Live in the Los Angeles area and looking for something to do this weekend? You should check out Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo, which takes place at the Los Angeles Convention Center Friday, October 31, through Sunday, November 2! Read on for more details.
| What: | Stan Lee’s Comikaze Comic, Anime, Gaming, Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror Expo |
| Where: | Los Angeles Convention Center 1201 South Figueroa Street Los Angeles, CA 90015 |
| When: | Friday, October 31, 1pm-7pm Saturday, November 1, 9am-7pm Sunday, November 2, 9am-5pm |
| Price: | 3-Day Pass $70.00 One Day Pass $30.00 Kids 12 and Under: FREE (with paid adult admission) |
Click here to buy tickets! Use promo code DISNEY for 10% off admission!
Friday, October 31
You can pick up your badge as early as 11am, though doors to the show don’t open until 1pm. Friday is more of a half day at Comikaze. Only a small number of people will be available for autographs (click here for Friday’s autograph schedule). Be aware that there’s usually a fee for autographs, so make sure to allot extra money for that. Panels don’t start until 3pm, and there’s not even anything on the Hot Topic Main Stage (which is in the middle of the exhibit hall floor) until 4:30pm. This seems like more of a day to walk the exhibit hall floor and to bring the kids for some trick-or-treating. After all, Comikaze ordered over 100,000 pieces of candy to give to the vendors to hand out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween!
Plus, at 5:30pm on the Hot Topic Main Stage, there’s a Halloween Costume Contest, presented by Disney’s Big Hero 6, open to all kids in costume ages 12 and under. Registration begins adjacent to the main stage at 5pm. There will be prizes, including a chance to win VIP packages to an advance screening of Big Hero 6.
Following the costume contest, there will be a Geek Fashion Show on the main stage at 6:30pm.
Other than that, here are a couple panels that might be of interest:
3:30pm, Room 304ABC, DISNEY FANDOM – Tips on making a DisneyBound outfit, plus trivia and prizes.
4:30pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, VIDEO GAME HIGH SCHOOL SEASON 3 – Cast and creators of this web series will talk about Season 3 of the show.
Click here for the full schedule of panels on Friday.
Saturday, November 1
This is definitely going to be the busiest day at Comikaze. Badge pickup starts at 7am, though the show doesn’t open until 9am. However, unlike Friday, panels start as soon as the doors open. Also unlike Friday, when there won’t be very many people on hand for autographs, Saturday will have a full slate of talent available for not only autographs (click here for Saturday’s autograph schedule), but photo ops as well (click here for the photo op schedule). Just a reminder that there is usually a fee for autographs and photo ops. You can purchase VIP add-on packages for autographs and photo ops for a few of the stars when you order your tickets online that give you front of the line privileges.
At 4:00pm in the Concourse Hallway, to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Tetris, there will be an attempt to set the Guinness World Record for longest link of human Tetriminos. Costumes will be available at Booth #240, and you can order ahead online for $30, which you can add on to your purchase when you buy your tickets.
At 6:00pm on the Hot Topic Main Stage is a cosplay contest with over $10,000 in cash and prizes on the line!
Then after a fun-filled day, all Saturday and 3-Day badge holders are invited to Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo Cosplay Ball, the FREE official Comikaze after-party, 18+ only, taking place at Club Nokia, next door to the convention center, starting at 8:00pm.
Below are just a handful of amazing panels taking place on Saturday. We’re most excited about the Battlestar Galactica reunion panel, John Barrowman’s panel, the Game of Thrones panel, Kevin Smith’s SModcast, and of course, seeing Stan “the Man” Lee himself!
9:00am, Hot Topic Main Stage, UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH STAN LEE – Stan Lee will be talking about new projects he’s working on at POW! Entertainment. Submit questions through the Weev app.
10:00am, Hot Topic Main Stage, DUFF GOLDMAN – FOOD NERD LEGEND – The guy from Ace of Cakes has a special presentation
10:30am, Hot Topic Main Stage, SPOTLIGHT: ADAM WEST – The actor who played Batman in the 1960s TV show will help celebrate Batman’s 75th Anniversary. Although Burt Ward and Julie Newmar (Robin and Catwoman) are not listed on the schedule for this panel, they will be at the show signing autographs, so maybe they’ll make an appearance at this panel.
11:00am, Hot Topic Main Stage, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA 10TH ANNIVERSARY – Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama), Jamie Bamber (Apollo/Lee Adama), and Michael Trucco (Sam Anders) reunite. Although not listed on the panel, Kate Vernon (Ellen Tigh) and Richard Hatch (Tom Zarek) will be signing autographs at the show, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they join in on the panel as well.
11:30am, Hot Topic Main Stage, COMIC LEGEND SPOTLIGHT: ROB LIEFELD, CREATOR OF DEADPOOL – Note that you can add on a VIP Comikze Extreme Deadpool package for $125 that includes VIP seating for this panel, and much more.
