Tom Spurgeon is still putting together a collective memory, but catches up with main man Dustin Harbin for a wrap-up:
HARBIN: I think last year we estimated our numbers at between 10,000 and 12,000 through the weekend. We don’t have the complete numbers back yet, and even then they’re never complete — there are the hundreds of pros and dealers and guests and press and all that to think about, and we give away a lot of passes throughout the year. Shelton thinks we were about even with last year, which was a pretty good year attendance-wise. It’s hard for me to estimate, as last year we were in an 80,000 square foot hall and this year moved to a 100,000 square foot hall. I thought Friday was down, but dealers seemed pleased with the traffic and if there was anyone who would complain about numbers it’s the dealers.
Elsewhere, Craig Fischer ignores a Klingon woman’s dire prophecy to have a fun show anyway. Liz Baillie had a little ennui:
Generally the show itself was pretty slow, and although I did not do as well as I normally do at shows, I did well enough that I would consider coming back next year (if I can convince even more of my friends to not drop out). I made the excellent choice of doing a series of 12 small superhero-themed watercolor and ink drawings to sell at Heroes for extra money, as well as choosing to charge $10 for sketches. This netted me about $85 extra that I wouldn’t have made otherwise, and definitely made a big chunk of a difference in the final tally, especially when comparing this year’s sales to last year’s.
But she perks things up when dressing as Alec Longstreth to surprise Jeff Smith (above.)
At any rate, it sounds like it wasn’t a barn burner or a game changer, and the economy may have had a little effect, but it was still a good show and e-comics were much on people’s minds, as the Van Jensen/Cheryl Harris report for PW Comics Week makes clear.
Heroes Con was FANTASTIC!
So many kids. It’s the BEST show for family friendly creators.
I pretty much sold out of all of our books and toys. It was just incredible.
Any con that is as kid friendly as this is worth EVERYONE’S attention and praise.
Thanks to all who put it on.
See you guys next year for sure.
Yeah, it was another fantastic Heroes Con. I think attendance was ’round about what it was last year, although it probably looked sparer to the eye because it was in a different area of the convention center that was 10,000 sqft bigger. As usual, art was king and there were tons of folks buying sketches and original art. If you’re really into convention minutiae, you can see my rundown here:
http://www.benzilla.com/?p=1653
But, in short, another fun Heroes show.
Greatly enjoyed Liz Baillie’s blog report, it was loads of fun to read. Very refreshing and entertaining, and good photos also. Thanks so much for posting the link.
I love the idea of Alec Longstreth cosplay.