Tag: Conventions

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.

If you've been reading Mike Scigliano's Comic-Conversations columns you get some really good insights on what's involved in producing a major comic con. Thanks to an invite from Heidi, I get to share the experience of a different kind of con. When it comes to making the decision to produce a con, this is not something for the weak at heart more like it's a challenge for the mildly insane...and worth every ounce of effort.

Over the last two months I've discussed a good deal of things you need to think about when putting together a comicon. From venues and dates to decorators and floor plans, we've covered much of the big stuff. So let's take a look at some of the fine details that can easily be overlooked.

Although Box Brown had a middling time at the past weekend's Wizard World Philadelphia, by all accounts the media events—like appearances by Chris Hemsworth and Stan Lee and various Starfleet captains, went very well. This first time ever meeting of the five Star Trek captains—William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula— was commemorated with a photo.

Retrofit Comics' Box Brown went to Wizard World Philadelphia for a day and here is what he saw and did.

This Memorial Day weekend, downtown Phoenix was invaded by the nerdy, as the 10th Phoenix ComiCon was held. This con, which saw more than 30,000 people over four days, has grown exponentially over the last several years. It, like most “comic book” conventions, has become a celebration of all things geeky, and featured programming tracks for comics and superheroes, anime and manga, science fiction. It is the highlight of the year for many in the geek community in Arizona. I had not attended Phoenix Comic Con for several years, and for the first time I attended with my daughter. Mari, age 10, is a veteran of San Diego Comic Con, but had never experienced a smaller, local convention. Although she’s been reading comics since she was old enough to know what a book is, she is just starting to explore the comics landscape on her own, getting a feel for the different types of comic art and stories. What follows is a conversation we had about our Phoenix Comicon experience.

We thought the Eagle Awards were over. We were (possibly) wrong.

While contemplating yesterday's story about how the dinky, hated Javits Center is in danger of being razed, we got to wondering just what are the biggest convention centers in the U.S.? Finding this information isn't that easy Google-wise. However, we found the information buried in Wikipedia:

A few notes about this fall's New York Comic Con. ReedPOP has made official what everyone took for granted: the New York Anime Festival will officially fold into NYCC. Launched as a separate event just before the manga/anime implosion began, the event was soon co-located with NYCC while keeping a separate identity. This year, the programming and guests list—which are pretty extensive and popular among the fan community—will stay the same but the event itself will be part of NYCC.

The creator of Fables and Fairest has started hinting that next March will see a new convention appear on the horizon, focusing on the characters and world of his fan-favourite series.

by Mike Scigliano

-- One of the biggest elements in the production of a comicon that attendees will never see is the show decorator. Once you are locked into doing your comicon you'll absolutely need to have one. And they aren't cheap either. Before we get to deep into this let me explain what a decorator does.