12:00pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE PRESENTS: IN CONVERSATION WITH STAN LEE – Stan Lee will take the stage to discuss The Zodiac Legacy
12:00pm, Room 408AB, JOHN BARROWMAN & CAROLE BARROWMAN – John Barrowman (known for his roles as Captain Jack Harkness in Doctor Who and Torchwood, and Malcolm Merlyn in Arrow) and his sister discuss their novels. Having attended a John Barrowman panel before, I can tell you that his panels are so much fun, and not to be missed! He is hilarious and outrageous! But, he will be doing another panel on Sunday if you must miss this one.
12:30pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, COMIKAZE GUEST OF HONOR: ONE ON ONE WITH HOWIE MANDEL – Yep, the guy from Deal or No Deal. Apparently he will be making a special announcement.
12:30pm, Room 404AB, THE THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR – This live stage show done in the style of old-time radio shows has a big cult following. Ben Acker and Ben Blacker will be there, along with many more.
1:00pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, GAME OF THRONES – INTERVIEW WITH THE STARS – Adrianne Curry will moderate this panel that includes Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), and Esme Bianco (Ros).
2:00pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, THE CAST OF TRUE BLOOD – Stephen Moyer (Bill Compton) and Kristin Bauer van Straten (Pam) will be on stage for this panel. Submit questions using the Weev app.
2:00pm, Room 408AB, SPOTLIGHT: HOLLYWOOD BABBLE-ON SMODCAST – Join Kevin Smith and Ralph Garman for a live podcast recording!
2:30pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, COMIC LEGENDS SPOTLIGHT – The schedule doesn’t list who will be a part of this panel, but the show has quite a large pool of comic talent to draw from that will be in attendance, so it’s sure to be a good one. I would guess Jim Lee and John Romita, Jr. would be on this panel. Also, AMC’s Comic Book Men (Ming Chen, Bryan Johnson, and Michael Zapcic) have announced that they are a part of this panel.
3:00pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, CONSTANTINE: AN INTRODUCTION – The creators of the new NBC series, including David S. Goyer, will talk about the show.
3:30pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, HOT TOPIC PRESENTS: MY LITTLE PONY – THE FULL CAST REUNION – Yes, this includes Tara Strong.
4:30pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, SPOTLIGHT: DMC – That’s right, DMC from Run-DMC will be at Comikaze! Submit questions with the Weev app.
5:00pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, MADTV – CAST REUNION
Click here for the full schedule of panels for Saturday.
Sunday, November 2
Doors on the final day of Comikaze open at 9:00am, though panels don’t start until 9:30am. Many of the stars will still be around to sign autographs (click here for the Sunday autograph schedule), and a few will be available for photo ops (click here for photo op schedule). It’s a shorter day than Saturday, with the show ending at 5:00pm, and the last panel starting at 3:30pm.
We’re most excited about seeing the Jewel Staite and John Barrowman panels on this day.
Below are a few highlights from the Sunday schedule of panels:
10:00am, Room 406AB, GOTHAM ADVANCE SCREENING AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Q&A – See Monday’s episode a day early, followed by a Q&A with Executive Producer Danny Cannon
10:30am, Hot Topic Main Stage, SPOTLIGHT: JEWEL STAITE – Kaylee from Firefly! ‘Nuff said. She wasn’t at the San Diego Comic-Con 2012 Firefly reunion, so this will be our first time seeing her in person!
11:00am, Hot Topic Main Stage, ANNOUNCING NEW STAN LEE MOBILE GAME – Your last chance of the weekend to see Stan Lee on stage!
12:00pm, Room 304ABC, COMIKAZE GUEST OF HONOR: JOHN BARROWMAN – In case you missed his panel with his sister on Saturday, here’s another chance to catch Captain Jack (Doctor Who, Torchwood)/Malcolm Merlyn (Arrow), this time on his own solo panel!
1:00pm, Hot Topic Main Stage, TEEN TITANS GO! CAST DISCUSSION
1:00pm, Room 306AB, BEHIND THE MASK OF DOOM: MEET IVY DOOMKITTY Q&A – Cosplay fans won’t want to miss this!
1:00pm, Room 406AB, SLEEPY HOLLOW – SPECIAL ADVANCED SCREENING OF “DELIVERANCE” EPISODE – See Monday’s episode a day early, followed by a Q&A with Executive Producers and writers from the show.
Click here for the full schedule of Sunday panels.
This post doesn’t even begin to cover the massive amount of pop culture and comic book icons that will be at Stan Lee’s Comikaze, so check out Comikaze’s website to make sure you don’t miss anything! Also be sure to read Comikaze’s Survival Guide to help you through the details of the weekend.
Violet attended Comikaze last year on Saturday only. Click here to read about her experience!
