L.A. Comic Con

Comic Con is a three-day multi-genre convention[2] held annually in downtown Los Angeles, California.

The convention was founded as Comikaze Expo in 2011[4] by Regina Carpinelli and her two younger brothers, fans of geek culture from Temecula, California.

"[3] Originally founded as an event to showcase local Los Angeles talent, the first Comikaze Expo in 2011 primarily featured local artists, comic book publishers and dealers, and various celebrity appearances including horror icon Elvira.

Regina Carpinelli and her two younger brothers, fans of geek culture from Temecula, California, were regular attendees of San Diego Comic-Con.

[16] After moving to Los Angeles, Regina Carpinelli decided that the city needed a large-scale comic book convention.

The first event, called Comikaze Expo, was held on November 5–6, 2011 in the Kentia Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center.

[20] That same year, Advanstar joined Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo as a strategic partner, taking on the event's "back end" work managing deals with unions, the convention center, and other "business" aspects of the show.

New activities included a 75,000 sg ft Zombie Apocalypse obstacle course, a Quidditch pitch, and a NERF dart battle hosted by Max Landis.

Panel discussions were displayed on a 14 ft jumbotron, including Kevin Smith, a live version of Fatman on Batman with Adam West, a version of the Dating Game with Adrianne Curry, and a Q&A with Stan Lee and Todd McFarlane.

The show followed the experiences of seven pop culture fans as they lived together in a Los Angeles apartment building and interned at Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo, vying for his attention and approval.

[27] The show continued to include panel discussions on a variety of topics,[28] and an all-night dance party.

New exhibits included a Jay and Silent Bob Reboot photo op with Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes in front of the 30 ft Quick Stop Facade[35] an exhibition of famous automobiles from the Petersen Automotive Museum[36] and a live wrestling event with Women of Wrestling.

Comic Con, KROQ's Stryker and Klein broadcast live from the LACC VIP Lounge for 4 hours.

LA Comic Con 2019 made several major programming decisions based on convention attendees' responses to an email survey, including adding a horror section to the convention and bringing in the casts of The Office and Spongebob Squarepants.

[47] Other 2019 programming included a panel interview with the Incredible Hulk's Lou Ferrigno and Flash Gordon's Sam Jones,[48] The Ultimate Spider-Man's Drake Bell[49] a main-stage panel with the cast of Steven Universe[50] and the cast of the film Daniel Isn't Real.

Comic Con", Stan Lee formed a partnership with the convention in 2012[60] and continued working with the event until his passing in 2018.

"I think he felt the legacy of what we wanted to create here was safe in our hands, because we were honest-to-goodness fans, not just business people looking to make a buck" —Chris DeMoulin, CEO of Comikaze Entertainment.