L.A. Comic Con is a three-day multi-genre convention held annually in downtown Los Angeles, California. L.A. Comic Con is one of the largest independent conventions in the United States and encompasses several categories, including comic, horror, sci-fi, anime, gaming, and pop culture, with a particular focus on the local Los Angeles community. The convention was founded as Comikaze Expo in 2011 by Regina Carpinelli and her two younger brothers, fans of geek culture from Temecula, California. The convention went through several rebrandings – first to "Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo" and then "Stan Lee's LA Comic Con". L.A. Comic Con is also known as "LACC" and is often described as "A convention created by fans, for fans." Originally founded as an event to showcase local Los Angeles talent, the first Comikaze Expo in 2011 primarily featured local artists, comic book publishers and dealers, and various celebrity appearances including horror icon Elvira. The convention has grown since then to include a wider variety of entertainment and popular cultures including fantasy, horror, comic books, manga, western animation, toys, and video games. The Con has grown in size every year, starting with 35,000 attendees in 2011 and expanding to over 123,000 attendees in 2019. The convention has drawn big names to match its big crowds, with celebrities like Elijah Wood, Ron Perlman, Gabriel Iglesias, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and Gerard Way attending in years' past. History Regina Carpinelli and her two younger brothers, fans of geek culture from Temecula, California, were regular attendees of San Diego Comic-Con International. After moving to Los Angeles, Regina Carpinelli decided that the city needed a large-scale comic book convention. The three Carinellis set up Comikaze Entertainment Inc. and started out to organize one. The first event, called Comikaze Expo, was held on November 5–6, 2011 in the Kentia Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The large exhibitor space featured local artists, tattoo artists, comic book dealers, comic book publishers, press vendors, designers and collectibles merchants. There was an Artists' Alley where celebrities and artists signed autographs and sold portraits. Traditional contests and gaming tournaments included the Cosplay Contest, the Masquerade, Magic The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Warhammer, and several original Nintendo games. There were also panels featuring various celebrities, reunions, and upcoming feature films. Among the events was horror icon Elvira's last convention appearance. There were about 35,000 attendees throughout the weekend. In 2012, veteran creator Stan Lee and