By Frank Portillo
The seventh annual Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con featured a star-studded lineup of celebrities and creators this past weekend, with the biggest being Dwyane “the Rock” Johnson.
Some attendees wore costumes of their favorite popular culture characters, shopped at the multiple vendors, met with some of their favorite creators and attended panels that took place throughout the weekend.
The convention, which is a relatively new one, attracts stars from various television shows and films. This year included a diverse lineup of panels which were headlined by the “Jumanji” panel on Saturday, which feature Johnson and closed out the show.
Johnson came out on stage to screams of “Rocky, Rocky!” from audience members, who were tightly packed together. Several fans held up World Wrestling Federation belts and others were dressed as Johnson once did, with a black turtleneck and a fanny pack.
A tribute to the late Adam West, by filmmaker Kevin Smith and actor Ralph Garman, was another focus of a panel. The two were joined by Burt Ward, who played Robin alongside West, and Lee Meriwether, who played Catwoman in the 1966 “Batman” film.
The Black Eyed Peas, minus Fergie, also had a panel on Saturday dedicated to their new graphic novel “Masters of the Sun,” which is being distributed by Marvel. The rap group’s panel was hosted by actor Orlando Jones and featured surprise guest rappers Redman, Flavor Flav and actress Rosario Dawson.
Band leader Will.I.Am announced a partnership with Oculus to bring the graphic novel to life in virtual reality. They also demonstrated the augmented reality capabilities of the graphic novel, which feature animation, sound effects and voice actors as well as music when it’s read with a phone.
Other panels included a reunion of the original “Powerpuff Girls” cast, a reunion of the “Sabrina: The Teenage Witch” cast and a talk with Drew Carey, who was honored as the 2017 comedy legend.
Aside from the panels, attendees also got the opportunity to meet and conversate with some of their favorite creators in popular culture. Butch Hartman, creator of kid’s shows such as “The Fairly Oddparents” and “Danny Phantom” attracted a large line of fans. Hartman offered to draw any of his iconic characters for $20, with the money being donated to charity.
Fans of Harman’s work, like attendee Robert Hien, were shocked at the bargain. “Going to conventions like this, it’s very rare to see the creator (of a property) offer to draw his characters for so cheap. Usually, creators charge over $100 for something like this,” said Hien, who asked Hartman for a drawing of the “Fairly Oddparents’” three main characters.
At the convention, Hot Topic released exclusive merchandise only obtainable at the convention.
Those interested in attending next year can visit
www.stanleeslacomiccon.com.