan favorite amongst the ladies. I couldn’t help but chuckle when he came out and could hear the girls behind me going “Oh my God he’s right there.” He was lovely. He spoke about the season of Stranger Things he was in and talked a little bit about the backstory of his character. He said he can’t talk about any season 5 spoilers. I loved seeing someone from the show appear at a local convention. I have yet to see any other cast members from Stranger Things at a con here in SoCal.
The Boys Panel
When Jamie’s spotlight panel ended it was finally time for The Boys panel. At The Boys panel, Erin Moriarty and Karen Fukuhara spoke about the success of the show and how neither of them knew it would be as big as it has become. Now there’s the spinoff called Gen V. Erin spoke about Antony Starr who plays Homelander and she turned to Karen and was like, “Could you imagine if Antony was really like Homelander?” They spoke about how everyone on the show is like family. Even though Hughie, played by Jack Quaid, is Starlight's love interest, she’s like, “He’s like a brother to me.” It was cute hearing about Frenchie played by Tomer Capone and Kimiko’s relationship on the show. Even Erin was like, “They’re so cute together.” After that panel ended I headed upstairs to attend the RPG All-Star panel which was about character building in Dungeons and Dragons. Leading the panel was Spencer “GM Macleods”, actor Adam Johnson, and some of the Loaded Dice Rollers Podcast members. This panel was great because I’m a beginner at D&D in that I just started filling out my character sheet. They spoke about how Hollywood portrays certain characters and stereotypes by showing scenes from movies like Dungeons and Dragons as well as scenes from their film Dudes and Dragons. I learned that the characters people play in D&D can sometimes play a huge role in their lives. Some people get emotional talking about their characters because of how in-depth they made them and the fact that people who play D&D have been playing some of the same characters for years. It’s more than just a game. It’s a way of life to be able to get together with a group of friends no matter where they are in their life and just escape and go on an adventure together. It’s very sweet. After that panel ended, I ran over to the Main Stage to see if I could get close to the Lord of the Rings panel. It was so packed full of people, the aisles where the vendors were were clogged up. There was no way for me to push through that many people. On the big TV screen I saw Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Billy Boyd, and Dominic Monaghan. Even though I saw them from afar, it was still cool seeing them all together. Some other panels I missed were the Ahsoka panel with Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Ivanna Sakhno, Eman Esfandi and Diana Lee Inosanto. Matt Smith from Dr. Who had a panel and so did Emily Rudd. Tom Kenny and Rodger Bumpass from Spongebob Squarepants had a panel. Every 30 minutes there was a panel going on so between the Main Stage and the upstairs panels happening it was impossible to see everything in one day. There was an autograph hall featuring actors like the cast of Napoleon Dynamite, The Office, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. I went in that room, saw how crowded it was, turned around and went right back out. You couldn’t even see the tables people were signing at. That’s how far away it was. I would have loved to meet Sean Astin, but I know he goes to cons pretty often so I hope to catch him at the next one. I also considered doing a photo op with James and Oliver Phelps. Next to Daniel Radcliffe, they were always my favorite Harry Potter characters. I decided not to so I could save money, but it was exciting just knowing they were there. I’m trying to be better about managing my money at conventions. If it’s meant to be I’ll see them at another convention. It won’t be the end of the world.
I saved the best for last which were the cosplays. I had the best time filming these cosplayers and even when I wasn't filming them I was admiring all of the effort and attention to detail that went into creating their character. I loved the shot I got of Batman and Cat Woman. The shot of Aquaman and Green Lantern were cool too. I loved every person I saw there in their cosplay. I really didn’t have favorites. Although, I will say I did hunt down a cosplayer because I loved her character so much and it was Megan from Bridesmaids wearing the minivan full of Golden Retriever puppies. I audibly gasped out loud when I saw her. I saw Scarlett Witch levitating in the air with “Fat” Thor. I saw Dennis from Jurassic Park as well as Marty McFly and Doc Brown from Back to the Future. I’m such a film nerd that my head was on a swivel trying to spot the next cosplay I recognized. I think the most creative cosplay I saw was a man cosplaying as a fortune teller machine. That one made me do a double take because he was just sitting there propped up against a pillar. I thought it was a legit machine until I realized it was a person. That made me laugh. I saw characters from the Five Nights at Freddy’s video game, Spiderman, a badass character from what looked to be from an anime show or movie. That’s one of the fun things about conventions is you see cosplay you don’t necessarily recognize but it makes you want to go watch whatever it is that they’re in afterward because you’re like hey, that character looks interesting. I want to find out more. I even saw some doggy cosplay. There was a dog there that was shaved to look like a lion with a mane, but its fur was painted like a tiger’s. He was definitely a crowd pleaser.
Overall, I’m very happy with my experience at L.A. Comic Con 2023. Thank you so much for allowing me to cover this event. I had a blast seeing all of the cosplay, vendors and panels. Another massive thank you to all of the cosplayers who let me film them. You guys are my favorite part of any convention. Lastly, thank you to the RPG All-Stars for letting me crash your panel. I can’t wait to learn more and hopefully play my first ever game of D&D.
