Comikaze Expo came and went–it was a whirlwind of a weekend for our lady geeks. It was the first time that all of the Los Angeles based Defective Geeks went together as a team to rigorously cover an event. For two days, the Space Pirate Queen, Gizzy B, Fortune Cookie and Sailor Mizz ran about the convention floor to try and see as much as we can.

Comikaze was a definite success with 40,000 attendees, big guest stars and a constantly crowded exhibit hall. We did a million interviews and took a million photos. We will slowly but surely post video interviews as we get them together so stand by for some awesome content! A special shout out and thank you to the boys– Nick, Joaquin and Steve– from Red Sheep Productions for volunteering as our film crew for the entire weekend.

For now, read each of our TOP FIVE highlights from the convention!

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Part of the line at 9am on Saturday.

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by Lisa Foiles

Look, I know what you’re thinking: “Lisa Foiles isn’t qualified to write a Top 10 list! She’s only good at Top 5 lists, like on her Internet show called ‘Top 5 with Lisa Foiles,’ which was awesome until she canceled it and made all of her fans super cranky!”

Well, I’ll have you know that the number ‘10’ is, mathematically speaking, twice the number ‘5.’ So, in mathematical terms, this list could potentially be TWICE as awesome as one of my normal Top 5 lists. Sure, there’s no silly video and you have no idea if I’m wearing a cute outfit while typing this or not, but I assure you – Comikaze Expo has so many awesome events and special guests to talk about, this list practically writes itself.

photo by Comikaze Expo

Sit back, relax, pour yourself a non-alcoholic beverage if you’ll be driving or are a child, and get ready to purchase wheelbarrow-loads of $12 Comikaze tickets, because this list is the most convincing piece of “journalism” you’ll read all day:

#10. Comic books, comic books, comic books!

Comikaze is ALL about comics: The event will have a DC presence, as well as all of the best indie publishers. We’re talking over 200 vendors! That’s a significantly large 3-digit number! And with Comikaze’s $12 tickets, you’ll have plenty of moneyz leftover for shopping.

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There’s been a lot of buzz in the nerd community about Los Angeles’ newest and most kick-ass comic book convention, Comikaze Expo. The woman behind the legend is Regina Carpinelli, a real life Wonder Woman and she has been working non-stop (seriously… non-stop) to make this convention mind-blowing-ly awesome.

I started talking to Regina by chance when they contacted Defective Geeks because they picked up one of our cards from Fortune Cookie’s artist alley table at Anime Expo. Right away she embraced our team and our blog like we were old pals and we met her in person at San Diego Comic Con this year. She has kept us involved with Comikaze ever since and we love her for it. Can I just gush for a moment and say what a funny and energetic lady geek she is?

Comikaze Expo is going to have an epic first year and we think you better be there with us. You bet Team Defective Geeks will be representing. For now, get to know Regina a little better and read our interview with her.

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How did you come up with the name of the convention? What’s the story behind the octopus logo? Do you wish you could have a real, giant octopus as a mascot during the convention?

CARPINELLI: We chose the name “Comikaze” for a few reasons. We feel that there is only ONE “Comic-Con” and it lives in San Diego. A lot of other shows use the name Comic-Con to ride the coattails of San Diego’s success, but they are in no way affiliated. We have a lot of respect for SDCC, but we wanted to create something unique; we are our own brand. The name Comikaze makes perfect sense, since we planned on doing a full on LA Invasion. We pretty much “Kamikaze’d” the geek world – we just came out of the blue!

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Many of us (at least people my age) grew up watching a lot of Nickelodeon and we all remember All That, a live-action comedy sketch show that mimicked Saturday Night Live— except it was for kids! I’ve spent a lot of afternoons watching the show and giggling. Many of the former All That cast members are reuniting for the first time at Comikaze Expo. How fun is it to see all of them all ‘grown up’ as well?

Alisa Reyes, one of All That‘s child star and now currently gorgeous actress with shows like NYPD Blue and Boston Public on her growing resumé, will be at the convention as a guest of honor.

Seriously though, how pretty is she? Not only is she super busy acting on screen, Alisa has also done many voices for animated shows. Plus, she is also writing, singing and producing movies! She certainly have come a long way since her Nickelodeon years. For your chance to see Alisa in person, along with Kel Mitchell, Lisa Folies, Katrina Johnson, Jack DeSena and many more, please join us at Comikaze Expo on November 5th and 6th this year at the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Alisa was very kind to take the time and answer some questions for Defective Geeks.

How excited are you to have an ‘All That’ reunion at Comikaze Expo? Are you surprised by the amount of fans who have responded postiively to the event?

REYES: It’s truly amazing. The fans from day one is what makes the show what it still is today. All That is currently airing on Teen Nick right now because they petitioned to get it back on the air. The show has been a hit for a decade and being a part of the original cast is an honor. I am not at all surprised by all the love and support because its been like that since the beginning. When you have a generation that loves this type of show, then it’s an uphill journey of nothing but love. That’s why I am so psyched to do this expo.

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Comikaze Expo has released a new commercial featuring Stan Lee. Los Angeles geeks, you have no excuse to not be at the convention in November– or else you will make Stan ‘The Man’ Lee angry! You don’t want him mad, do you?

Don’t forget, Comikaze Expo is giving discounts to people who bought tickets to Wizard World Los Angeles (recently cancelled). Go to their website at www.ComikazeExpo.com for more information.

Wizard World have yet again postponed (aka cancelled) their Los Angeles comic con show. This isn’t the first time it has happened and it took Wizard a few years before they even returned the show to California in Anaheim instead of L.A. Alas, many have already bought their tickets and even worse, some have said they’ve paid for non-refundable hotel rooms. Ugh!

For one, I do hate to see a comic convention get canned at any level… even though there is going to be other local conventions that will fill the void. The most unfortunate part is that they’ve decided to cancel at the last minute. I can’t imagine how many peoples’ plans got fucked up over it.

Alas, what can we do at a time like this?

Fortunately for all of us SoCal residents, our geek ally, Comikaze Expo have stepped up to the plate. Last night, they’ve announced on twitter and facebook that attendees can redeem their Wizard World LA ticket for a $5 admission ticket to Comikaze in November. Pretty sweet deal, right? Not only do you get your WWLA ticket refunded (I hope) but you get a giant discount to attend a different show.

Below is Comikaze’s official statement from their blog.

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