The first annual Comic Excitement Convention was held January 2017 at the Los Angeles Convention Center and Dorkaholics was invited to attend to cover the event as press. Along with the normal comic convention fare (exhibitors and cosplayers galore), the main event was going to be a cosplay contest with a $10,000 award. That’s legit because it wasn’t a $10,000 voucher to attend Comic Excitement Conventions 400 more times, it was $10,000* of real money. (*Dorkaholics does not actually know if the winner received any of this money, as there are conflicting reports on whether he was paid.) We were looking forward to seeing the cosplayers bring their A game— and A game they did bring.
While waiting for the cosplay contest to start, we walked around the expo floor and talked to a few exhibitors. And holy shit- here’s something you don’t see every day, a hovercraft. Vivian, our host got a chance to chat with Lee Ricasa about the hovercraft and his futuristic vision for transportation.
Next, we wandered over to a big muscley guy wearing sunglasses. My boyfriend started freaking out, so I was like— “Frank, stop. Words.” He said something “hall of fame-er” and I looked up at the banners and sure enough it was “Rikishi- WWE Hall of Fame”. To be honest, I had no idea who he was, but he looked important— because only important people wear sunglasses inside. So, Vivian walked up and tried to get an interview, only to be stopped by another guy in sunglasses, who presumably was his security. As we tried to talk our way to the table (without paying, because I think the only way you could meet him was to pay for an autographed piece of merch), Rikishi peered over and I saw him scan Vivian up and down. I hip bumped her forward and basically palmed the security guard’s face and blurted out in one long run-on sentence,
“MR.RIKISHIWE’REDORKAHOLICSANDOURHOSTVIVANWOULDLIKETOINTERVIEWYOUPLEAAAAASSSSEEEEEEEEEE!”
I crossed my fingers and tried to smile seductively. Rikishi, eyes fixed on Vivian, motioned for us (OKAY MAYBE JUST HER) to come forward. I scooted forward with Vivian, not before sticking my tongue out at the gatekeeper and mouthing “fuck you” to him. The interview went well, but here’s the problem, I don’t think Vivian knew who Rikishi was either. It’s actually pretty funny because as she’s introducing him she goes, “And we are here with…” she motions to the banners, tries to read it, gives up and ends with, “would you like to introduce yourself?” Because clearly, she has no fucking clue. Rikishi doesn’t seem to mind and goes on to compliment her on her cosplay outfit and well… just watch the rest. Thanks, Vivian, for being a good sport. Your hotness really helped us out here.
Finally, it was time for Comic Excitement Convention’s cosplay contest. You can watch some of the show here. The show was cool and we saw a ton of great outfits, but nothing was more surprising (and infuriating) than the injustice that occurred when the winners were announced. In true beauty pageant fashion, there were a ton of awards announced. It wasn’t just- OK! And the grand prize winner is…… TADA! There were awards given for like 20 categories. It seems like everyone left with a ribbon. EXCEPT for this guy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPVYeBnh4_d/
What the actual fuck, judges?
Instead, the prize went to this guy. And his costume was great. But didn’t the loser just have a red version of what the winner had???
And that pretty much sums up our Comic Excitement Convention adventure. Between checking out the hovercraft, having Rikishi hit on our host, and watching the cosplay contest, we had a pretty great time— even though the turnout of Comic Excitement Convention was disappointing. But we’re Dorkaholics, it’s a party wherever we go. AYYYYYYYYYYY #staylit fam.
