Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Dpad Gamer Rants - Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo 2012

Dpad Daisy gives her thoughts on this year's Comikaze Expo.


First day at Comikaze Expo was just alright. Could've been better. Here are my main issues:

1) That horrible line to get inside the convention center just to get into ANOTHER long line. Granted, we got there late and arrived around 10:30am, but for the line to literally reach all the way back to the 110 freeway is beyond ridiculous. It took almost an hour and a half for us to move maybe 20 feet. The hot weather wasn't helping.

What I found interesting is that while in line, people were posting on the Facebook page angry comments on the lack of organization. After enough comments, the line finally moves SO QUICKLY we got inside in about 10-15 minutes. Perhaps the word FINALLY reached to the staff that the line was a mess. Why it took a mob of upset con-goers for the line to move is a mystery.

2) The Main Stage for panels. Such a STUPID idea. Whosoever idea it was to put a stage in the back of the show floor, where it's crowed, no seats, and loud, needs to be fired. That is no place to do panels. Even with a sound system, it was still hard to clearly listen while thousands of other people are talking all at the same time. And it's very uncomfortable to stand in a shoulder-to-shoulder crowd for 30-60 minutes. Not to mention being pushed around as other traffic is trying to move along. Awful idea.

3) This ties in with the main stage rant. I was really looking forward to the Batman panel with Kevin Smith and Adam West. I was in that chaotic crowd waiting a while for that panel to start despite me being uncomfortable. However, I finally left frustrated and just pray that Kevin Smith will have a video of the panel uploaded. Why? Because it started 30 minutes late and I just could no longer focus my attention on the stage. Not in such a mess.

If you are gonna entice fans with big names like Kevin Smith and Adam West, then do us the kind favor, anticipate the crowds and put these panels in a more appropriate area. It's a no-brainer that hundreds, if not thousands, of people are gonna wanna see them. May I suggest the Petree Hall? That would've been nicer. And be on time!

4) Your ticket system/prices. While I admit, this is STILL a very reasonably priced convention, I hate that you used Ticketleap. You raised your prices, which I'm not happy about but I can understand. This year was 4 times bigger than last year, so I guess more money was needed. Okay, cool but to be charged fees? Not a good feeling.

I'm hoping for a better time next year. We'll see.

Okay I'm done!



About the AuthorDaisy is the artist and 3DS expert of latinogamer.com. A former GameStop employee and student at Glendale Community College, she currently resides in Los Angeles. She is a student flute player and loves the work of the great video games composers such as Nobuo Uematsu and Koji Kondo.

Daisy es el artista y experto sobre el 3DS de latinogamer.com. Anteriormente trabajaba en GameStop y estudiaba en el colegio de comunidad en Glendale. Estudia ser flautista y ama la musica de los gran compositores de videojuegos como Nobuo Uematsu y Koji Kondo.