By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/10/2016
Something is stirring in Artist Alley. As with every other aspect of the comics business, selling art in Artist Alley has become a lot bigger deal with the increasing number of comics conventions. We’ve all seen the gradually rising banks of prints and sketches poking up, like real estate development gone bad. It wouldn’t be […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 5/31/2016
We’ve reported on many “When a con is crap” moments over the years, but this weekends Space City Comic Con in Houston seems to have combined the biggest ripoffs with the biggest stars for a planned Sons of Anarchy reunion that…well, it didn’t quite pan out, as someone named Ava Jade reports: While talking with […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/26/2016
By Nicholas Eskey During the tail end of last year’s Wonder Con, it was announced that the convention which had spent the last three years in Anaheim would instead next be hosted by the city of Los Angeles. The change was for a simple reason; the Anaheim convention center already had another event booked for […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/25/2016
The ongoing trademark battle between Salt Lake City Comic Con and the San Diego Comic-Con may be closer to settling, although it’s only listed as “promising,” with the judge in the case giving them more time to hash things out mano a mano. The two sides are set to meet with the judge this Wednesday […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 10/22/2015
I haven’t seen the numbers floated around much, but this year’s NYCC was clearly the biggest ever as show runner Lance Fensterman told me for PW: The 2015 edition of the New York Comic Con was the biggest yet, with 169,000 tickets sold–up from 151,000 in 2014. Along with even more people, the event—held October […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 10/13/2015
@TheRealStanLee and @stevewoz team up to overcharge artists and comic creators with insane booth prices at Silicon Valley Comic Con! — Paul Roman Martinez (@PRMartinez19XX) October 13, 2015 Well that’s the charge by artist Paul Roman Martinez, anyway. @robsalk @ICV2 could bonanza be a bubble? Is the con market growing over saturated? I exhibit at […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/17/2015
Here we go. RT @sokareemie: This is fucked up, @Calgaryexpo. #CalgaryExpo pic.twitter.com/W5mSnuDm71
— Heidi MacDonald (@Comixace) April 17, 2015
A new and potentially awful chapter in Con Wars opened up today.
The Honey Badgers are the ladies auxiliary of the MRA (Men’s Rights Advocates) groups, and MRA groups are largely affiliated with GamerGate, the endlessly annoying group that has been fighting diversity behind a shield of anti-censorship for the last two million years since last summer. And sadly this warzone—mostly held on social media until now—just got dragged into the real world of the Calgary Expo.
The Honey Badger Brigade purchased a booth—which was crowdfunded—and sent some of their biggest names to the show. The goal was:
In April of this year, the Honey Badgers plan to put on a booth at the Calgary Comics and Entertainment Expo! We plan to infiltrate nerd culture cunningly disguised as their own. Each of us has been carefully crafting a persona of nerdiness through decades of dedication to comics, science fiction, fantasy, comedy games and other geekery, waiting for this moment, our moment to slip among the unaware. Once there we will start distributing the totalitarian message that nerd and gamer culture is… perfectly wonderful just as it is and should be left alone to go it’s own way.
That’s it folks.
As men’s issues advocates and defenders of creator’s rights to create unmolested, that’s what we have to say to the nerds and geeks and gamers. You are fantastic as you are, carry on.
Yep, in today’s political climate that’s considered an extremist position. Just letting creative communities create; consumers consume what they want; and gamers get down to the business of vidya without being judged.
So if you share our vision of a world in which nerds and geeks and gamers roam free and unfettered, help us spread that message by throwing a few shekels our way to attend the con.
However, as posted by The Mary Sue in a full report you should definitely read, the group was actually there to disrupt panels that didn’t agree with their world view:
We’re not done just yet. The group also attended the “Women Into Comics” panel last night. Panelist Brittney Le Blanc gave us this account of the events that transpired:
We were about fifteen minutes into the panel when a woman in the second row stood up and identified herself as a Men’s Rights Activist. She and her male companion both came to raise issues they felt would not be covered by our panel. Raising points about the way men are portrayed in comics struck a note with all the panelists, as we agreed that we want to see a diversity across body types, characters, races, etc in mainstream comics. Not everyone wants to see a hero who looks like he’s built like Gaston from Beauty and the Beast. They also accused us of presenting all women as victims, which was an outright lie and derailing tactic.
Their questions did take up quite a bit of time at the panel and served to derail the topic onto another tangent, which was frustrating for the panel and for those in the audience. It’s what they came to do, and in part, they succeeded. I would say that it brought up some great discussions though, allowing us to talk about the lack of representation for people of colour in comics and to give well deserved props to artists like Sophie Campbell, who has done an amazing job in showcasing a broad range of bodies with her art in Jem and the Holograms.
News of the HBB booth, which was not registered under that name—with its images of Ellen James, a bizarre idealized girl gamer who coexists with men in some peaceful wonderland straight from the imagination of Henry Darger—spread on social media. After complaints from congoers, who just went to have a good time and not get caught up in a partisan war, the booth was removed.
@krisstraub @AbbyHoward I just watched them get kicked out of the show. Amazing.
— sohmer (@sohmer) April 17, 2015
…which had led to a renewed explosion of trolling from the proGG forces on twitter.
ON the surface, this event seems to play right into the GG/HBB agenda by making it appear that a group with an “alternative viewpoint” has been “censored.” But of course that isn’t the real agenda. If it was just about promoting one’s own opinion it would be one thing, but the GG/HBB faction has (from my own personal experiences) been focused on verbal abuse, gender based slurs, and basically, as with the panel above, attempting to disrupt the promotion of views opposite to their own—exactly what GG/HBBs accuse their foes of doing.
Sadly, this shows no sign of slowing down. Are convention panels soon to be a nerd version of a CNN “expert” panel, with loud talking heads shouting over one another seeing who can make the most noise and no one listening? Dear Crom, I hope not.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/10/2015
Actually not a con war, but a curiosity of scheduling with both the MoCCA Festival and Crucial Entertainment East Coast Comicon in the Meadowlands both scheduled for this weekend.
When I originally heard about the scheduling I was told that it had all been worked out and there was no beef, but it’s still unfortunate since there are great guests at both shows and I’m sure a lot of people would go to both. Although they aren’t that far apart AS THE CROW FLIES, the crow must fly over a wide river, and hopping back and forth between Jersey and the meatpacking distract isn’t totally easy unless you have a car and don’t mind paying a lot of tolls.
Someone also pointed us to the East Coast Comicon website, which has an updated attitude towards the press:
Everybody wants one, everybody has a blog. We’ve found that coverage of the con, during the con does little to promote our efforts. We have a finite amount of tickets and we can’t give them out to everyone who wishes to shoot some video or chat to a comic creator — yes, we’re mean terrible people because we don’t want to let you in for free. For the most part, your blog posts do not help us spread the word about our con. How do we know this? We’ve polled our customers. Why do other cons let bloggers and podcasters into their cons for free? Perhaps they haven’t done their homework to find out what helps for promotion. So please don’t feel ill of us, we’re glad you love comics enough to write or blog about the art form, but we just can’t justify granting all the requests we get; and we get a lot.
