Tokyo Comic Con 2022 2 2

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

OK, this won't really have much to do with Golden Age comics and probably would be better suited for Comics General or something. But I don't post there and thought the gang here might appreciate a little bit of a look at Tokyo's version of Comic Con. Finding myself in Tokyo during what I think is a licensed version of Comic Con from the folks in San Diego I made arrangements to get tickets for my wife and myself. For starters the venue is not actually in Tokyo but about a 30 minute train ride from Tokyo station on the JR (Japan Railways) Keiyo line at the Makuhari Event Hall out close to Chiba Japan. I didn't know what to expect so after a little detour getting on the wrong train we made it out to the station servicing the show in about 45 minutes. We headed out a little later in the day not wanting to deal with what we thought might be big crowds. I don't know if the lines were long in the morning or not but when we got there about 2 PM or so it was fairly quiet but the queue line itself went on and on!! Let's head in now.

OK we must be heading to the right place!

The walkway to the venue itself was quite long.

But finally it comes into view!

On the way in we passed by the present boxes for the quests right out in the open; wish I'd seen Andy Serkis as I'd met him years ago but we didn't run into him.

Then we got in the queue which was empty and starting walking.

And walking...

And walking.... if you look ahead you will see Iron Man slowly making his way through the line.

We overtook Iron Man and took some photos; he seemed glad of the break.

The finally after twenty minutes we made it into the show!

 

Finally in the show at the Con Merchandise booth.

Edited December 3, 2022 by 50YrsCollctngCmcs

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

As for the dealers; boy it was light. And there were practically no comics. There was one English dealer with comics but that was it; I wasn't expecting comics but had hoped to find some vintage manga dealers. No such luck though.

Hey kids Comics!

More typical booths looked like this; lots of toys and figures.

And of course you have to have T-shirts.

And this booth was sort of fascinating but I couldn't figure out what it really was.

 

Edited December 3, 2022 by 50YrsCollctngCmcs

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

But hey it's Tokyo so we really came to see the Cosplayers and we weren't disappointed. They were pretty much everywhere. The quality of the costumes is really phenomenal and most folks are quite happy to be photographed. I don't know who all these characters are but it was still fun.

I liked how this guy did this Marvel mashup in his wheelchair!

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

There were some interesting prop displays from our US movies that the fans seemed to like.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

But then there was a large booth with a long line and we went in and were simply astounded at what we saw. Incredible figures. I'm not a figure guy but this stuff was amazing and the range of subjects fascinating.

 

Wow this one blew my mind!

Batman's lair!

A LOTR lineup

Just some crazy pieces.

And of course Godzilla!

And if you want to buy one just bring some serious yen. That's a bit over $1100 for the Poison Ivy piece.

 

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

We sort of thought we'd seen it all but then realized hiding in another part of the venue were three more attractions. To get there you had to go by what amounts to Hall H here. It seemed to mostly be sort of teen idols singing when we were there. We didn't linger or go in but access was certainly available.

Here's the program; Google Translate on your phone is your friend in Japan.

Rules are ubiquitous here and you'll note English is usually provided with the rules; not they think English speakers will break them or anything.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

The we came across a display of movie vehicles and Terminator figures. Cool stuff too.

There were lots more vehicles from other movies but I didn't get pictures. Next time.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

Then we found yet another hall which had the DC and Marvel booths. The Marvel booth had the longest line we had seen to date so we skipped it but here it is in the hall

.

The DC booth had no line so we went in and it contained some very interesting surprises.It wasn't much to look at from outside though.

On entering we came across this gentlemen selling these beautifully gold thread embroidered pieces of clothing inspired by DC characters. Beautiful one of a kind and expensive!

Then a history of DC comics in Japanese. This is when I wish I could read the language.

A hall of full size heroes came next!

And a promotion for the upcoming Black Adam movie.

And a costume inspired by the Fleischer cartoons.

And I thought this was really great; a mural being created in the booth!

This DC fan left with a big smile on his face!

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

All good things come to an end though and we headed up some stairs to head back to Tokyo. Here's a shot of the hall on the way out. By the way our ticket did not allow us access to the area in the foreground which is where you paid extra to meet guests and get their autographs.

We found out one of the best sushi restaurants in the Chiba area was right next to the train station so we stopped in for dinner, sake and a beer. If you like Sushi I will make you jealous as that dinner was about $20. each and it was as fresh as it looks.

Edited December 3, 2022 by 50YrsCollctngCmcs

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

So I hope you enjoyed the report and can maybe glean a little bit of comics culture in Asia from the shots. We had fun and would go back as it was a unique experience. I am still on the hunt for old Manga here in Tokyo and so far have only found the used book shops in the Jimbocho area with some sources. American comics are like hen's teeth here; really not to be found except for one store I have found with a stash but no one is interested it would seem.

Oh and here is one photo I neglected to post but I thought was a nice touch. A tribute to Stan Lee in the hall.

Edited December 3, 2022 by 50YrsCollctngCmcs

[Aman619]

omoshidoi, neh?

[lou_fine]

On 12/2/2022 at 8:15 PM, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

As for the dealers; boy it was light. And there were practically no comics. There was one English dealer with comics but that was it;

Are you sure Harley wasn't there since he I believe he used to love going to these exotic locales to set up at shows simply so that he can write off these vacation trips of his?  

[aardvark88]

On 12/2/2022 at 9:37 PM, lou_fine said:

Are you sure Harley wasn't there since he I believe he used to love going to these exotic locales to set up at shows simply so that he can write off these vacation trips of his?  

Harley used to have a rule that he does not sell at con # 1 of an event unless he personally knows the (competent) promoter. By con # 2, they usually fix all the problems from event # 1 with fans, collectors, dealer's access, media guests and more target advertising.

[707comics]

Looks like an awesome trip, thanks for sharing!

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

On 12/3/2022 at 2:37 PM, lou_fine said:

Are you sure Harley wasn't there since he I believe he used to love going to these exotic locales to set up at shows simply so that he can write off these vacation trips of his?  

No I would certainly noticed Harley! That would have been a fun meeting!

[GreatCaesarsGhost]

Thank you for posting this fascinating world

[TupennyConan]

On 12/2/2022 at 11:10 PM, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

OK, 

Thanks for the posts.

Attendance looks light. What day & time did you take these photos? How would you judge the turnout?  

[1950's war comics]

hard to believe a comic con had only one small dealer with comics, the US comic cons seem to be heading in that same direction...

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

On 12/3/2022 at 9:55 PM, TupennyConan said:

Thanks for the posts.

Attendance looks light. What day & time did you take these photos? How would you judge the turnout?  

It was Saturday afternoon and it did seem light but the hall was gigantic so it’s a little deceiving. Lots of non Japanese in attendance too.

[alexgross.com]

loved seeing this, thanks for sharing. although i confess to some disappointment at not seeing more schoolgirl miniskirt type costumes!