Fantasia Comic Con returned to Indio, CA for it’s second year! The event took place on May 12th and 13th. It was a family friendly convention, packed with plenty to do an see. Here we have provided highlights from Fantasia Comic Con 2018! Panels, Cosplay, Special Guests and more.
Guests & Panels
The guests at the convention were truly great. You had creators, producers, artist and actors in attendance. Being able to hear them speak at panels about real stories about the entertainment industry, new updates on their work and personal stories of success and struggles was truly inspiring. It was an intimate look at what they do. Some of our favorite discussions centered around advice on how to break into he comics industry, what publishers look for, where they founds their artists and how they got their books published.
Cosplay & Cosplay Competition
The Cosplay Competition Incentives were very impressive for such a small con and I am truly surprised that it did not receive a bigger attendance of cosplayers. There was a decent turn out of cosplayers, but I have no doubt that if the prizes for next year’s competition are just as good, the cosplay crowd will be much larger. They had three competition level. ADULT – 18 years and over. 1st prize: $750.00, MIDDLE SCHOOL/HIGH SCHOOL – 1st prize: $500.00 and BABY COSPLAY – 4 years and under. 1st prize: $250.
There was a great variety of cosplayers who attended. You can see the full cosplay gallery here.
Fantasia Comic Con also featured cosplay guests Sylvia Slay, Batcave Productions, Wonder Woman is Real and Lisa Pinelli.
Gaming:
The gaming area next to the main stage had crowds all day on Saturday, although a very loud area, often drowning out the voices on the panels on the main stage, it was probably one the most popular areas at the convention. It looked like a lot of fun.
Vendors
There was a wide variety of vendors, art dealers and exhibitors at this event.
One of the really exciting things was that since it is a much smaller con, you have an opportunity to talk to comic book creators and artist. We don’t recommend you monopolize too much of the guest’s time, but it is exciting to talk to them about their work.
Exhibits
Exhibits included the Back to The Future DeLorean on display as well as Photo Prop Standees located around the exhibit hall.
Venue
The event took place in one of the buildings at Riverside County Fairgrounds. The entire convention took place in one building. Inside the building there was a main stage where panels took place in the exhibit hall, a gaming area, vendor, autograph signing and exhibits area as well. The set up of the main stage was nice because you could walk around and happen upon the panels. At other comic book conventions you have the panels separated and may not even know that there are panels going on.
Parking:
Parking was an affordable $6 a car. This is huge for those of us who are used to paying almost $40 a day in parking at larger conventions in Southern California. The parking lot was large and close to the convention hall doors.
Food:
Food was available in the convention hall building. Prices were affordable and reasonable but the selections were limited. If you have any kind of food restrictions we recommend eating outside of the event. There were several fast food restaurants in the nearby area. Most of them a short drive down the street.
Pricing
The event admission was $30 for two days. Definitely a great price if you plan on attending both days.
Overall: It is a small convention with a lot packed into. It is perfect for those who want to get real insight into what it is to break into the Comic Cook Industry. It’s great for families. It isn’t overwhelming and there was plenty of room and time to check out everything that was going on at the con. We came across this convention through chance. It was recommended for us on Facebook because we were attending a similar events. I was surprised I had not heard of it before. The list of guests were really great and the Cosplay Competition incentives had the potential to gather a much larger crowd. I wouldn’t be surprised to see next year’s event draw a much larger crowd from the Southern California Area. We would definitely recommend it for families who do not want to be overwhelmed by the large crowds, cosplayers interested in the Cosplay Competition and true Comic Book enthusiasts.
To find out more about Fantasia Comic you can go to their website http://fantasiacon.com.
Did you attend this convention? Give us your thoughts in the comment below!