All that said, Torsten will be on the scene for ECC covering all the breaking news. As for The Beat, we’ll be at MoCCA both days, and we have no idea if we’re on the press list or not—admission is $5 a day and that’s cheap enough that we can swing it no matter what.
Wherever you may be going, have a fun time!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/8/2015
Continuing the trend of mid-size cons joining larger event organizations, MegaCon, the very popular yearly event held in Orlando each year, has been sold to Informa, a multinational media event company that previously purchased the FanExpo events in Canada and the Dallas Comic Con. Widely admired show runner Beth Widera will remain as Executive Director.
The show, which is expected to draw about 70,000 people this year, kicks off this weekend at the Orlando Convention Center.
MegaCon began in 1993, and was briefly operated by CrossGen, the renegade Florida-based comics company. WIdera pruchased it from CrossGen in 2003 and it’s become a very popular and, by all accounts, superbly run show since.
The long rumored move comes a few weeks after it was announced that ReedPOP had purchased ECCC. As noted by ICv2, the trend of larger convention entities purchasing mid-sized shows seems to be in full swing, with ReedPOP, Informa, Wizard World and Advanstar (Comikaze) all involved in the space, as well as various nebulous start-ups that haven’t announced anything yet.
In other words….
(Photo via the MegaCon FB page.)
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 3/30/2015
Yesterday The Mary Sue published an article noting that for-profit comic-cons might be violating federal labor law by not paying minimum wage to workers improperly classified as volunteers. However, a recent case involving Major League Baseball shows how commercial comic-cons could beat the tag.
The use of free labor by for-profit companies has become a hot issue in recent years. Internships have become a particularly touchy topic – class action lawsuits by former interns have prompted some companies to end their unpaid internship programs, although there are at least a couple high-profile cases on appeal in which companies are challenging the Department of Labor’s standards for determining whether an intern is actually an employee.
Given how costly it can be for a company to fall afoul of federal law on this issue, it is indeed prudent for the companies that run comic conventions to assess whether it is legal for them to use unpaid volunteers. This is especially conventions run by for-profit companies, since charitable nonprofits enjoy a special exemption from minimum wage and overtime requirements in regard to volunteers. The Mary Sue has once again performed a service to the community in calling attention to this important issue.
With that in mind, in making this analysis it’s important to be aware of both the law’s requirements, the specific practices of each company, and the exemptions that are available outside the one given to charities.
First, since conventions produced by ReedPop — NYCC, ECCC, C2E2 — were mentioned in the post, it’s worth noting, as several “volunteers” have stated in the original comments thread and a related Reddit thread, that ReedPop pays volunteers minimum wage as official crew. Calling people volunteers in this context is a great way to foster a sense of community and community — one of things for which Lance Fensterman and company are to be commended is the way that they have fostered this communal sensibility while maximizing return on investment.
But not every for-profit comic-con that brings on volunteers gives these workers compensation – in fact, depending on the convention, you might actually be required to pay a fee for the privilege of helping the company out! Although this may seem on its face like a violation of federal law, there’s a legal loophole that has enabled countless commercial businesses to use volunteers in the standard sense of term.
Over the years the federal Fair Labor Standards Act has accumulated dozens of exemptions for a wide range of ventures, from homemakers making wreaths to C-level executives. For a company that operates a program taking place within a limited period of time during the year, there is one exemption in particular that catches the corporate attorney’s eye: minimum wage and overtime requirements do not apply to “any employee employed by an establishment which is an amusement or recreational establishment…” that operates no more than seven months a year or meets a financial test as to revenue generated at different times of the year. (29 USC 213(a)(3))
There are several cases that show how a commercial comic-con can take advantage of this provision, but the ruling perhaps most on-point was issued just a year ago in the Southern District of New York – coincidentally, the same federal district in which the New York Comic-Con takes place. Chen v. Major League Baseball Properties was brought by a former volunteer for the 2013 All-Star Week FanFest at the Javits Center (!), and the volunteer made arguments similar to those made in the intern lawsuits: volunteers at the event met the criteria for employee status, and thus Major League Baseball should have paid them at least minimum wage.
Major League Baseball — and the court — disagreed. As the court observed, although Major League Baseball operates all year long, Department of Labor regulations distinguish an entire enterprise from an “establishment,” which specifically refers to “a distinct place of business.” The exemption was put in place to accommodate seasonal ventures employing people for discrete periods of time in activities that might offer “non-monetary rewards.” The court concluded Major League Baseball’s FanFest was analogous to the amusement and recreational activities in view when legislators originally enacted the exemption, and the plaintiff’s federal as well as state law claims were summarily dismissed.
The plaintiff has appealed the district court’s ruling – in fact, it was argued in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today, March 30 – but as noted above, there are a number of cases in other circuits that have reached similar conclusions. What’s more, even if the appeal succeeds, the main case being cited in opposition focuses on aspects of one baseball team’s operations that are distinguishable from a comic-con. For instance, while the team in question utilized its stadium for events throughout much of the year, comic-cons typically take place in rented facilities for discrete periods of time.
The analysis gets somewhat trickier for an entity operating multiple conventions. For instance, let’s assume that Wizard World doesn’t pay its volunteers — there’s nothing about compensation in the volunteer information packet, at least; Wizard World volunteers don’t even get munchies or parking reimbursements. The fact that Wizard World operates year-round could be grounds for arguing that the seasonal establishment exemption doesn’t apply, but there are also clever counter-arguments and organizational strategies that could persuade a court to disagree. Others have tried and succeeded with even more daunting facts – which, on a related front, is why the NCAA doesn’t have to pay taxes on ads sold for March Madness.
The seasonal exemption has long been a lifeline for companies offering an opportunity to volunteer for ventures that operate on a limited-term basis, such as amusement parks, outdoor swimming pools, Oprah’s Life You Want Tour, and New York Fashion Week. If you are an unpaid commercial comic-con volunteer who believes a lawsuit for back wages would be a clear home run, expect Major League Baseball Properties and cases like it to be deployed to strike you out.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/8/2015
What goes up, must deal with thinner oxygen at higher atmospheres. The last two years have seen unprecedented growth in comic cons/ media events around the world, with many showing spectacular growth.
But as we keep pointing out in our “When a con is crap” recurring feature, this also means a lot of fly by nighters and unprepared rookies are jumping in and not achieving the results they might have hoped for. And along the way, unsuspecting vendors, guests and attendees are getting caught holding the empty oxygen tank.
Although run by industry vets who are neither fly by nighters or rookies, the cancellation of Detroit Fanfare is the most prominent in a bunch of recent shows that will not go on as planned.
The Cherry City Comic Con in Salem, OR, scheduled for March, has been cancelled and, oh, by the way, vendors didn’t get back their deposit money:
Savannah Glitschka is among the vendors left high and dry when the organizer of the Cherry City Comic Con canceled the event – and likely kept her deposit money.
Complaints about the event were filed with the Better Business Bureau. Organizer Mark Martin – who registered his business with the Secretary of State in June — remains unavailable, despite repeated attempts over days by KOIN 6 News to talk with him.
Glitschka is a college student who paid the $60 deposit for a spot at the event scheduled for spring. She paid the money in August for a table to display and sell her art work at the Cherry City Comic Con.
