Well, our first big convention of the year has come and gone, and it was fantastic!

Long Beach Comic Expo has grown by leaps and bounds in the 3 years it has been running, moving from the upper floors of the Long Beach Convention Center to the larger showrooms and multiple meeting rooms.

The Expo is the sister show to the longer running Long Beach Comic Convention, which has been running since 2009. Originally created as a one-day event to advertise the larger show in the fall, it has since blossomed into a full weekend show with hundreds of creators, professionals, artists, writers, comic retailers, and thousands of fans who all show up to celebrate the artistic medium and have a little bit of fun!

Along with the slight changes in venue, this year saw some new events and panels- most notably was the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics. Named for the late Dwayne McDuffie, creator of several high profile superhero characters of color, the award honors those who create, celebrate, and move towards greater racial inclusivity in comics, and the comics industry! This inaugural year’s honor was awarded to Nilah Magruder for her comic M.F.K.

This year, the events did not stop when the show floor closed, as the official after-party hosted by Nerds Like Us rocked well into the wee hours of the night on Saturday.

We met and spoke with a wide array of creators at the show, and a few had projects of such interest, we had to share them with you!

We spoke with David Scott Smith, a cartoonist and writer, about his webcomic SpaceBase8.

It’s all about the misadventures of a rocket-bound monkey test pilot who finds himself aboard an alien-filled space station, and proving time and again the best man for the job is often a monkey. Or sometimes a three-eyed time-travelling alien.

Over at the Devastator Press booth, we ran into our friends Geoffrey Golden and Amanda Meadows, who graciously took some time out to describe a few of their current offerings, including: Cats You Never Learned About in History Class, The Devastator: Otaku, and Grosslumps: Tales to Irritate Your Spook Glands. We also purchased a copy of Super Advanced Wizards of Cockblock Forest– which we look forward to playtesting on a future podcast episode!

The Artist’s Alley is always a great place to see great local talent displaying some of their best work! Most are available for commissions, and as a smaller show your chances of getting a personalized image are much better than at a San Diego or Wizard World show!

And what would a comic convention be without the wonderful fans who take the time to dress-up as their favorite characters? Yes, Cosplay is a legitimate phenomenon now, and a staple at any good con. This year, there were several panels dedicated to all aspects of Cosplay- from costuming and creation, to photography and meet-ups!

As usual, we took many, many photos of the awesome folks who took the time to become their heroes. We have some of our favorites here, in no particular order. As always, those we know are noted below with links to their websites. If you see someone here who isn’t linked, let us know in the comments, and we will add them to the list!

Pin-Up Captain America – Bernadette Bentley

Harley Quinn – Kitten L’estrange

Green Lantern – Matt Rogers

Joker & Harley – Sparrows Flight Cosplay & Enasni Volz

Tank Girl – Vegas PG Cosplay

Spider-Gwen – Pinklunatik

Wonder Woman – Lady Pepper

Constantine – Poison Scarlett Cosplay

Poison Ivy – Vegas PG Cosplay

Velma Dinkley – Envy Us Cosplay

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Once again, we’d like to thank MAD Entertainment, the folks who put on the shows at Long Beach twice a year. Their hard work enables all of us to show our love for comics and art, and they deserve a big round of applause! However, this being a blog post, you’ll have to use your imaginations!