Louisiana Comic Con 2019

Lafayette, LA

I’ve attended Louisiana Comic Con in Lafayette almost every year since its inception. I’ve watched as it has grown along with other events put on by AVC Conventions over the years. I’ve always been impressed by their lineup which includes local fan groups, authors, and artists, as well as more nationally known talent including celebrities from science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other pop culture genres.

This year was a tad different as this was the first year that I presented a panel at an AVC event. I’ve done a number of panels over the years, many of them with my friends in Southern Geek and a few by myself, but this was really the first time that I did a panel on my own at a convention with very few of my friends in attendance. My panel was about blind bag collectibles and while my audience was small, it was very engaging. I learned a lot from the experience and hope to offer up another panel next year.

I got to attend multiple panels at Louisiana Comic Con this year. When I first started attending conventions I spent most of my time in the fan group or vendor area but have grown to really love attending panels. My favorite panel at the convention was by Scott Innes, voice of Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred Flinstone, Elroy Jetson, and many more characters. Innes told the crowd about his life on the radio, writing music, and voicing some of the most beloved characters in animation history. He would easily jump from one character voice to another and even gave us a replay of Shaggy and Scooby arguing over food (surprise, surprise). I also enjoyed panels by Little Red Fox Cosplay and the Drag Punks.

Of course, no convention is complete without a few celebrities, and Louisiana Comic Con had them in spades. This time around I got autographs and photos with Denise Crosby (Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Walking Dead, the original Pet Sematary) and Amy Dumas (Lita from WWE). Other celebrities in attendance included Kel Mitchell, Austin St. John, Walter Jones, Jamie Marchi, and Kate Flannery, among others.

Both Ms. Crosby and Ms. Dumas were great to meet. They were extremely friendly and appeared to be genuinely happy to meet their fans. Ms. Crosby loved the fact that she was given Mardi Gras beads! It was really nice meeting both of them.

Cosplayers are a staple at most conventions, so it wasn’t a shock to see quite a few at LCC. Two of my favorites were a gentleman dressed as Doc Brown from Back To The Future and another fellow dressed as everyone’s favorite Cajun mutant, Gambit! There were many more cosplayers in attendance and all of them looked great.

I capped off my day at the convention with a trip to the official after party at Caffe Cottage on St. Mary Blvd. Hosted by the Drag Punks and Orion’s Envy, the event featured karaoke and drag performances. I braved the stage for my take on KISS’ classic ballad, Beth, and then enjoyed the performances by everyone else. It was a really fun time and my first drag show!

I left the after party a little bit before the show ended (I’m old. I know) and headed back home to the Lake Charles area. I wasn’t able to attend the second day of the event, but based on pictures and comments on social media, it was just as fun as the first day. I will definitely be returning next year and can’t wait for Louisiana Comic Con to return!

Thanks for reading my post. I’ll be heading to CyPhaCon next month and will have a full report on that event as well. If you would like me to attend your event or know of one that I should attend, let me know in the comments!