“So not only is the Con not happening, we don’t get to sell out stuff out, we don’t even get our refund for the money we spent in the beginning,” she said. “And that sucks.”
And then there’s ConComics, which was planned for San Antonio TX in March 13-15. But oops! Better unpack that suitcase.
While I’m not aware of the details surrounding these cancellations and postponements, I do know word is out among vendors to beware of shady organizers. Inflated attendance and guests who were never actually booked are becoming more and more common, and with people STILL getting into the convention business in droves, “con games” are a very real thing.
So you know of more cancelled cons or suspect exhibitors? Let me know and help spread the word.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 10/7/2014
I know you thought the “con kerfuffle” had faded away, but I think it’s definitely an ongoing burning issue for the industry, in a rapidly evolving field, and Chris Butcher, retailer and a show runner himself for TCAF, as well as booth runner for Udon, has posted a brilliant summation that puts all the eggs in one basket and then hits that basket out of the park:
Butcher identifies several trends, which I’ll list for argument:
1. The make-up of the attendees of comic book conventions is changing.
We got that.
2. The make-up of comic convention organizers is changing, too.
I’ve been covering that quite a bit here; people are getting into comic cons just to make money not because they like comic cons.
3. Professional Fans & ‘Personalities’, which is to say Youtubers, Professional Cosplayers, etc.
I alluded to this here with the news of Wizard’s “Social Con” concept. YouTube and Vine stars like the homophobic Nash Grier are coming to Wizard Worlds and drawing huge audiences of teenaged girls who are not there for comics. Sure these Justin Beiber-lites will be delivering Little Caesar and the anger to trivia questions in a few years but for now they are the biggest celebs at shows for a very young demographic.
4. Comic Conventions Are Filling Up And Selling Out, Earlier and Earlier
Again, something The Beat has been harping on and watching for years.
While we may know all this is happening, Butcher goes ahead and ties a ribbon around the home run basket with this graph – emphasis his. The changing convention landscape is inherently shitty for people who make comic books. Art comix, indy comics, mainstream comics, whatever comics, the changing makeup of conventions is hostile to people who want to make and sell comics at comic conventions. And let me be clear, this is comic books and graphic novels, as opposed to ‘prints’ or crafts or whatever manner of tchotchkes makeup most exhibitor tables these days. Basically, comic book conventions are aggressively attracting an audience who don’t necessarily value books, or comic books.
And here is the real problem. I had a long post set up that covered all the late breaking posts in the Denise Dorman affair, but I’ll forego long analysis for a simple but brutal truth: people who call their event a comic-con, invite comic book people to spend money on tables and then do not promote the comic aspect of the show are basically strangling the comics part for the equation.
I don’t mean to suggest that your average cartoonist calving away over a Howard the Duck commission is as big a draw as Norman Reedus, but unless the cartoonists in artist alley and elsewhere get some kind of promotion that includes them in the modern comic-con, they are eventually not going to want to go to shows any more.
I don’t propose that show runner who have spent a six figure guarantee on William Shatner promote him in the same breath as Dave Dorman. However, show runners need to give comics some play! I’ve seen too many con websites that only mention celebrities and don’t even throw the name of a comics guest up on the slider. PEOPLE, IT’S FREE, IT’S ADDITIVE.
As evidence of what I’m talking about, I’d like to point to this very very typical local news story about the recent Wizard World Nashville.
The focus is on a typical local news human interest story—a nice one about an autistic lad who contemplated suicide finding a superhero persona to give him hope—but not ONCE in the entire piece are comic book makers mentioned. Collectible card games, video games, the Green Power Ranger, cosplayers, everything EXCEPT ACTUAL COMICS AND THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THEM. Like, that’s why they call if COMIC-CON!
And to be brutally frank that’s most stories I see about cons that have a “media mix.” Costumes, celebrities and a cute kid or two. Actual comic book creators are not mentioned or else shuttled off to the side. (Occasionally a topical superstar like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman will get a call out, or someone else with a movie coming out. But that’s the exception to the rule.)
I’ve seen Wizard World’s PR man call out comics creators in his news blasts, and I realize that local news anchors are going to go for the most obvious stories—Captain Spectrum—but would it really HURT to introduce a telegenic or quotable comics creator to the press as well? Is it entirely impossible?
Cartoonists are being written out of the comic-con story at a very fast pace, and unless something is done, the entire culture of cons is going to be completely shifted to a “remember when there was a broadcast involved in broadcast TV?” narrative.
AND NOW just for the record more links, on the Matter of Selling at Cons:
• Denise Dorman clarifies she and husband Dave don’t hate Cosplayers
• And another follow up: How to Exhibit BETTER at Conventions
Denise and I went back on whether nerdlebrities and high autograph charges were ALSO impacting sales. Aside”Totes maggots!” should be the answer to every question ever.
@Comixace Totes magotes.
— Denise Dorman (@WriteBrainMedia) September 25, 2014
@Comixace Also, the saturation of Cons, as you noted in your article.
— Denise Dorman (@WriteBrainMedia) September 25, 2014
@Comixace 1 fan bragged to us that he bought 3 $150 autographs from Mark Hamill. He spends a LOT of time @ our booth & has NEVER spent $$.
— Denise Dorman (@WriteBrainMedia) September 25, 2014
• An interview with Dorman that has more background.
• An exhibitor named Marc Alan Fishman has an excellent round up on the “new breed of conger.”
Allow me to answer in kind. The general population – those Instagram-obsessed fans – gives more than just a shit for those creators who take the time to reach out and communicate. I say this admitting freely I’ve never seen Dave Dorman. And we’ve exhibited at the same shows more than once. I don’t know how specifically Dave exhibits. But if he is like others I’ve seen over the last seven years… he may sit, smiling, awaiting those loyal regulars to come with cash in hand. In short, it’s not enough anymore. It hasn’t been that way in a long time.
• Months ago, Gene Ha also looked at how to sell at conventions and suggested some links.
• Artist Thom Zahler offers his thoughts:
To me, there are advertising shows where I set up and hope to break even, and selling shows, where I generate revenue. San Diego is definitely an advertising show. But by the article, it sounds as if the Dormans treat SDCC as a selling show. And she also mentions that they could make more money being in the studio rather than setting up at some shows. Let’s talk about that.
Using that paradigm, I’m shocked that San Diego would ever be a good show. If your setup costs are $7000, you’ve got to sell that to break even. So what would a good show have been? $10,000? $15,000? The amount of product you’d have to sell to generate isn’t something I can conceive of. I suppose it’s possible for someone with a body of work different than mine, but it still seems like a lot.
At San Diego, and shows in general, I do what I can to get my costs down. My booth is $2500, but I split it with someone to make that number more manageable. Same with my hotel. I go to Target and get a flat of water and snacks so I’m not living on five dollar coffee and three dollar pretzels. I even designed my own shelving system that would fit in my suitcase so I could save the significant cost of shipping racks to the show. The less you spend, the quicker you turn a profit.
So if the numbers don’t work on a show, or you’re not getting what you want out of it in terms of networking or exposure, it’s your duty as a businessperson to cut that loss. I do a hefty convention schedule, but there are one or two shows I’m dropping because the math doesn’t work. That’s my responsibility.
