Tag: Conventions

There's a point in every comicon production process where things get real. The utter insanity of what you have undertaken becomes concrete. Booking your first exhibitor is a great high. Each subsequent booking continues that awesome feeling of things going well. That is until you get your first email or phone call from an attendee. Once that happens there is NO going back. The cat's out of the bag so to speak. It's at that point that you come to the realization that what you've been working so hard on for the last few months is now out there for public consumption. It was a very surreal moment for Martha, Phil and I for sure.

by Jimmy Aquino --

The Bristol Comic Expo was held in Bristol, UK this weekend on May 12-13 at The Passenger Shed in Brunel's Old Station. I was over to cover for my podcast COMIC NEWS INSIDER and The Beat as well as see friends. I've attended Bristol Expo 2 previous times. First in 2008 when it was the train station like this year. And again in 2010 when it was split between the Ramada and Mercure hotels. I was happy to see it back in the station as it kept everything (except for panels) in one place. When I first came back in 2008, it was the biggest comics show in the UK. Now, with the massive proliferation of other shows, some feel it has been hurt by this trend especially since there are literally 2 more in a row in London. I still found it quite a vibrant show with lots of great UK talent exhibiting. From small press unknowns trying to make a name to the big names in UK comics, it was a great array of comic folks. 

The sun was shining down on Long Beach on this particular Saturday in May. The cool breeze from the Pacific Ocean created a picture perfect day that reminds one of another particular week in July down in San Diego. Though somewhat unfortunate, we were all deep inside the Long Beach Convention center to enjoy the Long Beach Comic Expo. For several years now, Long Beach has been invaded by Geeks twice a year – once in May for the one-day Expo and in October for the two-day Convention. The setting for this year’s Expo was more than intimate with a smaller room and somewhat smaller walk ways. That intimacy was a nice change from the craziness of the much larger conventions as were the opportunities to stop and chit-chat with Comic creators without being pushed and shoved.

As we've been noting of late, the local comics scene has been blowing up—pretty much around the globe, from Dubai to Denver. And tomorrow Asbury Park gets its first comic-con, courtesy of organizer Cliff Galbriath, (left) aka frequent Beat commenter Citizen Cliff. Cliff sent along a fact sheet on the Asbury Park Comic Con and some photos of the venue, which is a cool retro bowling alley/club a few blocks from the Asbury Park Boardwalk and a bunch of fine restaurants and bars. Admission is a mere $5, with $1 going to the Hero Initiative. You can read all the deets in the PR below, but everyone we've spoken with has been psyched about going to this show; if we weren't so conned out, we might be tempted by a birthright journey back to Jersey. We're always especially charmed by seaside conventions like San Diego, MeCaf, Long Beach and now....Asbury Park.

By now you've gone through all the hard work involved with the pre-production of your comicon. You have a venue and dates for your show. You've got a floor plan design that you feel happy about AND was approved by the fire marshal. The next step in the process is to begin to promote and pitch your show to potential exhibitors. By "exhibitors," I mean publishers, small press publishers, retailers, artist alley creators (artists, writers, inkers, colorists, painters, etc) and whoever else you feel might be a fit or want to exhibit at your comicon. For Long Beach Comic & Horror Con we place a specific emphasis on comics and their creators in our Artist Alley. That emphasis varies from comicon to comicon, of course, but for us it was a must.

The one-man industry shows no signs of stopping. Here's what fans can expect from him over the next few months. Conventions! Comics! Violence and swearing!

Are we the last possible person to link to Michael DeForge's poster for this Saturday's Doug Wright Awards? Possibly. It's also a reminder that we'll be at TCAF this weekend! First time and we couldn't be more excited! The webste has all the debuts, guests, party poop, programming and other info you could possibly need, so we'll just direct you there for everything except to note that we'll be moderating this panel on Saturday at The Pilot:

What was that we were just saying about the term "Comic-Con" meaning entertainment?

Some 50,000 people showed up to the Calgary Expo this weekend to hear the complete Star Trek: The Next Generation cast reunite to share a cup of Earl Grey tea, and also perhaps spot Kate Beaton or Peter David. Although it wasn't really a riot, there were wayyyyy too many people Saturday, and the Fire Marshal shut things down, leading to many people not getting in and the show offering ticket refunds for those who were shut out. People who showed up to buy tickets on site were turned away, say reports.

The armory where the MoCCA Fest is held is one big open space.  It usually is not heated or air conditioned.  The weather forecast for this weekend ranges from 37° to 63°F (3° to 17°C) with a chance of rain Saturday night.

by Mile Scigliano -- There's been so much made of locations and dates for shows in the last few years. For 2012 it's been so crazy the fine folks at CCI had to move WonderCon to Anaheim from San Francisco -- 400 PLUS miles away. Let's look at what it takes to lock in a date for your show.

This past weekend (April 20-21) I took part in the first-ever Middle East Film and Comic-Con (MEFCC), held in Dubai. I attended mainly to promote my IDW Publishing series Kill Shakespeare (along with my co-creator Conor McCreery) but I also went in a quest to answer a question I’ve been wondering: how big is the comic book culture in the Middle East? The answer is: quite big. And it’s growing.

This was my first trip to the city of Boston and their fantastic comic con and I have to say, I was impressed. Boston Comic Con had the staples: vendors offering collectibles, comics and original art. They had comedic performances and an art auction. Offering a very well balanced mix of artists from legends of the industry, to current big names, to a wealth of new & indy talent, this convention had something to suit every taste in artist's alley and its panel selection.