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Only three months to New York Comic Con! Planning is well underway. Three- and four-day passes are sold out but individual days are available.

— Panel proposals are due at the end of the month.

— On Facebook I saw several artists complaining that the cost of a table in Artist Alley had gone up—to $500 for a full table and $300 for a half table from….free. Bit of a wounder there. Also, if Twitter is to be believed, a LOT of people didn’t get tables in AA. High demand.

— Pros were also complaining about having to pay $25 for a badge. Of course, people like to complain about such things, but…hey, there is a huge demand for this show as well. It’s market price, unfortunately.

7 COMMENTS

  1. This is my first ever NYCC, so I was unaware of the free, or comped Artist Alley tables. I was lucky to get picked, so I will be there and I have no problem paying $500 (but that’s me). I have always paid for my table at every convention I’ve exhibited. But I’m not an A-list artist, so I understand. I wonder if SDCC will start charging for Artist Alley space in the future?

  2. I was denied a retailer pro badge (not “management”), so I’ll probably end up buying individual tickets. No biggee, it was nice getting the discount, but I don’t mind paying full price.

    Why the sudden change in table rents? Why wasn’t this announced last Winter? Why not allow those exhibiting in Artists Alley and elsewhere the ability to re-up in advance before the show closes? And let attendees buy tickets for the next year as well, just like San Diego did.

    If Artists Alley is curated to some degree, then why not announce the selection in Spring, so that those left out can plan alternatives with time to spare?

    Last year was a mess, with the construction, color-coded entrances, and bottlenecks. If the convention attendance zeitgeist continues (Denver, Calgary, TCAF, Manchester), then I expect 120K+. Yup. San Diego East, in a more compact building. Or Times Square New Years Eve, without the police presence. I do hope they allow entrance to Artists Alley from the outside, to reduce the deluge at Javitz.

    Perhaps it’s time for a Tr!ckster East? Hold it at Chelsea Piers?

  3. Heidi,

    The only tables that used to be free at New York Comic Con were the tables for big named stars in the comic industry. Everyone else has always had to pay, myself included. Now the problem with that is this… those big name stars don’t NEED to go to the Con’s like many indy creators. So asking the to pay is simply going to make less of them attend. While this might free up space, it is those same stars that many of the fans are there to see.

    Now, here is my gripe and I would like you to look into this and do a post about it. I go to many of the big conventions. I have never had a problem getting an Artist Alley table until now. There are many people that I see at every one of the shows I am attending that have also not gotten a table for NYCC. One of these people, Laura-Lee Gulledge, has 2 graphic novels published by Amulet Books and has been nominated for an Eisner Award. How come she was denied a table? I have had a table in Artist Alley for the last 4 years. This year, I was snubbed. This is why we are upset. And I think that fans of Indy Comics should really start thinking twice before attending shows like NYCC in the future.

    Anyone willing to help, log onto Facebook and voice your displeasure on New York Comic Con’s page. Let’s create a ruckus to get some Indy Creators back on the show floor.

    James Mascia

  4. I was surprised to learn that so many of our friends had been getting a free ride until this year! This will be our third year at a table, and we’ve always had to pay full price. Is there a word for “jealousy of stuff that happened in the past”?

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