• Ryan L Schrodt has an excellent post on What is killing comic book conventions? that brings up what Butcher and I have been talking about.
3. SHOWRUNNER RESPONSIBILITY
PROBLEM: Personal responsibility for comic book creators is huge when it comes to making money at conventions, but it isn’t everything. Some responsibility falls upon the convention organizers. Prohibitive ticket costs will keep attendees from spending money in Artist Alley. Poor layouts could mean that some creators are completely missed. Scheduling your convention against another convention or a major local event will mean low attendance. And promotion? You damn well better have promoted your comic book show or no one is going to show up. Even the greatest creators ever will not make any money if they are guests at a poorly run convention.
SOLUTION: If you are running a comic book convention, keep these things in mind. Make sure that your ticket prices will cover your expenses and keep your expenses relatively low, especially in your early years. If you are charging Wizard World prices for your convention that only has 20 guests, you won’t make any money and neither will the creators. Likewise, if you have 100 creators and you are charging hotel ballroom convention ticket prices, you won’t make enough money to continue throwing conventions. If you place the biggest name at the show in the middle of the aisle, their line will keep the people next to them from making any money. Don’t put comic creators next to the bathroom or in the darkest corner of the hall. Make sure you promote your comic show at local colleges and comic book shops. Do you r research by attending other more successful comic book conventions and emulate what makes them successful.
Finally, one guy gives up on wizard.
• And FINAL PLUG: Tomorrow at the ICv@ conference I will be moderating a panel on comic cons with an ALL STAR LINE-UP!!!!!
The Con Explosion
The rapidly expanding con scene is an important part of the changing audience for comics, a place where potential new customers are mingling with more committed fans, and the opportunities are great. Who are these new attendees, and what does it mean for the medium? Our speakers have data and personal experience to help us find the answers to these questions.
• Christine Bohle, Sr. Category Marketing Manager, Eventbrite
• Patrick Bradley, EVP Digital Media & Entertainment, Wizard World, Inc.
• Shelton Drum, CEO, Heroes Convention
• Lance Fensterman, Senior Vice President ReedPOP
• Meg Lemke, Chair, Comics & Graphic Novel Committee at the Brooklyn Book Festival, and Contributing Editor at MUTHA Magazine
• Rob Salkowitz, author, writer of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture
• Moderated by Heidi MacDonald, comic editor and commentator from The Beat
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/1/2014
[Editor's note: As a non-combantant in the cosplay wars, I'm not sure how much actual warfare is involved in this, but as with all things con, competition is heating up.]
Cosplay is one of the most visual and important aspects of conventions especially in the last ten years. It is one of the greatest and creative expressions of fandom, displaying a multitude of art forms combined. In addition, many cosplayers are employed in multiple capacities by companies to help in the promotion of their products, services, etc. Cosplayers themselves are also a new form of retailer for and at conventions (and con goers) who sell various products based on their likenesses as various characters and interpretations of from different properties, and this includes props and commissions. In fact, many cosplayers and photographers/videographers go to conventions to photograph and videograph different cosplayers and be the subjects of photos and videos.
Since the beginnings of many of conventions cosplay has been a part of them. (I was thinking of linking the io9 article about cosplay in the 1970s.) In almost all conventions, there are various cosplay contests with the largest one usually run by the convention, referred to as the masquerade. In recent years there have been rise of larger cosplay competitions with significant monetary prizes and cosplay competitions as part of a circuit on a national and international level.
There are several that come to mind that are very well known such as the World Cosplay Summit, the EuroCosplay Championship, the Madman National Cosplay Championship in Australia, and now ReedPOP’s Quest for the Crown Champions of Cosplay with NYCC hosting the Eastern Championships of Cosplay with C2E2 being the finals. They call the “Quest for the Crown” “a new global Cosplay competition circuit that celebrates the very best in Cosplay design from all over the world.” (Side note: I actually wonder why Wizard World has not created one of their own given the number of conventions they have, which has increased in the past year.)
From the press release itself: “The Crown Championships of Cosplay debuted at ReedPOP’s Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo earlier this year, and New York Comic Con represents the kick-off of a larger Quest for the Crown competition that will span multiple events, all leading up to a final again set in ReedPOP’s C2E2. ReedPOP, with over 15 events around the globe, looks forward to setting up additional stops in the Quest for the Crown from the US to Australia, creating a new, worldwide platform to showcase the Cosplay community.”
The Quest for the Crown Cosplay Competition Circuit is easily doable for ReedPop and it is not the first they have created. Originally, when there was a New York Anime Festival it first hosted a part of the World Cosplay Summit and then created its own large prize the Yume Cosplay Prize in 2009 that was won by the team of Yaya Han and Anna Raper, and had other conventions serving as preliminary rounds for the competition.
Since then ReedPop has expanded nationally and internationally with multiple conventions across the world including America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Their properties include NYCC, C2E2, PAX Prime, PAX East, the Singapore Toy, Game, & Comic Convention, PAX Australia, PAX South, Oz Comic-Con, Star Wars Celebration, Star Wars Celebration Europe, among others that are sure to be announced.
There is also something very important to know: the concepts of pop culture conventions are global, some of them also having a “comic con” name but the fact this there are many all over the world on six continents.I have listed ten of the events from the ReedPOP site itself but the press release shows there will be more. Some of the events above do happen on multiple weekends such as those in Australia yet are still listed as one event, this occurs with multiple events around the world.
Now how does this lead into a new front for the con wars?
There are several some with overlapping concepts from prior aspects of con wars. One of these that has been covered is the dates. This is something happening this weekend as there is PAX Prime, FanExpo Canada (run as a part of a for profit series of conventions in Canada), and DragonCon occurring the same weekend. The time of a convention is very important because it can be the event to do that week/weekend. This is already know but unless you cosplay yourself you might not think about the time it can take to create a costume especially one for a competition of the level that ReedPOP is looking to do.
Let me emphasize that cosplay is of course for everyone, I cosplay for fun, and so do many others. The level of artistry even from those just starting in cosplay can be astonishing.
Now for competition you are looking to impress the audience and the judges. This was something seen often on the Syfy reality series Heroes of Cosplay and as such in a competition like “Quest for the Crown” everyone competing brings and usually creates new their most impressive and in some cases literary largest cosplays.
As such, there is time that has to be dedicated to the fabrication as well as the financial investment. The creation of various costumes can become an expensive proposition. Add to this the travel and lodgings expenses (which are usually split among a group). These cause an effect on who will decide to attend which convention for cosplay competition purposes, especially if they are not remotely local to the event in question. To attend such an event they might decide to forego other conventions/events to afford all the expenses of the larger event, possibly decreasing who would come to the smaller events. This is not as much of an impact but it is something to note.
