JoeT goes to Comikaze Expo 2011!
JoeT went to Comikaze Expo and he invaded reppin’ GameFob.com! Comikaze Expo was such an outstanding event. I already can’t wait for next year! Before you ask, no, there were no Japanese airmen hurt in this convention. Now nothing can ever replace Comic-Con International in San Diego so it would not be fair to compare Comikaze Expo To SDCC. What we got at Comikaze, and what I personally loved about the convention, is that we get to meet and great so many of the independent artists and writers. Headlined by the great Stan Lee and the timeless beauty, Elvira: Casandra Peterson and Daniel Radcliffe, Comikaze brought us classics form Star Trek, The Nickelodeon All That reunion, and much much more. We were even graced with the great Mark Hamill’s presence!
Stan Lee, Father of Marvel Comics
To my surprise, after the disappointing turnout at Long Beach Comic-Con, Comikaze Expo had such an amazing turn out in its first year! (I don’t have the numbers with my right now, but I can say that every time I was walking around taking photos or chatting it up with some vendors/exhibitors, the front entrance would not stop overflowing with Comikaze attendees!) The Los Angeles Convention Center was packed with fellow geeks and fans from all over the place! What a sight!
I got the opportunity to meet many indi-comic book artists. They all gave their best sales pitch on how their book is different from that one. Of course, not all of them interest me, but a good few caught my ear. I explained to them my affinity for reading and reviewing any comic and how I push so hard for others to read the book. I was very vocal about GameFob. I pitched it everywhere I went. So many of the writers loved my assertiveness and gave me copies of their books to read so that I could dedicate a review to their book.
Among the writers, I ran into some many Sci-Fi indie-comics that caught my eye and I’m sure to catch yours too. They all had such unique stories and actually made me realize that I too have thoughts about what would happen in a post apocalyptic world. How other species co-exist with each other. When you’re an indie publisher, you have to think outside the box. The Superman’s and Batman’s will always have these powerful story lines, yet they can often turn into a pop song using A,B,A format. The indie books are strange. They aren’t normal. They’re story lines that you couldn’t even think of on a daily basis, yet when someone decides to write about the random things it makes you think about how cool and appealing it can be. It makes you wonder why you never really got into a story such as them. With all that in mind, I will be reading all these books and graphic novels within the next month and will be giving them proper and constructive reviews here on GameFob.com. Now now… Keep in mind that we all have such a great appreciation and understanding of DC and Marvel comics (DC who now owns 51% of the Comic-book market) and the reviews for the them will be resumed, but the little guys need some love too! So be sure to come back and check out my reviews for these books!
Dan Fogler, Actor, Writer
I will be reading: Holli Hoxxx by Austin Tinius, Reed Gunther by Shane & Chris Houghton, Butcher Babies by Carla Harvey, The 36 by Kristopher White, Jailing Fortune by Eric Carter Moon Lake by Dan Fogler and finally, Romeo & Juliet by Stan Lee and Terry Dougas. As you can see, I’ve got a lot of reading to do! I knew SSR would bite me in the ass when I got older.
Carla Harvey, voice of the Butcher Babies (Hollywood, CA)
Through out the day, I ran into a charming booth that raved on about their web-series, The League of S.T.E.A.M. Now when the young lady was informing me with a short synopsis about their web-series, I nearly hugged her out of excitement. Were talking a Sci-fi where a group of Victorian-era individuals hunt down monsters with their interesting concoctions of weapons. Now, I tried to get a bit more specific on what kind of world this show takes place, but mum’s the word and I just have to watch and watch!
I also attended several panels while at Comikaze and learned a great deal! One of the best ones that I was able to attend was the DC New 52 Discussion panel with the lesser known artists and writers. It was such a good panel. So informative, but instead of ranting on and on about it here on this article, I will be writing it’s own! So stay tuned! 
It was an honor to cover Comikaze Expo as ‘press’. (my firs time, but not the last!) I am very thankful to the people at Comikaze Expo and to Miss. Chaton Anderson who helped me out a great deal getting everything settled. I also would like to give a shout out to Mr. Andre Meadows of Blacknerdcommedy.com. Thank you for the inspiration and how I too can be nerdy. For as it is tought being a Black nerd, it’s just as tough being a Samoan nerd.
WAIT! What would a comic-con wouldn’t be one without cosplay?! There was such a variety of costumes at Comikaze 2011. We even had ‘professional’ cosplay models show up, Yaya Han and Jessica Nigri! I would like to thank everyone who dressed up this past weekend. You all did such a wonderful job with your costumes. No matter if you were too hot or too cold by the environment, you were appreciated! To view all the photos, go ahead and click on the picture below. 
