Long Beach Comic-Con has undergone a variety of transformations. It used to be a place where non-attendees could, at the very least, enjoy the cool cars parked at the Long Beach Convention Center. Last year’s edition was considerably scaled back, limited to one room and no cars in sight.

Starting in 2009, Long Beach Comic-Con started small and grew. Nathan Fillion and friends were at a panel for a reunion of the “Firefly” with Sean Maher, Jewel Staite, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin  and PJ Haarsma) as well as a panel on his web series “Con Man”  in 2016.

Before that, Long Beach Comic-Con tried to include Horror fans as “Long Beach Comic & Horror Con,” beginning in 2011  but reverting back to its original name in 2014.

We had a poignant moment there when there was a moment of silence to mark Leonard Nimoy’s death. We had time to chat with Stan Sakai. There were some questionable moments like the makeup transformation of a semi-nude female model. Wrestling has been featured. But there has also been a reliable presence of the Long Beach Public Library booth close to the Downey Columbia Memorial Space Center for its Space Expo booth.

Long Beach Comic-Con changed hands just before it opened last year and given the time frame, we want to give it some grace for the small turnout and one-room exhibit hall. On the good side, you didn’t have to hunt for the rooms. On the bad side, you could easily cover the exhibition hall in a couple of hours.

In Long Beach Comic-Con’s favor, they do have restaurants a short walk away. You can just cross the street.

Long Beach Comic-Con 2025 suffered in comparison to the Ontario Comic Con Revolution 2026. CCR  only began in 2017 by Atomic Crush events. Founders Mike Scigliano, Drew Seldin, and James Ross wanted CCR to be more comic-centric and creator-focused, something like the early San Diego Comic-Con. It has hosted large reunions of franchises like “Battlestar Galactica” and “Sonic the Hedgehog.” This year it hosted a reunion for “The Flash.” Unlike LA Comic-Con or SDCC, you actually had time to speak with your favorite stars.

The con also features the kind of cool cars you’d expect. Tickets are easy to come by even on the day of.

Comic-Con Revolution  is extremely family-friendly and affordable. Parking is easy to find and you can even find street parking late in the day (Sunday) You can easily drive to restaurants that are affordable. Right now it is the better deal, but Long Beach does have location in its favor.

What will happen with Long Beach Comic-Con in its convenient location is something we’ll have to wait and see.

For tickets and more information, visit LongBeachComicCon.com.