The larger part of the con wars comes with the impact on other conventions, specifically those related to cosplay guests and careers via cosplay, and you need to know the above for this to make sense. Many times, we not question why someone is a guest of a convention; this is due to their bio. However, sometimes some have wondered that especially with some cosplay guests. Sometimes the listings include the number of costumes they have made and/or their high level of artistry or awards, and sometimes these awards titles are from smaller conventions or even the past conventions where they have competed. With larger titles and more mass media exposure which the largest events do have this can lead to becoming more well-known and having the titles of the largest events is something that can become part of a convention bio and can lead to the requests by fans to have this winner at a convention and/or for the convention to invite them as guests (and some guests have appearance fees [when I am a guest I do not have one]).
The second part is careers via cosplay. I mentioned this in the start of the article, that there are plenty of people who have cosplay related businesses which can entail commissions (making costumes and props for others), print and product sales (usually sold through a service like Storenvy and Etsy), being a vendor at conventions (where they sell the print and products at a booth), and sponsored cosplay (where cosplayers are hired by companies [some quite large] to make and usually wear the costumes themselves at events as part of fan relations, basically being the character). Sponsored cosplay happens quite often from American anime companies, many game companies, many comic companies, and many video game companies, the level of compensation does vary, but the larger the fan base you have the more exposure you can bring to the brand/property. I would not know of several properties except for the fact my friends have cosplayed for them.
Now think about these concepts applied on a global scale. Several of my friends from around the world who derive all of their income through cosplay. Several are brought in as guests and sponsored cosplayers for companies internationally. Now for the most part these friends have not been the winners of the major contests at events like those above, but everything can change especially now there is the global focus. If the cosplayers who do sell prints and products do compete and win in these larger events, it can cause an increased amount of sales.
What I am very interested in myself is the introduction of more international cosplayers from around the world. Especially at the global championships. Many of the international cosplayers that people are introduced to by mutual friends, from shares by other cosplayers and news sites, and from those who cosplayers come to international conventions. International cosplay guests are one of the rising form of cosplay guests. In addition, something to think about would be the global properties that these globally recognized cosplayers could introduce their fan bases too.
Now let us look at the categories proposed by ReedPOP for NYCC:
Costume Category:
• Comic Books
• Movie & Television
• Video Games
• Anime & Manga
• Fantasy
Something very interesting to note are the sheer number of transmedia properties that exist with characters. For example Batman, there are many variants and versions of Batman so how would you characterize different versions of Batman for a cosplay without adding qualifiers? This is partially done through the photos of course, but there are a lot. They are also missing figures that are usually inspired by all of the above, but for example the various characters from One Piece which itself is also a manga, anime, series of games, etc. There is also the potential here to think about the possible missing types like sci-fi, illustration, etc. The fantasy category is not descriptive enough and would this include things like Magic Cards? I think creating the categories might be more complex than simply having the open system with just allowing for the references to the said characters via wikis, websites, etc. Grouping by age, skill level, etc. is much different.
There are a few problems with the NYCC Quest already:
1. They already require you to have a badge for NYCC to entry for the NYCC Quest, which was difficult before due to the sheer speed in which the badges sold out of all types, plus the time this was announced August 25th. To make this a more fair entry to the competition they should offer complimentary badges to those selected for entry into the competition, especially at this late time, and provide some badges for their handlers who are people who help cosplayers with larger costumes or in some cases prep with makeup, body paint, etc. Handlers and assistants are also something that can be seen from Heroes of Cosplay. Because of this there may be and probably will be people with some awesome cosplays who will not be able to participate. Since this is likely to become a yearly event people will consider this when doing the badge rush buy.
2. From the rules: “Contestants are responsible for their own belongings. We are unable to provide a secure area for personal items. We recommend bringing an assistant to help with belongings. A bag check area is available at the Javits Center.” Right here they recommend a handler and this person must have a badge themselves which can lead right back to the problem above about not having a handler. Though I am sure they will be able to secure personal items temporarily, it should be offered to the cosplayers. I know of plenty of cosplay that is wearable for photoshoots and for the stage/parade but not walking around a crowded convention in. Hopefully, ReedPOP or Riot Games will also have a cosplay repair station, which would be very important in the case of damage or needed repairs, which is very important.
3. Also for check-in I would recommend having a place for cosplayers to get into their NYCC Quest Cosplay because the Javits is not connected to any hotel and you do have to travel from wherever you are staying in NYC to Javits and then to the check-in. The travel can be far even in light cosplay (and I mean light as in not heavy in weight) and it can be extremely complicated to get through doors and travelling even if only some parts of the costume are on, and this is not including such things as body paint and makeup, and fixes that would have to be made accordingly.
4. This also a shared concern about each of the possible other events because some of them have already started to sell and sell out of tickets.
I am not talking about the limited amount of entries because there could be thousands if it was an open cosplay contest like many conventions have because the time of the contest can go for hours along with the sign up lines, etc. Though I am wondering how many people will be a part of the NYCC Quest because they will be featured on the NYCC Eastern Championships of Cosplay webpage with their bios, headshots, and other information.
For an open cosplay contest: You can see things like this at the at booth cosplay contests such as the ones that Marvel hosts and theirs are at a very fast pace. I participated in one of Marvel’s at SDCC this because I had new Punisher props (I make documentation and identity props and had new digital props) and was asked to attend by Marvel staff. (I normally do not compete.)
However, I do expect NYCC Quest to be quite a show especially because it will be livestreamed, probably by Amazon’s Twitch as they have with other events such as those at PAX East. I do have a few questions about the livestream, at Special Edition: NYC I spoke with their digital sales person about adding closed captions to livestreams for the hearing impaired, so I am wondering if that will happen (post show they should be put on YouTube for later viewing).
This also makes me wonder about a new form of con wars too which may start happening which I call the “virtual attendee.” This exists to a degree via the livestreams that currently exist, but I was thinking about the cons that would start to monetize these in terms of selling tickets to them (for all the attendees who cannot attend the event itself) or by advertising.
Let me finish by thinking about how ReedPOP may do Quest for the Crown Cosplay Competition Circuit:
As I have noted there are multiple conventions around the US and abroad that are ReedPOP properties. The various PAXes can have prelims for the finals along with NYCC. These PAXes are on the west coast in Seattle, Washington, east coast with PAX East in Boston, Massachusetts, the south with PAX South in San Antonio, Texas and of course Australia with the PAX there. Through from the PAXes I expect rather large and very impressive cosplays from video games. I am unsure about the cosplays from the Star Wars Celebrations but I expect these to be impressive Star Wars characters, and there are a lot of them with more to come with new shows and movies.
I would expect see more comic and anime/manga cosplay at NYCC, C2E2, and the OZ cons along with the large amount of comic cosplays. However, truthfully like SDCC, NYCC, and C2E2 has all sorts of cosplay covering everything.
What I am interested in are the 15 events they will have. We already know of two with NYCC and C2E2, and I have listed several of the possible and likely conventions, but these are not confirmed and even with all these, this does not total 15 global events. I am very interested in seeing what will be announced in terms of other events. Back to the dates too, I am curious if any of these events that host major cosplay competitions would compete with other major cosplay competition events such as those listed above causing cosplayers to choose which event they want to compete in. If so would the other conventions look into changing their dates, even a week can make difference, especially when they host big competition events or prelims.
