LA Comic Con is a perfect example of how to have a safe and controlled convention while living in a Covid world. As things begin opening up more and more and large crowds are becoming more acceptable it’s only natural for people to be a little concerned about attending a convention with large numbers of people. LA Comic Con is upfront with its Covid policy that every person who attended needed to have proof of vacation, and if you didn’t have it they simply wouldn’t let you in.
On top of that at just about every corner you could find a staff worker handing out sanitizing wipes for the guest to use, and they still made sure everyone was wearing a mask. There wasn’t a single moment where I felt like I was at risk at all, and being around so many like-minded people who share a common hobby as myself was a nice change of pace.
As for the actual convention itself, it was everything I remembered and more. The lines to get in were handled well and went surprisingly fast. It took less than five minutes to get my badge and enter the convention. After going up the escalator to cross the doors into the main floor I was hit with a wave of joy. You’re immediately greeted with detailed statues from Marvel, DC, Disney, and so much more.
The main floor was filled with people from all over the place all looking to enjoy themselves. Everywhere you looked you could see someone dressed up as your favorite fictional character, with a giant smile on their faces and an even bigger one if you asked them for a picture. It’s a common thing to associate people who cosplay(someone who dresses up as a character) with conventions, the two go hand and hand with one another like peanut butter and jelly.
The amount of work these individuals put into their cosplay is amazing, and to see so many of them proudly display their work in front of so many people is always stunning. There was so much to do and see on the main floor it’s almost impossible to see it all in one day. The only downside about attending conventions is that it’s all fun and games until you check your bank account at the end of the day.
Because at every corner you’re bound to find something that’s going to catch your eyes. If it’s not with the talented artist showing off what they made, a variant of a comic book that you can’t find anywhere, or some cool clothes or jewelry that you’ve never seen before in your life.
The best part about all of these vendors is that every single one was nicer than the last. There wasn’t a single vendor that I ran into that was rude or gave me a hard time. As a matter of fact, I felt like I became friends with a lot of them, and they even gave me deals without me even asking. On top of that, it always feels great to support a local artist who you can tell puts so much into their work.
Something that I found cool about the convention is that they had a whole side devoted to voice actors and gaming. As soon as you cross over you’re greeted with gaming PCs and the newest consoles with people all playing against one another. The best part about it too was that they were even holding competitions for certain games, and if you just wanted to get a quick game of Halo or Smash in you could have no problem. Right next to all the gaming section was a long roll of your favorite voice actors, who you’ve probably heard tons of times in a video game or a show.
Being able to meet the voices behind such iconic characters like Gohan, Solid Snake, Jill Valentine, and so much more was great. Every single one of them looked like they genuinely loved being there. You could see them cracking jokes, laughing, and having a good time with every guest they spoke with.
There wasn’t ever a dull moment at the convention either. It was jam-packed with all sorts of special guests you could see(if you decided to pay), and panels for just about everyone. Never would I have imagined that I would be in a panel where Billy Kametz the English voice for Josuke Higashikata in JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond is Unbreakable, would be reading out of a diary replaying the events from an episode.
LA Comic Con truly hit the mark this year and did it safely and responsibly. It reminded me why I love attending comic conventions and specifically this one too. It was easy to get in, parking was great, the vendors were all nice, and there wasn’t a single thing about the convention that I didn’t enjoy. If you missed this convention be sure to attend next year because it’s something you don’t wanna miss out on.
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