Comikaze Homes In on LA

This Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 15-16, pop culture fans will converge on the Los Angeles Convention Center for Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo, owned in part by comic legend Lee and his company Pow! Entertainment, as well as horror icon, Elvira Mistress of the Dark.

The new consumer convention, now in its second year, will bring together more than 400 exhibitors from the worlds of comics, anime, gaming, sci-fi, fantasy and horror. This year, Comikaze has partnered with Advanstar to take the event to the next level with exclusive events, celebrity appearances and a huge collection of exhibitors showing off all the newest pop culture products and brands.

Among the events planned for this weekend are:

• A Zombie Apocalypse 75,000-square-foot obstacle course;
• The premier of the best short and feature film winners from Elvira’s Horror Hunt film festival, hosted by Elvira herself;
• A live concert featuring Peter Murphy and The Dark (hosted by Stan Lee);
• A screening of the film With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story;
• A sneak peak of the new Comedy Central series “Brickleberry” from Daniel Tosh;
• Live Quidditch, Warhammer and Magic: The Gathering tournaments
• Two special museum exhibits–one showing Stan Lee’s personal comic book collection and another with a collection of Elvira memorabilia;
• A sneak preview of SMC Entertainment’s The Jungle Book’s Rumble in The Jungle made-for-TV movie and meet-and-greets with Mowgli and Baloo.

More than 400 exhibitors will be showcasing their pop culture fare at this year’s show ranging from entertainment powerhouses like Activision and Lionsgate to the boutique organizations that form the core of pop culture like Camilla d’Errico, Badali Jewelry and Cryptozoic.

Planned celebrity appearances will include illustrator Todd McFarlane who created the original artwork for the Comikaze Collector’s Program, director and writer Kevin Smith, “Beavis and Butthead” animator Chris Prynoski, performer Peaches Christ, “Tomb Raider” writer Rachel Stavis, Norman Reedus of “The Walking Dead,” comic creator Neal Adams, Thomas Jane from the HBO series “Hung,” and many more.