I had a great time at Comikaze this year. This is only the second year for Los Angeles’ very own convention and it’s growing fast. There were many more exhibitors and activities this year but still plenty of breathing and elbow room. It feels good to know that my money is going to Stan Lee, too.
My friend and I took the L.A. public rail system to the convention center, which is always a treat in itself. Between the Con and the train it feels like our city is finally catching up with some of the other great cities around the country.
I skipped the Zombie Maze at this year’s San Diego Comic Con because it was really pricey, and I was prepared to skip the new zombie experience at Comikaze for the same reason. I found out that Activision had decided to sponsor the Comikaze Zombie maze and give everyone discounted tickets. We got our tickets immediately and rushed inside.
We were interrogated by some small children wearing headsets about whether or not we had signed liability waivers. That was a bit odd. They were doing a fine job, but I do wish they had suggested I take off my backpack. Before I knew it we were inside and sprinting, full tilt boogie, through the zombie maze.
I saw a large collection of inflatable castles and bouncy houses. Bouncy Houses? I was a bit crestfallen, hoping for something more challenging and scary. I’m training for the RUN FOR YOUR LIVES 5K after all.
These were not your ordinary inflatable castles.
First, I was wearing a large backpack and had my pockets full of phone-keys-wallet-tickets-sunglasses etc. This made crawling through, under, over, up and down a lot more difficult. It also reminded me that in the upcoming zompocalypse we won’t have storage lockers handy when it’s time to lay tracks.
Second, there was smeared blood inside the bouncy castles. I hope I never see that again.
Third, there were zombies chasing us through the bouncy castles and up and down the inflatable slides.
Fourth, running and jumping and diving across inflatable vinyl non-stop is like sprinting through deep sand. It is really exhausting, and of course there are zombies waiting at the bottom of each slide.
My friend and I were both soaked in sweat at the end and will never look at bouncy castles the same way. Maybe turning into a sweaty, blood smeared geek 20 minutes into the convention was not the best way to start the day, but I have no regrets.
That herring may actually prove sufficient for the task.
We saw a lot of the usual Con fare, including some nice spacious areas for FX makeup, gaming tables and even an indoor Quidditch match.
Elvira’s ride
Plenty of trunk space
I would like to see more publishers, authors and editors there, and I expect I will in the years to come. Thanks Stan!
Author Jeff C. Carter 