BlasterCON Small Blast Needs More Fuel

BlasterCon blasted it's way into the con scene of LA over the weekend attempting to bring back the sci-fi cons of yesteryear. Taking place at the Woodland Hill Marriot over May 10-12. the con was plotted to be a remembrance of Sci-Fi's past achievements, but also mixed new nerd hobbies. This was a hard attempt as there are so many specific cons in LA for so many different sci-fi and fantasy genres. You might recall the Doctor Who convention took place at the same time as the Star Trek Convention not too long ago. Xena's convention wasn't too long ago either, even the awful Comikaze expo has kept going being bought by Stan Lee as he drives to do more even though he stopped being good at things years ago. Just be in cameos Stan.

With the revitalization of science fiction it seems like it should have a larger turnout, but it seemed to lack an audience. It was set against the Long Beach Comic-Con too.

There were some fun events to attend and some entertaining speakers, the Cantina arcade idea was a nice concept as well. Old-school arcade machines around a stage with live bands.

There were some interesting groups to meet like the guys behind Random Encounters. AJ, Peter and Co created video game musicals and silly videos for your viewing pleasure. They had a panel and showed off there work and talked a little about their process. Check out "This Isn't A Car" a joke on the Dark Night Rises. There also building up for the next Brawl (whenever that comes out) with special ending like the Marvel universe films. A call from AJ's Mom as it was Mother's Day had attendee's yelling praise for her help in raising him with a big, "Happy Mother's Day!" to add to the silliness of the panel.

Let's go back to the Catina. There were different nerd bands playing throughout the festival all while you could play some classic arcade machines. This included Holoseium, a very old machine that uses early 3D technology to give the appearance of 3D.

Then you had some nerd-centric bands playing in the background. I heard a remix of the Cantina band's song in a rock style.

The exhibit hall had very little happening. You could chat with Cleve Hall, a special effects guru or maybe Bill Blair, whose known for being a background alien in tons of films, but little else. You could learn about the Star Trek New Starship Restoration Project. Nothing really seemed to click.

The laser tag area was kind of silly, it was too small to be enjoyed fully.

Starting a con can be hard, but I think the main problem was a lack of community behind it. It wasn't though a group of fans came together for it, but in the same vain the recent San Fernando Valley Con was only about business. No special events or meeting rooms, just an exhibit hall and signings, nut it lasted just a few hours and in a much smaller space.

BlasterCON needs to improve with the sci-fi community of LA. Like any con if you go to try and have fun you will, but there needs to be a lot more people to attend.