LA Comic Con ’23: Brendan’s Swag Brag

One of my favorite things about conventions is the abundance of niche nerdy merchandise available for purchase under one roof. This is a blessing and a curse, since the stuff is usually not cheap, and it’s not easy getting everything into the suitcase to get back home.

The first souvenirs of the weekend didn’t actually come from the con. Comicon EiC Erik Amaya, Don’t Hide PR’s Melissa Meszaros, and I headed to Sumo+Sushi’s sold out show at The Barker Hangar on Friday night. There was no way in hell I was missing this show. Konishiki, the first gaijin to reach ōzeki, the second-highest possible rank in sumo, emceed an incredibly educational and entertaining event. I picked up this shirt and a sumo wrestler stress toy to commemorate the occasion. 

Next up, I grabbed this blind box from Sumerian Comics. Sumerian is the rebrand of Behemoth Comics, which was founded back in 2020. They kind of live in a weird horror space, but also have a bunch of licensed titles, like American Psycho and Basic Instinct. I love the weird shit, and I love horror, so I’m excited to break the seal on this to see what I ended up with. 

I grabbed this next item, because LOOK!!! It’s a horror themed drinking board game. I love every bit of this. You can find Drunk Tales and the Spooky Brews themed cocktail book at this link.

And then, there are the comics. I grabbed a few weird indie horror books and hit the bargain boxes for a holiday comics gift exchange. It’s kind of a white elephant thing. One of these $2 pulls is signed. I don’t recognize the scrawl, but it’s on there. 

I was on my way out of the convention center on the last day of the con, and I happened to see the booth for Enso Rings. I’ve worn several different brands of silicone rings. These are soft and comfortable, and they don’t collect fuzz the way some others on the market do. Enso has collaborations with Marvel, DC, Disney, Pixar, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. I picked up the Grogu ring.

And, finally, the crown jewel of this trip. I have been carrying this replica Goonies doubloon with me to every convention for more than a year, just in case I was at a show where Sean Astin was signing. I always seem to just miss his signing windows, either because I’m interviewing, covering a panel, moderating a panel, or simply unaware he was in attendance. Anyway, the stars aligned this past weekend, and I got my signature. Now I need to find a way to display this thing.