Conventions

As former Comic-Con attendees noted on Monday, a whole new system for getting badges is being implemented—even for people who are already in the system for having a badge. Affecting pros, press and volunteers, the new system requires you to create your own Member ID and password, type in a really tough captcha and confirm and then then....wait for the next step. The system is sufficiently difficult that they made a 2+ minute video showing you how to do it.

The Maine Comics and Art Festival -- which will be held Sunday, May 20th in Portland, ME -- has announced its first two guests: Kate Beaton and Kazu Kibuishi. This is a nice show in a nice venue that has a strongly family-oriented focus. We're not aware of too many shows that have so much kid-friendly material front and center and it's good to hear the show is still going strong with a marquee guest like Beaton.

Although we think San Diego is the biggest and the craziest comics event on earth, all dedicated conologists know that Japan's Comiket is actually the biggest. Held twice a year, the Winter edition just wrapped up and over 500,000 people attended the three-day festival. The incredible thing about Comiket is that it is an amateur press show: the fans are there to buy doujinshi -- fanzines based on popular manga by "amateur" creators. We know Japan is full of amazing wonders and enigmas, but the huge popularity of fanfic is definitely among them.

Carol Lay, Scott Snyder and Wil Wheaton have been added to the Wonder-Con guest list. In another Wonder-Con note, hotel rooms are now available at the Anaheim Hilton, and they are pretty reasonable. Another reason why WonderCon is the relaxing con!

Finally a place big enough for Comic-Con -- a proposed 3.8 million square foot exhibition hall and hotel suggested by New York State governor Andrew Cuomo. the vast complex would also house a casino nearby -- very handy to gamble your profits from selling mint copies of Spider-Man #583. Sure it's in Jamaica, Queens right next to the Aqueduct race track....but at least it's big enough!

Adi Granov has supplied the cover for the 2012 edition of MONSTERS & DAMES, the art book crated in conjunction with the Emerald City Comicon each year. The cover provides both a monster and a dame, so it is well within the theme. Check out the link for much more art. This year's ECCC will be held March 30-April 1st in Seattle, WA.

New York Comic Con is rapidly developing into a delirious East Coast roughhouse fan slam of a pop culture scrum -- so let's see how they handle ticket sales. For everyone serious about going to the gym AND getting a head start on their 2012, 4-day NYCC tickets go on-sale TODAY at noon EST. A four-day pass is $85 -- a price which holds until 10/8, when it goes up to $100. The PR release makes note of a couple of things -- there will be more programming on Thursday. Everyone noted that the "pro" panels were pretty thin that day so maybe those will be increased. The show floor is also opening earlier on Thursday -- 3 pm to 9 pm.

Image Expo, the February show that both fills the Northern California comic-con slot and gives Image a place to publicly celebrate their 20th anniversary, has announced more guests, including Blair Butler, Kevin Mellon, John Layman, Rob Guillory, and Nick Spencer. In addition, Jennifer de Guzman interviewed the principals for PW Comics World:

Wizard World without Gareb Shamus. The entire idea would have seemed ridiculous until just a few days ago when an SEC filing revealed that Shamus, the owner and founder of the company, had been removed as CEO. It was startling news which left everyone wondering what would become of the Wizard brand — once mighty in both media coverage and entertainment shows. Answers are beginning to emerge. In an interview with The Beat, Wizard’s executive chairman Mike Mathews revealed that a new era has already begun at Wizard World, which will include outreach to the entire industry in a move to repair damaged relationships with both other industry players and fans. In one of the most notorious examples of the bad blood which the old Wizard had given rise to, subscribers to the print magazine had not been given any make-up subscriptions for issues paid for but never mailed. However, according to Mathews, a letter is being sent out to old subscribers offering them a $100 credit towards Wizard shows.

WonderCon has added a bunch of new guests to their lineup including Arthur Adams, Ernest Cline, Joe Hill, Richard Kadrey, Mark Waid, Marv Wolfman, Jim Lee, and Richard Starkings. They join Sergio Aragones, Fiona Staples, Steve Niles, and others you can see in the above link. WonderCon will be held for the first time in Anaheim next year, but it promises to be the same kind of star-studded show as usual. WonderCon will be held March 16-18, 2012.

Oh yeah! Your feet are going to hurt even more if the San Diego CityCouncil has its way. The controversial plan to expand the convention center was okayed by the city council, 6 to 2. Although everyone agrees that a bigger convention center would allow even more lucrative convention business every year -- and room for an additional 3,000 Slave Leias at Comic-Con -- what is still in dispute is who will pay. The present plan calls for hotels with more than 30 rooms to fund the bond over a period of several years. Of course, these costs will probably be passed along to guests.

Registration for next year's WonderCon in Anaheim has suddenly become available. You'll recall that after 20+ years in the Bay Area, construction has forced the show to move to Anaheim for the first time. Prices are as follows: