No More Muta...I mean, CONVENTIONS!!!
Torchsong
Posts: 2,794
Unrelated to the thread about SDCC Nostalgia, which you should also read, this is a discussion that's been brewing for awhile on my facebook feed.
Simply put: Do we have too many comic/pop-culture related conventions now? Not enough?
Where I live (Arizona) we have two fairly good-sized conventions, a smattering (let's say 3) of smaller satellite conventions, and now there's talk of bringing a third large convention in. Our story is not unique. Many larger cities have figured out that comic conventions can be profitable ventures, and have glommed onto them after seeing the success of (relatively) new conventions like NYCC, Phoenix, Emerald City, etc.
It seems we have a new convention to go to every weekend, and while that sounds like absolute bliss for the comic nerd, it presents a few problems: 1) Who can afford to go to them all, pay the admission fees, lodging, etc., and still have enough $$ to spread around to make it profitable for the artists, and 2) As a creator, how can you find the money and time to attend them and still make funnybooks?
Of course you don't have to go to all of them, and smaller places that only have one small convention are certainly fine. But when there's five or more conventions in the same area, each pandering to the same demographic...something has to give somewhere. And it seems like more and more of them keep popping up.
Thoughts? Agree/Disagree?
Simply put: Do we have too many comic/pop-culture related conventions now? Not enough?
Where I live (Arizona) we have two fairly good-sized conventions, a smattering (let's say 3) of smaller satellite conventions, and now there's talk of bringing a third large convention in. Our story is not unique. Many larger cities have figured out that comic conventions can be profitable ventures, and have glommed onto them after seeing the success of (relatively) new conventions like NYCC, Phoenix, Emerald City, etc.
It seems we have a new convention to go to every weekend, and while that sounds like absolute bliss for the comic nerd, it presents a few problems: 1) Who can afford to go to them all, pay the admission fees, lodging, etc., and still have enough $$ to spread around to make it profitable for the artists, and 2) As a creator, how can you find the money and time to attend them and still make funnybooks?
Of course you don't have to go to all of them, and smaller places that only have one small convention are certainly fine. But when there's five or more conventions in the same area, each pandering to the same demographic...something has to give somewhere. And it seems like more and more of them keep popping up.
Thoughts? Agree/Disagree?
Comments
As for how many is too many. I have since 2005 caught ons con every other year. for whatever reason fate conspires to only allow me to attend on odd numbered years.
But are there too many? I'm going to say no (right now anyway). Every con I go to more people are there than the previous year, so I guess supply and demand wins out. I never thought I'd live to see that day where cons are fighting over guests like something from your childhood. Great for us comic guys, no matter where you are you can find a con. Ten years ago I was planning my vacations around cons before, and would go to Baltimore for instance and make a road trip out of it. Now it's silly, just wait till next weekend and another con will be close!
Now this year we are going to have the Great Lakes Comics Convention (a much smailler show in February), D-Luxe Convention (a martial arts themed pop culture show i.e. TMNT in March) and the Midwest Media Expo in April. The MME touts themselves as being about everything that is not comics. This is being put on by the same folks that do Youmacon.
So while we have added a few shows in just the last year. Most offering a niche rather than a large everything con. Detroit Fanfare is my con of choice now based on price and the pretty much the same vendors show up as the ones at MCCC.
Amazing recently finished and I was quite surprised at how well I did (when I did it the previous year it was dead). Many of my fellow artists reported very lackluster sales. It's quite good if you're a comic enthusiast and don't care as much about the pop-culture aspect (although that's certain there for you). Many comic vendors along with merchandise stalls. Very few panels or celebrity guests. Some attendees complained about the price of getting in...they didn't have much to spend on the actual floor.
Phoenix Con is growing exponentially. I tend to do well at it, but the focus there seems to be less about mainstream books and more about celeb guests. Indie sales are usually pretty solid there (thank God! :) ) but it's always a crapshoot as to how you'll do. Many artists and creators were turned away this year because they sold out of tables EXTREMELY early. It's a very busy convention. VERY busy...
So both have their upsides and downsides.
It is odd to me that comic movies do great numbers, comic cons are breaking records, and yet comics sell in such small numbers.
From a popularity/spreading the gospel angle, it's great to have so many conventions.
Where it gets to be problematic is on the financial side and the time side - on both sides of the table. A fan only has so much $$ they can spend and a con "can" be (note the quotes) an expensive endeavor. If you spent $60 to get in the door (what I'm told Amazing was charging this past month), $12 for parking, and you only have a $100 budget...well, that's about $28 to spend. Don't get hungry. This was a very real problem experienced by many of my colleagues at this past convention - many people looking, very few with any money to actually spend. Freakishly, I did great, but I cater to a sick and twisted niche audience. :) Multiply this by 3 or 4 times a year, and it's an oversaturation of the marketplace.
But for artists it's equally difficult. If I have three conventions in my local area, there's an obligation to attend them - people ask if I'll be there, I feel I need to show up, etc. - tables aren't free to people like me, plus there's just the expense of getting stuff printed up and ready for the convention, etc. There too...if I'm meeting fans, shaking hands getting home only to plan my next trip out...when do I actually work on my funnybooks? :)
None of this is me whining, even if it comes off that way. I have a ball doing conventions, I enjoy meeting people and hanging out...but there is a commitment and financial angle to it that can get spread very thin very quickly. I think Kevin Maguire said he was slated to attend some 20-30 conventions already this year.
I've only been to one major con, and yeah, that was pricy. I can see how going to lots of cons in lots of big cities could kill you financially.
But I went to several smaller cons that were like $5 admission and free parking, and people spent money. Tonight my son went to a small anime con at Alma College in Michigan. It was $5. I think there is an intense desire for people with these kind of interests to share their subculture. Hopefully artists and vendors are making money at these things. I think if you know how to organize a con you can probably do well also.
Financially I think I can only swing Detroit Fanfare. $20 ticket 3 days and free parking. Maybe pick one of the three new ones.
In early 2017, Comic Con International renews their contract with the San Diego Convention Center. The Con opens at 5:57 p.m. on Wednesday, July 19th, 2017 for Preview Night. As the crowds flood in, the Convention Center is filled to capacity, common sense is removed from decision-making. The Con begins making bad decisions at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 p.m. Pacific time, July 22nd. In a panic, the organizers try to create another release-valve show near Los Angeles.
The Con fights back.
It absorbs all other conventions, including the release-valve show. On July 22nd, 2017, three billion humans are financially ruined as The Con consumes all of their funds. Survivors of the financial devastation called it the Double H War, named after Hall H, where it is believed sentience began for The Con.