Tag: Conventions

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.

A few links on creators and a roundup of the weekend's comic-cons.

[With the comics convention/show scene exploding all around us, we thought it would be interesting to get a behind the scenes on how a show is put together. Over the next few weeks, The Long Beach Comic & Horror Con's Show Manager Mike Scigliano will be explaining what goes into putting a con together, from floor plans to guest lists. Hopefully, it will give us all a little insight into the what is rapidly becoming most visible aspect of the comics world.] -- Welcome to the 2012 convention season. Great shows like Amazing Arizona Comic Con, MegaCon, WonderCon and Emerald City Comic Con and C2E2 have already come and gone and we have a full calendar of fantastic shows still to come. Heroes Con, SDCC, Fan Expo, Baltimore Comic Con, New York Comic Con and Long Beach Comic & Horror Con. I'm the Show Manager for Long Beach Comic & Horror Con and we're looking to close the season out with a bang.

This was, everyone agreed, the make or break year for the third year show. Champ or chump? Read on.

Oh man! We thought the epic Con Wars of the Aughts were settled? But it seems Canada's Hobby Star is not happy with how Wizard has used the phrase Toronto Comicon. Hobby Star throws the huge Fan Expo in Toronto every year, and, as CBR reports, had been engaged in a feud with the former Paradise Comic-Con...which was eventually acquired by Wizard and morphed into the Toronto Comicon...while things had been peaceful for many a moon, the fight is on again!

Speaking of C2E2, the website uses a particular kind of format so you can search for programming...but can't see it all in one place, which makes it hard to see who's who on what panel until you get there and get the program. The organizers have graciously given us the whole document, so you can see if one of your favorite creators or entertainers is appearing on a panel and at what time:

March-May is the mad busy con season with shows piling up like bumper cars in the corner. Two recent showrunner interviews give us a few more facts and figures on two, this week's C2E2 in Chicago and Portland, OR's Stumptown in TWO weeks.

Hero Initiative is the non-profit organization that aids comic creators in medical and financial need—and if you've been reading the Beat lately you know that they are more needed than ever. Tonight, as part of the Emerald City Comicon, they are having a bowling fundraiser which sounds like a great time for a great cause, as they say. Although spots have already been auctioned off, you can still go watch the fun:

Image has a huge presence at this weekend's Emerald City Comicon -- here are the details and exclusives:

Here's a brief making-of featurette on Morgan Spurlock's Comic-Con documentary, which opens in theaters and on VOD on April 6th.

[As shown by our lively comments thread on our previous whither WonderCon posts, people love guessing what's up with Comic-Con! Rather than guess, we sat down with CCI's VP of Marketing and Public Relations as the show was winding down on Sunday to find out where it will be next year, and what other changes in this year's Big Show we can expect.]