Comic Con L.A. wraps up 3-day event

World Today

Thousands are attending the “Los Angeles Comic Con” over the weekend. It’s a three-day convention that brings together creators, directors, and writers of some of the most popular U.S. comic books and animations.

Los Angeles Comic Con has opened its doors to thousands of fans, excited to meet the creators of their favorite characters. And many arrive dressed up as those characters themselves!

‘Cosplay,’ or costume play, has always been a big part of the comic-con culture.

Aside from stocking up on comic books, fans can also purchase a wide variety of merchandise, including toys, posters, and apparel.

Or, if you are really a huge fan, you can spend $2,500 on a birthday cake, like this one.

Others don’t mind waiting in long lines to get an autograph from the artists.

Comic Con is not just a place for fans to interact with their favorite comic book characters.

This is also an opportunity for the creators to get feedback from their fans and network with others from the industry.

For some, it’s a chance to showcase their work and reach a wider audience.

“For us, as the creators at a show, it’s kind of like being in a job fare for someone else, because we can go around and talk to the publishers,” said comic artist Joel Adams. “There might be an animation company here that’s looking for people that we can show our stuff to. Or I might have a project that I might take to someone and say: ‘Hey you guys want to do this ‘ And so it is a big networking event for us.”

Exhibits at the convention also show how the industry’s evolving.

Through advanced technology and the internet, fans can now connect with the characters of a fictitious world in a whole new way.

“Basically what we’re trying to do is involving the crowd like this, being able to interact with the VR person, as they’re playing,” said Joey Lee, a VR game creator. So, you can literally log into your phone, and direct all the scares. People like watching this, because it’s very cinematic already. So, why not give somebody at a convention center like Comic Con the control of scares and directing, and how to kill the CT person themselves.”

Fantasy characters now appear on mostly digital platforms to reach wider audiences.

But as most people here believe, old-school print comic books won’t be going away anytime soon.