LA Comic Con 2019 took place at the Los Angeles Convention Center Friday, October 11 through Sunday, October 13. The only day we were able to attend the con was Saturday, October 12, and it was a pretty packed day, not only in terms of programming, but in terms of crowds as well!
Once again, just like at LA Comic Con 2017, Returning Registration for San Diego Comic-Con was on the same day as LA Comic Con. Rather than wait until after we finished Returning Registration at home and then driving out to the con from Orange County afterwards (especially knowing from last year’s experience how bad trying to park at the convention center can get if you wait until later to get there), we took the same plan of attack as last time: arrive early and complete Returning Registration at a nearby Starbucks!
SDCC 2020 Returning Registration started at 9 am, so we arrived shortly after 8am, picked up our LA Comic Con badges, then went over to Starbucks and set up our battlestations. The Starbucks wi-fi seemed a bit spotty, so we ended up using our phones’ hotspots. With the help of our buying group, we were both able to obtain 4-Day badges!
After registration wrapped up around 10 am, we took our laptops back to the car so we wouldn’t have to carry them around all day. Because LA Comic Con had opened at 9:30 am, it was now much busier than it had been when we picked up our badges a couple hours before. While walking back to the car, we saw that the line went all the way to the end of the long block and wrapped back around on itself. It looked like it would be a long wait for attendees to get in.
Lucky for us, with Press passes, they allowed us to skip the long wait, and were able to enter within just a couple of minutes, including a bag search and metal detector checkpoint.
We spent about an hour walking the right side of the Show Floor. On this side of the Show Floor, all the way to the right, attendees could get autographs and photo ops with the various guests — for a price. We chose not to partake. Also on the right side was the Hot Topic booth, where many attendees were in line to get their hands on exclusive Funko POP! figures. They also had some interesting costumes on display relating to Jay and Silent Bob’s “Chronic Con,” and the upcoming Birds of Prey and Maleficent films.
Speaking of Maleficent, there was also an entire booth dedicated to Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, where you could take your photo with black wings, get a free Maleficent poster, and view MAC’s line of Maleficent makeup.
Once we reached the middle aisle, we decided that was a good stopping point, and went to go get lunch at El Cholo, just a few blocks away. It seems that this has become a tradition for us to grab a meal there whenever we’re attending a convention at the LA Convention Center!
It was around 1pm when we returned to the convention center, and it was just as busy as ever, if not busier. Again, we were able to bypass the crazy long lines and get in with a minimal wait.
We caught the end of Rob Liefeld’s panel on the Main Stage, in which he was remembering Stan Lee. For those unfamiliar with LA Comic Con, the Main Stage is in the middle of the Show Floor, with standing room only, except for limited ADA Seating, and an elevated platform for VIP badge holders. At the end of his panel, he called all of the Deadpool cosplayers in the audience up on stage for a group photo.
Following Rob Liefeld’s panel, we stayed at the Main Stage for the next few panels, including The Office Reunion, a panel where Elijah Wood and others talked about Spectrevision (their film production company), Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith talking about the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, and the Hellboy Reunion panel with Ron Perlman and Doug Jones. We’ll have recaps and photos of those panels up soon!
Confession: I’ve never actually seen Hellboy (I know, I know… bad nerd!), so I only stayed long enough to catch a few photos.
Around 3pm, we decided to tackle the left side of the Show Floor.
Following the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot panel, Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes had invited all Jay and Silent Bob cosplayers to take a photo with them at the Quick Stop backdrop at the Legion M booth. So this area was very crowded! Another point of interest at the Legion M booth was an Alien Xenomorph statue.
Also of note on the left side of the Show Floor was Artist Alley, a WOW Wrestling Ring, and the Petersen Automotive Museum.
There were also a few photo ops available, though the lines were a bit lengthy.
We spent about an hour walking that side of the Show Floor, thereby completing our walk of the entire Show Floor. Upon finishing, we returned to the Main Stage around 4pm in anticipation of the Zombieland: Double Tap “surprise” panel that would take place there at 4:30pm.
At 4pm on the Main Stage was the Rhett & Link panel. I must admit, I had never heard of this duo before, but they seemed to be quite popular with the crowd, and were pretty funny. They showed some funny clips from their YouTube show, Good Mythical Morning, as well.
Our day at LA Comic Con 2019 ended with the Zombieland: Double Tap panel. The “surprise” was that the director, writer, and a few cast members were there! Plus, they showed a couple of clips from the film. Stay tuned for our recap and photos from that panel.
Overall, LA Comic Con 2019 had a very eclectic programming schedule and guests, as well as vendors, which always makes this show interesting! It was also packed the entire day, making it a bit difficult to navigate the Show Floor, but that’s to be expected on a Saturday.
Next year, LA Comic Con 2020 will take place September 25-27, moving up even earlier from its traditional October scheduling, which used to always take place Halloween weekend in the past. See you next time!
You can view more of our photos of the Show Floor at LA Comic Con 2019 below.