So there it is the new front of con wars, cosplay. Not only do cons have to worry about getting guests for the con dates before another con does, not only do fans have to think about what convention they want to go that weekend, but now conventions have to think about the other dates of other cosplay competitions, and cosplayers who compete may also have to consider what cons they want to go to, prepare for, and all the associated expenses. The wars are expanding and evolving, it will be interesting to see the battles.
[Lawrence Brenner is a global researcher, documentor, and educator on cosplay and other pop culture topics. His works have been presented at The Anime and Manga Studies Symposium at Anime Expo and the Japanese Cultural Institute at Katsucon and have been featured in many news outlets.
The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect that of The Beat or its staff.
]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/26/2014
As we reported the other day, in 2015 Wizard’s convention schedule is expanding even more, and they are adding nine new territories in 2015, including
San Jose, Calif.;
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.;
Cleveland, OH
Raleigh, N.C.;
Indianapolis, IN
Las Vegas, NV
Des Moines, Iowa;
Madison, Wis.;
Greenville, S.C.
Additional cities (new and returning) may also be added in the coming weeks.
According to the PR, at least 12 of the 16 events from 2014, plus the “Bruce Campbell’s Horror Fest” will return, including long running Comic Cons in Chicago (Rosemont, Ill.); Philadelphia; New Orleans; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas and newer events in Portland, Ore.; Minneapolis; St. Louis; Sacramento, Calif.; Nashville, Tenn; Richmond, Va.; and Tulsa, Okla.
And here’s the line-up:
(*denotes new show) (all dates and venues subject to change):
Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con, January 9-11, Ernest N.Morial Convention Center
Wizard World Portland Comic Con, January 23-25, Oregon Convention Center
*Wizard World Wisconsin Comic Con, February 6-8, Alliant Energy Center, Madison, Wis.
*Wizard World Indianapolis Comic Con, February 13-15, Indianapolis Convention Center
*Wizard World Cleveland Comic Con, February 20-22, Cleveland Convention Center
*Wizard World Presents Bruce Campbell’s Horror Fest, March 6-8, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill.
*Wizard World Raleigh Comic Con, March 13-15, Raleigh Convention Center
*Wizard World Las Vegas Comic Con, April 24-26, Las Vegas Convention Center
Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con, May 1-3, Minneapolis Convention Center
Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con, May 7-10, Pennsylvania Convention Center
Wizard World St. Louis Comic Con, May 22-24, America’s Center
*Wizard World Greenville Comic Con, May 28-30, TD Convention Center, Greenville, S.C.
*Wizard World Des Moines Comic Con, June 12-14, Iowa Events Center
Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con, June 19-21, Sacramento Convention Center
Wizard World Richmond Comic Con, July 31-August 2, Greater Richmond Convention Center
Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, August 20-23, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Ill.
*Wizard World San Jose Comic Con, September 4-6, San Jose Convention Center
Wizard World Columbus Comic Con, September 18-20, Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio
Wizard World Nashville Comic Con, September 25-27, Music City Center
*Wizard World Fort Lauderdale Comic Con, October 2-4, Greater Fort Lauderdale Broward County Convention Center
Wizard World Tulsa Comic Con, October 23-25, Cox Business Center
Wizard World Austin Comic Con, October 29-31, Austin Convention Center
Most of the new events will be held in the Feb-Mar time frame. The schedule avoids July altogether and stops for November, December.
Many of these shows are in cities with existing shows, and I know of several instances where Wizard tried to originally schedule their new show right against an existing show but backed down after negotiation. And how many of these shows are up against other local events? The mineeapolis con seems to be right up against Spring Con once again.
Like we said, that Golden Goose is looking a little woozy whee comic-cons are concerned.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/18/2014
Photo: Tucson Comic-Con by Henry Barajas
Are con wars just heating up? Calvin Reid and I surveyed the showrunners after this weekend’s three con pile-up and it sounds like things are just getting started.
In particular, it turns out Special Edition: NYC was just a warm-up for what could be smaller comics shows everywhere.
He also acknowledged that Special Edition is an experimental concept and the show is likely to be used as a template for organizing comics shows in “underserved” markets around the county. Armstrong said feedback from fans, publishers and artists has been “overwhelmingly positive.” Armstrong said, “fans want access to creators in a more intimate environment,” he said, and creators have expressed “satisfaction in being able to have meaningful and less hurried interactions with their current fans and new readers.”
Armstrong acknowledged that the show as scheduled competes with the two other local comics shows over the same weekend—EternalCon in Garden City, NY and the New York Comic Fest in White Plains. But he also emphasized that no decision has been made on where or when the next Special Edition will be held, or even if it will be in New York.
NYCF’s Crucial Entertainment announced that the Asbury Park Comic Con will be replaced by the East Coast Comicon, to be held April 11-12, 2015. “We outgrew Asbury Park,” he continued, “and while we love the town, it’s difficult putting on a con in a hotel or an old convention hall. We haven’t given up on Asbury Park, we like to think that like Frosty the Snowman it’ll ‘be back again one day.’”
EternalCon was the only show that gave numbers — more than 3000 fans each day. And yes it will be back next year.
According to reports, Wizard is poised to expand into even more territories next year, including just about any city big enough to have a stop-light or dedicated froyo outlet. If ReedPop is lining up its own brand of smaller, comics-focused shows, we could be looking at a very crowded schedule indeed.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/29/2014
Here’s a brief local TV news spot showcasing the unfortunate timing of the new Wizard World Minneapolis—May 3-5—and the long running Spring Con thrown by the MCBN (Midwest Comic Book Association) —held May 17-18. I first reported on this last year, and Wizard’s John Macaluso insisted that they hadn’t known about the local show, and weren’t trying to conflict with anybody—even though at one point Wizard had offered to purchase the MCBA show.
According to Nick Postigliano, one of SpringCon’s organizers, the controversy has actually helped his show, as social media activity is way up and a lot of local cartoonists are supporting the show.
By this time it should be fairly evident that Wizard shows are here to stay and should be given the popularity of the events. They aren’t for everybody, but they are for somebody. The show calendar schedule is dotted with these kinds of “near misses” however, and you’d have to be pretty naive to think that there isn’t some overall strategy in show planning.
That said, this con culture shows no signs of slowing down, at least not as long as Bruce Campbell and Nathan Fillion are in need of some extra cash. Wizard is smartly targeting smaller markets like Tulsa, Reno, Nashville, Richmond, VA and so on…places that don’t have huge established shows. (It looks like the New York show from last year is off the schedule.)
While the timing—planned or not—is far from ideal, it sounds like SpringCon 2014 is also on its way to being a successful show.
Are you going to either or both of these conventions? Tell the Beat how they went!
[Via Kevin Melrose]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/28/2014
Straight from the offices of Publishers Weekly, it’s More to Come! Your podcast source of comics news and discussion starring The Beat’s own Heidi MacDonald.
In this week’s podcast the More to Come Crew – Heidi “The Beat” MacDonald, Calvin Reid and Kate Fitzsimons – discuss Special Edition, the new New York comics-only show from ReedPop (the creators of NYCC), convention woes in Denver and South Bend, Osamu Tezuka‘s backlist goes digital, Viz coming to India, the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie, casting for the Fantastic Four movie and more on PW Comics World’s More To Come.
