by David Yeh
Photography by Mike Metcalf

(LONG BEACH, CA MARCH 19-21, 2004) With the first-ever Wizard World convention held in the Los Angeles area, many questions come to mind. "Was it all worth it?" is the first and for many of us in the Southern California area, the San Diego Comic-Con has been the staple in comic-conventions for years. Nothing could even compare with its size and ambition, but finally there is another player on the field. Wizard, however, doesn't seem interested in competing with that "mega-con" to the south but to instead, co-exist in the same realm.  So the question again is asked, “Was it all worth it?” At first glance, this convention might seem small and/or brief, but there is plenty to do if you just apply yourself to do it.

Now to the other questions: Who was there?  Was it crowded?  How difficult was it to get the exclusives? Those answers and a whole lot more surprises are provided for those adventurous enough to find out.

LOCATION 
For those new to the convention lifestyle,  it might seem too much to handle, but once you familiarize yourself with the area, things can go a lot more smoothly.  As the saying goes, location is everything, and Wizard couldn't have picked a better spot than the Long Beach Convention Center.  Not only is it in Long Beach, CA (part of Los Angeles County), but the weather couldn't have been better either, with the sun and coastal breezes keeping it at a comfortable 70 degrees.

Just across the street from the convention center,  you can find some great places to relax and dine.  If there aren’t enough booth babes for you, the Long Beach Aquarium is right around the corner. The majestic Queen Mary also provides a distant backdrop to the incredible location. 

EXHIBITION FLOOR 
The bulk of what you experience at Wizard World happens on the exhibition floor.  Here you can buy exclusive convention merchandise, meet with your favorite artists, or buy a lot of toys at marked up prices.  The floor of Wizard World LA is far smaller than Comic-Con, and while there was plenty to see, it just wasn't enough.  The floor consists of Exhibitor Booths (larger ones belonging to Artisan, Wizkids, Ban Dai, Top Cow, Palisades, Dark Horse, DC, and a few others), Dealers, Small Press, Artist Alley, and a Signings area. 

If you were planning on hitting the dealers for some hard to find Star Wars items, you're pretty much out of luck.  The majority of the dealers were selling comic books, t-shirts, posters, and super-hero toys. 

Once you've seen all the exhibitor booths, a good way to kill time is to wander around the Artist Alley section.  Here you will find a handful of fine artists that will take the time to chat and draw.  If you have a sketchbook, get it out and have the artists go nuts.  Few artists charge for sketches, but most are happy to do it for free.  Randy Martinez (Star Wars Insider), Thomas Hodges, and Michel Gagne (Clone Wars special effects artist) are just a few on hand who specialize in Star Wars artwork. 

EXCLUSIVES AND GOODIES
 It's become standard practice to have an exclusive toy to add a little extra incentive to get people through the convention doors.  Unfortunately, some of these exclusives are so limited and highly sought after that most leave the floor empty handed…or very poor.  That certainly was the case with the Wizard and Gentle Giants exclusive Star Wars Clone Pilot mini-bust selling for a hefty $50 each.  The limit was set at two per person, and then reduced to one per person when product was running out.  It was just a little too late, as the bust sold out completely after half an hour of operating time on Saturday. 

The other hot ticket item was the Heroclix Galactus figure exclusive from WizKids selling for $75.  The line to get this large scale item was actually the longest for any of the show exclusives here.  

Not to be outdone, Palisades Toys had two exclusives for the convention: Ghost of Sam Arrow (limited only to Los Angeles) and the Indiana Jones inspired Adventure Kermit, both selling for $15 each.  There were said limits on these exclusives, but Palisades always has enough on hand to last the entire weekend. 

If you weren't able to score any exclusives, there were still a plethora of freebies if you only knew where to look.  Here's just a sampling of some free items:

-Hulk Heroclix figure in WW LA bag.

-super hero buttons at DC Booth

-Hellboy beanie cap, Hellboy T-shirt, Hellboy stickers, Hellboy posters at Dark Horse and Wizard Booth

-Doc Ock baseball cap at Wizard Booth

-Punisher posters, matches, stickers at Artisan Booth

-Sketches from any willing artist!

PANELS
No comic convention would be complete without a good set of panel Q&A's and some signings worthy of waiting in line.  The majority of the panels are open seating, but there are a select few bigger panel discussions that require "tickets" to avoid over-crowding.  Due to the high popularity of many of these guests, tickets disappear before most can even enter the convention.  It's pretty unfortunate that even after purchasing admission, you’d still need to try your luck to get tickets to attend the more interesting panels. 

There weren't many panels scheduled for Los Angeles, so if you weren't able to acquire tickets to the panels, there really isn't much else to do.  Some of the more popular panels include:  Kevin Smith Q&A; Hellboy movie panel with director Guillermo Del Toro, stars Ron Perlman & Selma Blair, and artist Mike Mignola; The Punisher movie panel; and a Spider-Man 2 movie discussion with producer Avi Arad and special guest James Franco, who plays Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man films (even director John Singleton was in attendance).  Yes, they are working on Spider-Man 3, and no they don't know who the villain will be as of yet!

 SIGNINGS
Just like the panels, tickets were distributed for the more popular signings (Hellboy, Kevin Smith, Stan Lee), but some were open to anyone interested (James Marsden (Cyclops)).  And some signings were even unscheduled!  Those who actually stuck around for the Spider-Man 2 panel at the end of the tour also got treated to a free Spider-Man 2 theatrical poster and were even able to get it signed by Avi Arad and James Franco as well.

Many of the celebrities hung out all weekend long at their own tables located in the Artist Alley section including Lou Ferrigno, David Carradine, Virgil, Michael Jai White, and Taun We herself, Rena Owen.  Rena didn't go too far to reveal her part in Star Wars Episode III, but she did confirm her role as a human character. 

FIN
After an exhausting weekend, I would have to say that Wizard World Los Angeles was exactly the success they hoped it to be.  Crowds were lined up by the hundreds waiting to get in Saturday morning and it didn't get any lighter on Sunday.  These conventions are really only as great as you make it out to be.  Meaning, if you're willing to wait in long lines to meet your favorite comic-book artist or to spend the extra cash so you could get something signed, then the weekend was all worth while.  Sadly, there were many fans that weren't able to obtain tickets to the few panels and signings, leaving them with not much to do. These convention-goers will leave the convention bitter and frustrated (especially those who weren't able to get a Clone Pilot mini-bust). 

Attending preview night, the first thought that came to mind after finishing the floor in fifteen minutes was, "THIS IS IT??  That's all there is?"  There was definitely an absence of exhibitors at the convention (Marvel and Dreamwave come to mind) and it really was a small floor when compared to the great San Diego Comic-Con.  Toyfare magazine Senior Editor Doug Goldstein, however, had these words of reassurance for me, "...next year will be much, much bigger." 

But even as a smaller convention, it was nice to see how much more organized this event was compared to Comic-Con. Of course, size and scope has a lot to do with it, and even though there wasn’t too much planned, I was still able to attend a good majority of it and can honestly say that this tour was definitely worth while. See you all at next year's Wizard World Los Angeles held on March 18-20, 2005!

Visit our Wizard World L.A. Image Bank for more photos!

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