Los Angeles Comic Con 2022 Draws Huge Crowds
By Miclpea
Los Angeles Comic Con welcomed a record number of attendees (more than 126,600) and an incredible list of celebrity talent to the Los Angeles Convention Center December 2-4, 2022. The convention, which included more than 850 vendors and artists, spanned the 1.2 million square feet of exhibit space of the West and South Halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The crowds included incredible cosplayers (my favorite were the families with small children cosplaying).
LA Comic Con featured a diverse lineup of activations, panels, and star speakers. There were interactive experiences, panel discussions, autograph signings, photo ops, dance performances, cosplay contests, sponsor activations, anime and gaming activities, and an After Party that featured celebrity performers! LA Comic Con also expanded to include more gaming and anime activations throughout the West Hall. These new activities made it possible for LA Comic Con to set an attendance record eclipsing 2019’s 123,400 attendees, which was prior to the pandemic.
However, the con was not just fun and games. Together with Tiltify (the presenting sponsor of the Main Stage), LA Comic Con helped raise money and awareness for the World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that is the first to provide chef-prepared fresh meals at the frontlines in response to community crises.
For those who could not attend in person, LA Comic Con made a digital pass available with over 20 hours of programming streamed in the Comic-Con Metaverse. The videos are from 3 different stages and 2 roaming fan cameras. Fans will be able to access that content for 30 days.
LA Comic Con had A-list celebrities such as William Shatner (Star Trek), Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Sean Astin and Elijah Wood (The Lord of the Rings), as well as The Boys’ Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko), Laz Alonso (Mother’s Milk), and Tomer Capone (Frenchie). The Mandalorian’s Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand) and Giancarlo Esposito (Moff Gideon) were also present
LA Comic Con added more activities than they had in prior years by taking over the West Hall of the Convention Center. The show’s partner, Subnation, produced an expansive and exciting gaming, esports, and anime experience here. TLA Comic Con used the West Hall’s 147,000 sq. ft. floor plan by dividing it into three main zones — the Gaming Stage, the Stream Studio, and the Gaming Freeplay Area – which featured panel presentations, cosplay meetups, talent meet-and-greets, live game demos, and more!
7th Annual Cosplay National Championship
On Saturday (Dec. 3rd) night, LA Comic Con hosted the 7th Annual Cosplay National Championship. The cosplayers competed for $30,000 in cash and other prizes on the Main Stage in front of a massive hype crowd during LA Comic Con’s 7th Annual Cosplay National Championship. All costume genres were welcomed to compete, including characters from film, television, theater, comics, video games, sci-fi, anime, horror, and original creations. The contest was broken up into five categories — Novice, Journeyman, Master in Armor Division, Master Division, and Best in Show — and included a fan-elected Metaverse winner of this year’s digital competition, who was awarded a round-trip ticket to Los Angeles to compete live on stage with the rest.
LA Comic Con 2022 – Cosplay Contest Winners and Categories
Novice 3rd: Bean & Cheese Cosplay
Novice 2nd: Marissa MKendall
Novice 1st place: The Royal Geek
Journeyman 3rd: Christina is Crafty
Journeyman 2nd: Thermocosplay
Journeyman 1st: Catgirls and War Crimes Cosplay
Master Armor 3rd: The Tiny Geek
Master Armor 2nd: Sunday Slays
Master 1st: Kayla, Tyler, Dylan, and Evan
Master 3rd: Wasp & Pym
Master 2nd: AliCat
Master 1st: Stephanie Piper
Best in Show: Alison Fisher
For me, LA Comic Con was a wonderful opportunity to host two Expanse panels with Bob Munroe (The Expanse, What We Do in the Shadows), Glenton Richards (The Expanse, Heroes), John Bultena, Dr. J. Scott Jordan, and Julius Vladimir Francisco. The two panels were Bridging The Expanse: Who Doesn’t Love a “Good” Villain and The Expanse: The Greatest Television Science Fiction Series of the 21st Century. We had a great time with the fans and both Bob and Glenton had unique swag from the show for attendees.
This year’s LA Comic Con brought back the excitement fans last felt in 2019. It was a cornucopia of genre-related fun and activities. I am definitely looking forward to next year!
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