Now tune in Fridays for our regularly scheduled podcast!
Listen to this episode in streaming here, download it direct here and catch up with our previous podcasts on the PublishersWeekly website, or subscribe to More To Come on iTunes
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/26/2013
By all accounts last weekend's inaugural Wizard World Portland show was a success. Steve Duin has a glowing report:
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/25/2013
§ Graphic Classics is still turning out themed comics anthologies, and their new one is Native American Classics: Graphic Classics Volume 24, for which they hired as many actual Native American creators as possible:
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/8/2013
Con wars are back! Only not warlike. After a long absence from the crucicble of New York City's cramped and expensive venues, Wizard World is coming back to the city that started it all with the WIzard World New York City Experience, to be held June 28-30 at Basketball City Pier 36. The venue is known to us but does recall the cavernous Pier 94 where Wizard held its 2009 show. The date doesn't seem to conflict with anything too major, save for a few smallish cards and comics shows in the midwest.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/18/2012
Maybe a teeny bit of Con Wars fall-out as it’s been announced that Seattle’s biggest comic-con—Emerald City Comicon—is teaming up with Portland’s emerging con—The Rose City Comic Con. You’ll note both shows have matching logos now—which is totes adorbs.
Reading the press release, it reads as if the very well established and growing ECCC is helping the newer RCCC gird up and survive the arrival of Wizard’s Portland Comic Con. But you know, there’s lots of room for well run comics shows everywhere, and not everyone wants to meet Dean Cain again and again.
Seattle-based ECCC Corp., organizers of Emerald City Comicon (ECCC), the largest comic book and pop culture event in the Pacific Northwest, announced today a formal partnership with Portland-based FlashPoint Media to cooperate in bringing Oregon the convention it rightly deserves in the 2013 Rose City Comic Con (RCCC).
RCCC 2013 will be taking place September 21-22, 2013 at the Oregon Convention Center, and will be co-produced by both ECCC and RCCC, combining the talents and organizational efforts for one fantastic event. The first guest announced for RCCC 2013 is world-renowned illustrator Adam Hughes.
“This announcement kicks-off a fantastic partnership,” says ECCC Convention Director Jim Demonakos. “We are thrilled to team up with Ron Brister and his crew to help take the Rose City Comic Con to the next level!”
“We are so excited to work with ECCC and build upon what was started in 2012,” says Ron Brister, Rose City Comic Con founder. “ECCC has long been a favorite convention of ours and now, every six months there will be an amazing convention in the Pacific Northwest!”
This is the first step in an ongoing partnership between the two organizations to create the best in pop culture events for the Pacific Northwest. For complete details, visit the Rose City Comic Con website
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/31/2012
For months a huge question mark has loomed over the location of 2013’s WonderCon, one of the largest comics conventions in the United States. In an exclusive interview with Comic-Con International’s v-p of marketing and public relations David Glanzer, he revealed that the answer is Anaheim—but that could change, as Comic-Con International, the non-profit organization that runs the show, may still get dates in the fall for a Bay Area show. In which case that show will be WonderCon and the Anaheim show will be rebranded an as-yet unnamed new SoCal show. But as of right now, WonderCon is slated to be held March 29-31, 2013 in Anaheim—which also happens to be Easter weekend.
This answers some questions yet raises more:
More details in the link at Publishers Weekly.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 12/15/2011
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.
“Where are we headed is to be an entertainment company,” Mathews told The Beat. “First and foremost it’s all about treating our fans in a supportive manner and providing them with the best entertainment we can, putting on great conference and having great VIPS.”
Mathews described the convention side of the business—currently planned as New Orleans, Toronto, Philadelphia, Chicago and Mid-Ohio, with Big Apple and Austin TBA—as robust. “With the last couple of shows business is excellent. And we couldn’t be happier. We have a couple of shows that are spectacular—Philadelphia and Chicago—but the reality is we’d like to have a number of cities that are spectacular as well.” While plans are in place to grow the business over the next year, he said that the number of shows is not yet set. There is room for more, but at the same time, if a show isn’t making money there is no reason to put it on.
A planning meeting is being held next week to decide the number of shows for 2012. Much of the future plan depends on the new CEO, who will be announced early in January—the company is already in talks with a candidate who already worked with Wizard. Jerry Milani, Peter Katz, and Kevin Kelly will all be staying on with the company.
As for the other part of the Wizard business – news and entertainment – Mathews said that part will be developed as well, under the new CEO’s guidance. Mathews own background is in web network and monetizing websites – he founded Interclick, the internet ad agency that was recently sold to Yahoo for $270 million. “We’ve rebuilt wizardworld.com and are in the process of becoming a vertical ad network similar to Complex and Break.com. We are also running Toywiz.com and we are just finalizing deals with a number of music sites. When you think of us as an entertain
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/27/2011
By Bruce Lidl
The on-going saga of the city of San Diego’s attempts to keep Comic Con happy in its home town, despite the explosive growth of attendees, the lack of convention center space and the traditional bad relations between Con-goers and local hotels, seemed to have been settled amicably in 2010. San Diego pledged to expand its convention center and the Con organizers responded by committing to remain in San Diego for the time being, despite the active, almost desperate, wooing by both Anaheim and Los Angeles.
Now, barely two months after a blissfully relocation anxiety free Comic Con 2011, the city’s financial plan necessary for the expansion to take place may be in seriousjeopardy. In a move reminiscent of all too many teen movies and afternoon specials, the local jocks, in this case the San Diego Charger professional football team are dead set on grabbing the lunch money away from the nerds of Comic Con. In a move that has surprised even the most jaded of local political observers, the Chargers organization has declared their ambition to force the money allocated for Convention Center expansion to be used instead for a new football stadium. The current city plan calls for an increase in the hotel tax for visitors staying in downtown San Diego to be used for building out the Convention Center where it presently stands, but the Chargers, are proposing instead that a convention center/stadium be built on the far side of the Petco baseball stadium in the East Village area of San Diego.
The issue of where and how to pay for a Convention Center expansion had seemed settled, but a new law, passed by the voters of California in November 2010 as Proposition 26 changed how taxes in the state can be enacted, and doubtabout the legality of the San Diego hotel tax hike plan began to bubble under the surface. The Chargers, owned by the Spanos family, have been trying to get a publicly funded new arena for at least a decade, as they are unhappy in their current Qualcomm stadium, which they consider too old, too small, too lacking in luxury boxes, not hip enough to host Super Bowls, etc. With the Convention Center plan up in the air, the Chargers pounced, announcing that they would back a petition to put the entire idea before the San Diego voters in a local proposition in an
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/16/2011
Yesterday’s revelation that the Wizard World LA convention has been postponed — only five weeks away from its original Sept. 24-25 dates — was just the latest strange twist in the last real outpost of Con Wars: the SoCal market of LA, Anaheim and Los Angeles. As detailed in this CBR piece from May, three cons in a three-month period — WWLA in September, the Long Beach Comic-Con in October and the new Comikaze event in November — left an already tough market swamped.
