Long Beach Comic Expo Announces Programming, Guests, Innovations, and More

by Drew Kaplan · Published February 9, 2018 · Updated February 9, 2018

MAD Event Management, creators and operators of several pop-culture conventions, announce programming, innovations, and special guests for the 9th annual Long Beach Comic Expo, February 17th & 18th, 2018 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Making its Long Beach Comic Expo debut, SOCIAL SQUARE is the event’s official hub for social interaction. Anchored by the NERDBOT stage and their continuous Facebook Live stream to more than 500,000 fans, SOCIAL SQUARE will feature appearances and interviews with many beloved pop culture personalities, including Joe Keery (STRANGER THINGS), Emma Caulfield (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), TWIN PEAKS stars Sherilyn Fenn, Kimmy Robertson, Robert Broski, Stewart Strauss, and Christian Calloway, WWE stars Rikishi and Lisa Marie Varon, EDUMACATION author Andy McElfresh and many more.

“As we enter our 10^th year of producing conventions in Long Beach, we are excited to have this opportunity to create a new paradigm for our events focused around content. Our aim is to treat our attendees to a new experience that features entertainment, celebrities, interviews and fun for all ages,” said Martha Donato, Founder and President of MAD Event Management LLC. “We found an incredible partner in NERDBOT and can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve got going!”

SOCIAL SQUARE will offer fans a constant source of entertainment and engagement, including trivia games, live comedy and music. Attendees are encouraged to check the SOCIAL SQUARE schedule for updates on guest appearances, surprise drop-ins and more. Sponsors include BERNINA of AMERICA, MARVEL STUDIOS’ THOR RAGNAROK Blu-Ray and BLACK PANTHER, Disney Studios’ A WRINKLE IN TIME, THE EDUMACATION BOOK from Weldon Owen, THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT from Screen Gems, ATTACK OF THE SOUTHERN FRIED ZOMBIES from Gravitas Ventures, and BAD SAMARITAN from Electric Entertainment.

Long Beach Comic Expo will also host panels on topics as varied as cosplay, webcomics, self-publishing, horror, and politics and pop culture, as well as welcoming Humanoids Publishing (A 20th Anniversary Celebration), Fanbase Press (The Impact of Latinx Creators, STAR WARS: Themes of Legacy) for panels of their own. GeekFest Film Festival (Meet the GeekFest Filmmakers, Women of SciFi, Best of GeekFest) returns to Long Beach with a robust lineup of films and panels all its own.

Other highlights include a rare spotlight on LBCE’s Guest of Honor, Don McGregor (BLACK PANTHER) and panels welcoming Emmy Award-winning voice and casting director Andrea Romano (BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES), comics creator Mark Waid (ARCHIE, CAPTAIN AMERICA), and screenwriter Aaron Covington (CREED).

At this years show, attendees will have an exclusive opportunity to join Long Beach Comic Expo special guest Joe Keery (STRANGER THINGS) for a limited Q&A event on Saturday, February 17^th at 10:00am.

The Columbia Memorial Space Center brings SPACE EXPO back to Long Beach Comic Expo with Herbert Jefferson Jr. (BATTLESTAR GALACTICA) as Guest of Honor. The Space Expo will feature numerous JPL Workshops throughout the two-day event and collaborative panels such as Rocketry 101 with Virgin Orbit and How to Build an R2D2. The Geekfest Film Fest is also back, exhibiting the best Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Action, Superhero, Fan Films and original high concept indie genre film and web series from around the world.

The team behind Long Beach Comic Expo also have two Industry Professional events scheduled Friday, February 16th. The Comic Creator Conference, a Networking & Business Education Event, will begin at 3:00pm at the Long Beach Convention center, followed by the 2018 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics, at 7:30pm, which will honor five finalists following in Dwayne’s footsteps.

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