Tag: Conventions

By Mike Scigliano

-- I'm guessing that most of you were wondering when I would get to the marketing aspect of producing a comicon. Marketing is a very important part of the process of putting on a comicon. Much of the success you hope to have will hinge upon how you are able to reach your potential attendees.

There’s always been something a bit disappointing about Sundays. It’s like on a primal level every part of our body understands that workaday Monday is round the corner. Fun is coming to an end. And what little fun there remains is overshadowed by the infinite promise of Friday and Saturday just gone. That is certainly the reputation they have at conventions. By Sunday, the hardcore attendees, the exhibitors and guests have already been there a day or two. The enthusiasm they started with has met with the reality of spending an extended period of time in what is effectively a large warehouse-type space, and perhaps also the reality staying up a little past their respective bedtimes. Any big announcements there might have been have all been made, and most attendees have already spent most of the money they planned to spend. Indeed, when I told Heidi I’d be at Wizard World Chicago on a Sunday she did remind me “Sunday is probably the quietest day…”

The "under new management" Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con was held this past weekend, and even without the Situation on hand, we heard from all that it was very well attended. Industry analyst Milton Griepp also attended, and had some observations on the show make-up:

A few months ago there was a bit of fanfare—and tanning oil—when it was announced that Jersey Shore cast member Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and his family would be writing a comic for Wizard World, and appearing at various shows on the tour.

by Mike Scigliano

-- A guest list and the expenses associated with it, like everything else involved in producing a comicon, come out of your overall budget.  You've got to balance the books to make the show work.  Hotel rooms and airfare add up quickly and spending all your cash on guests but next to nothing on marketing or programming needs, for instance, could lead to a train wreck pretty quickly.

Fun photos from San Diego Comic-Con! I'm no 'virgin' to cons but this was my first time at the BIG SHOW and working at a publisher (Fantagraphics) instead being a freelance cartoonist. Still, I managed to sneak in some photos during my bathroom breaks. More fun below:

Whoosh! HeroesCon just raced on by! We arrived late on Thursday, hit BarCon and the rest was just WHOOSH! So much fun, we barely had time to type about it at all. That isn't to say there weren't some snafus—all on our own part—but they came and went so quickly.

Not much to report -- bar con was packed and buzzing last night. We got to hang out and talk about storytelling with old Beat pal Jaime Hernandez -- surely a convention year highlight. It's pretty incredible that this show has been running for 30 years! We're hoping to sit down with owner Shelton Drum at some point and get his thoughts on that. This year's convention booklet has a picture from the very first show -- with a bunch of bearded guys including Wolfman and Miek Zeck -- who are both back.

This weekend it's the 30th annual HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC. Wow 30 years! Not too many shows have that kind of heritage, but Shelton Drum's show has now settled down into the so-much-fun I-can't-wait-to-see-everyone good time con experience. We'll be quite busy with THREE panels as follows:

This past weekend's CAKE show in Chicago was important for a few reasons, but mostly because CHicago has a rich vibrant indie/mainstream comics scene, and having an event to take advantage of it is a boon to the entire Midwest. The show had a stellar guest list, so we've been eagerly awaiting word on how it did. So, from reading a few reports the word seems to be: great show, so-so sales but awesome atmosphere.

San Diego Comic Con is arguably the mecca of all comicons. It features the most robust programming schedule that any comicon can create. Comics, movies, kids, television, games, books and much, much more pack every minute of its crowded programming grid. It's what many, if not most of the comicon attendees look forward to each year. Attendees plan their schedules to the minute to make sure they get a chance to get a seat at their favorite panels. Some will go so far as to camp out in a panel room from early in the day, moving up as each panel lets out to ensure they have the best seat they can possibly get. Obviously this is the extreme case when it comes to comicon programming. The likelihood of having a programming schedule as massive as SDCC's is slim to none. Even New York Comic Con, one of the largest shows in North America after SDCC, doesn't feature a programming grid as vast. So what does this mean for your own comicon programming schedule? Probably, it means very little when it comes down to the details and content; however, overall it there are certainly some things you can look at and put to good use at your own show.

You know how you're always reading about how great the first Comic-Con in San Diego was with everyone sitting around the pool at the El Cortez while throwing rubber duckies at Jack Kirby and Ray Bradbury? Well some of the surviving founders of SDCC have gotten together to put on an old-timey show called The San Diego Comic Fest, to be held October 19-21 at the San Diego Town & Country Resort and Convention Center. The guest list consists of some people who were actually at the first cons in the '70s, including George Clayton Johnson, Jackie Estrada, Mark Evanier, Murphy Anderson, Ron Turner, and Tim Powers.