TOKYOPOP/POP Comics at AX: The Wrap-up.
by Michelle "Ms. Geek" Klein-Hass
In the past 25 years, Anime Expo has grown from an average Anime convention in Northern California, to a monster event taking up the palatial Los Angeles Convention Center in the Entertainment Capital of the World. Over 100,000 unique attendees managed to fit in the blocks-long complex, making AX second only to San Diego Comic-Con International in attendance.
Waiting to get in to the Exhibit Hall, Friday
TOKYOPOP had its first booth in the Exhibit Hall in a long, long time, and we returned with a big splash. Thanks to our friends at COPIC markers, we had a really fun art contest. When there are 100,000 people hitting mobile phone towers at once, the attempt to involve our friends at POP Comics in the contest kind of got lost in a sea of technical difficulties. So instead of posting things at POP Comics, we ended up with a very low-tech solution: a drawing. Every day at 5pm we had a drawing from the art people submitted, and people had to be present to win.
Even a dedicated member of the Survey Corps needs some R&R. Drawing is fun and relaxing! You should try!
Who's going to win the drawing???
Tea, art and fun.
We also had tea sampling in our booth, thanks to our partners at Den's Tea. They brought matcha powder and made refreshing matcha lattes for our visitors, plus more traditional hot tea. Predictably on a hot summer day, cool and creamy beat hot and traditional.
There has been a traditional link between Disney and Japanese Pop Culture. So it is not surprising that the Disney cosplay gathering was huge. There was also a lot of Disney hall cosplay as well, We took some pictures of the best we saw.
Alice loves her manga.
Snow White, complete with bird.
Tinkerbell, of course.
Belle of the Ball
Disney cosplay gathering.
