Long Beach Comic Con Report

I had a great time at the Long Beach Comic Con (LBCC), held over the Saturday and Sunday. Though the first day of the show was a bit quiet, the crowds definitely turned out on Sunday. (When I entered the convention center Sunday morning, unlike Saturday I noticed a healthy, enthusiastic line of people waiting to get in, which I took as a good omen). The size of the exhibition floor also seemed markedly smaller compared to my experience attending past Long Beach shows (this was my first as an exhibitor), but after a two year hiatus due to the pandemic, hopefully LBCC will be able to rebound and build on this year’s success.

An advantage of a smaller show is the easier access to special guests–among this year’s guests were comics legends Denys Cowan and Howard Chaykin. I’ve met Chaykin sporadically over the years and it was a definite personal highlight of the show that I had the opportunity to chat, talk shop and catch up a bit with one of my favorite current cartoonists.

I even found time to buy comics. My biggest haul was several discounted Johnny Hazard comics albums from Tony Raiola Books, a dealer I’ve made purchases from since the ‘80s who specializes in European comics and albums. I first discovered the great adventure comic strip Johnny Hazard (by Frank Robbins) through Raiola, purchasing from the same series of Sunday strip collections pictured in the photos. (I believe Raiola published these through his Pacific Comics Club imprint.)

In fact, prior to the show, I wondered if Raiola was even still active and couldn’t find a definitive answer online. So it was a happy surprise to see his booth—Tony even stopped by my table one morning and was very complimentary of my work, recognizing my influences of course (we’ve met before but not sure if he remembers). By coincidence, people who help Tony at shows were friends with my booth partner, so I ended up talking them with a bit when they stopped by and hearing about their work with him.

As I noted in my announcements about my appearance at the show, I exhibited at space provided by the Comic Arts Professional Society (CAPS), which I helped staff–if nothing else, the air conditioned convention center offered a nice refuge from the stifling Southern California heat wave happening outside!

More photos below and you can see the full photo gallery here.

From Kwento Comics

Howard Chaykin