The LA show was originally announced in April , following on the heels of Wizard’s Anaheim Comic-Con. As recently as the end of July, guests were being announced. So the postponement caught everyone by surprise. Con-promoter Shawn Marshall tweeted:
I’ve heard several of the exhibitors signed-up for LA @WizardWorld have still not been informed about the show’s cancellation #frustrating
@JimmySJay Yeah, hate to see cancellations.Also, if @WizardWorld needs to cancel they should do better than just changing show date to TBD
My money’s on @ComikazeExpo & @LongBeach_CC RT @MikeRoe: Wizard World L.A.’s been canceled? Sad. Any big L.A. area cons coming up?
@MikeRoe I have very high hopes for it. Their approach reminds me of @PhoenixComicon & I love what they’ve become #fingerscrossed
@GeekyRockChick Haven’t seen anything more than them changing status to TBD. They’re not answering questions #poorcustomerservice
So, Wizard pulls the plug on the LA show, just five weeks out, after inviting me and inducing my purchase of a non-refundable room?
The piece by Josie Campbell from CBR we mentioned earlier, has more background on the SoCal gang rumble:
Of course, the elephant in the room is Wizard World’s LA Comic Con. Announ
3 Comments on Wizard World LA postponement surprised guests and exhibitors, last added: 8/16/2011Display Comments Add a Comment
At a geek culture show like AwesomeCon, attendees are mostly interested in existing properties and derivatives thereof. It’s no wonder that people want to buy prints targeted at their fandoms. These artists are catering to audience demand.
Rip off artists are reprehensible, but the ones who create their own works? If they can tap into the commercial market I say more power to ’em. Some are just really dedicated fan artists and would make the work even if they didn’t have a market beyond Tumblr.
Also, a local IP lawyer in the DC area just wrote up an article about this exact topic. http://www.sethpolanskylaw.com/2016/06/10/intellectual-property-the-wrath-of-cons/
To me, its like being in a cover band. You can dress like the popular band, put on a good show and have fun with it. I get it. You’re a fan too and you want to share that love with like minded people. But I think I prefer to write my own music that would barely sell because I am a no-name. To me, that is a more fulfilling life. I’ve made something. I’ve put it out into the world. I contributed to the big book of humanity. Its that journey in art that gets me off. Whatever this is, the wall of print people… not me.
I don’t begrudge anyone who is coming to it HONESTLY and doing it. I have friends that do it. But majority of them also sell their own comics with it. It supplements the income and pays the bills so they can do their real art. They’ve found a loophole in the system. And good on them for reading the customer base and being smart about it. Cause I think they’d rather be just self publishing. We ALL would, I think! But until the mentality of the consumer changes, we’re stuck with what is. So we can either play the game or get out. Or be a self publisher and use things like Kickstarter like I did and PAVE YOUR OWN AWAY!
Its much more rewarding.
This was very insightful and somewhat vindicating. I am a graphic novelist who publishes with an independent publisher (not a vanity or print-on-demand, but also not an IMAGE or Marvel). My books are entirely of my own creation and I try my very hardest to promote and sell them at cons. I recently just got back into the con circuit and watch now, more then ever, as people would breeze by my booth not recognizing anything and suddenly freak out and crowd around the ones on either side of me with towering displays of Pokemon, Doctor Who and Spider-man fan prints. I’m not complaining, I get that they’re satisfying a market of familiar material, and I am proud of surviving in a sea of fan art with my creator-own material. The funny thing is, I was considering doing the fan art myself to draw in more crowds, but after reading this…I question whether or not I’d just be watering down an already over saturated market. The real problem is, the conventions are just getting WAY too expensive for artists who are trying to bring originality to the field. I don’t know what side I’m on yet, but this has definitely opened my eyes more.
The ones who are blatantly ripping off images created by other artists, as in, pretty much photocopying and passing it off as their own, should be held accountable. It shouldn’t be difficult to do once these Artists Alleys are set up. I quick look up and down should do it. As for height displays, I’d say that’s a separate issue entirely and should be dealt with just like any other vendor taking up more than their fair share of space. I wouldn’t necessarily jump down the throats of consumers. They pay to get in there (usually) and don’t know any better. If it’s for sale, then it’s for sale. It’s up to the convention’s organisers to deal with unscrupulous vendors. The ignorance on the part of people purchasing these ripoffs is somewhat understandable.
I don’t agree about the tchotchkes. Why can’t they be set up alongside others? It’s still artistry. Seems a bit silly to demand they be somewhere else. Just my take on this based on my own experiences.
So how do they rectify commissioned sketches by artists that are not necessarily owners of the property or owners of a license? This would effectively end any commissioned sketches at conventions as well wouldn’t it? The people selling prints of other peoples artwork and passing it off as their own are the real problem, I have total agreement in that. But for the comics industry to “crack down” on anyone drawing a picture of a character is fucking ridiculous. If you put the time in drawing inking sketching creating an original piece of artwork, you should be able to sell it without the fear of getting your ass sued off by some ginormous company. That’s my opinion and its certainly not the law, but seriously Marvel/DC whats next, you gonna put out lawyers in high schools to sue kids drawing pictures of their favorite characters for their friends? Its big versus small, and the big guys have the most money to blow on such nonsense, so ultimately the little will lose out. And in doing so the fans will as well.
Several thoughts on this article.
1) it’s funny that the pros who do this very same thing don’t get targeted. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen Greg Horn take up 3-4 tables in artist alley with his “team” selling his artwork…. no greg in site.
2) Most of the print vendors in artist alley are not ripping off someone else’s artwork. There are some like those splatter guys and some of the folks just tracing movie images but most are artists who are drawing the characters they love for fans who are looking for just that.
3) It’s funny that the pro’s are the ones who complain about these things but they themselves do not offer an alternative for the customer. If the customer doesn’t care that an artist who worked for spider-man is signing books and that artist isn’t selling a variety of prints with the characters fans want….then that’s that creators own fault. The popular creators make buckets of money (ask J.Scott Campbell) and there are plenty of people shelling out money for original sketches from guys who work for marvel/dc. That has nothing to do with print walls.
4) I do agree that artist alley should be for artists selling their product (prints or originals…whatever) but for those representing other artists (print vendors) there isn’t a better alternative. Take Wizard World for example, $300 for an artist table a table that is roughly 2 feet wider with the same print wall set up would cost over $1000 in the vendor area. There are definitely print vendors making more than that at shows but not that much more…. and if that person really is a print vendor representing an artist then there is probably a profit split in the works.
In short, if pros want a pros section at cons… they should demand one. if pros don’t want an artist alley section then it’s simply because they want more money. they aren’t protecting the fans because the fans are getting what they want. if shows want to eliminate print vendors from artist alley then they should provide an alternative.
*pros don’t want artists selling prints of characters in artist alley ^
@Adam Talley – not all these guys are like cover bands unless you know of bands who charge people to watch them mime to the songs of the original artists!
Calling 3D Artists ‘tchotchke’ sellers is highly offensive and dismissive to the artists. They take just as much time and talent as a print artist, if not more time due to inability to mass produce large numbers of prints repeatedly. As someone who solely sells original 3D works in the artists alley (as well as some original prints), you had me agreeing with you up until that point. Why even put that in this context? Are you trying to lump us with ripoff artists? That is dismissive, uninformed and elitist.