Martha Donato’s MAD Event Management announced this week that Stan Lee will open the first Long Beach Comic Con with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a private meet-and-greet with five fans drawn from advance order weekend pass-holders.  The show, October 2-4, will be held at the Long Beach Convention Center, site of the annual Anime Expo and past Wizard World events. 

Donato is a long-time Wizard veteran who struck out on her own with MAD last year. 

Wizard CEO Gareb Shamus announced that after a year off, his company would return to the LA area with a show at the Anahim Convention Center next spring (see “Wizard Returns to SoCal”).