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  [UPDATE: “Unfortunately, due to multiple talent having new filming schedule conflicts beyond our control, we have been forced to cancel the Wizard World Cruise.”  Wow… I was at Wizard World Philly, and they were promoting this then. Methinks there wasn’t enough interest.]   Wizard World, known for their many fan conventions hosted across the […]

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…and he had a good time! I attended my first Wizard World convention when most people did… in 1997, when Wizard had purchased the venerable Chicago Comic Con, and attendance was 5,000. Later, I checked out the “Con War” edition of Wizard World New York in 2009. I hadn’t been to any others, partly because […]

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Wizard World Portland gets the Time Lord treatment in an exclusive variant cover for the upcoming show in February.

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Having spent my youth in the Midlands of the United States (including summers in a small town of 1200), I understand the desire to experience the world just over the horizon,. With Broadway tours and rock concerts somewhat repulsed by the local venues, we had to actively invite geek celebrities to visit.

So I was intrigued when Wizard World announced a show in Des Moines, Iowa for June 2015. C2E2 draws a wide regional audience of cosplayers and comics fans, but I wasn’t sure DM and Iowa would draw enough interest. (Of course, it’s only two hours from Omaha, but for some, the Missouri is an ocean.)

How well did Wizard World do at the Iowa Events Center (Des Moines’ convention center) last weekend?  The Des Moines Register reports:

Thousands of con-goers — most donning an article or two that displayed their geekery, but some dressed completely as their favorite comic characters — flooded the inaugural Wizard World held over the weekend at the Iowa Events Center. Three-day passes for the popular event sold out weeks before Wizard World arrived, while Saturday admission sold out in the days leading up to the convention.

(Note: this hasn’t happened for this weekend’s Sacramento show.  VIP tickets are still available.)

There was also some geek royalty there (who is also a superhero in real life!):

Miss Iowa Autumn Weaver-Nigro, 24, posed for endless pictures and played with young comic fans while dressed as Wonder Woman. Deaf since birth, Weaver-Nigro said going to cons and participating in cosplay (a term for the hobby of making and wearing your own costumes) helped her gain self-confidence and come to terms with the bullying she endured in school.

She also visits children’s hospitals in costume!

And what I said about Nebraska…

[Jeff] Schipman, who drove in from Omaha, said he has heard a bit of jealousy in Nebraska that Des Moines got Wizard World and Omaha didn’t. “I don’t mind,” he said. “I drove here, I’m fine.”

(Hey, Lance, Omaha’s got a nice new convention center downtown, lots of great food and drink nearby, plus the College World Series just blocks away…)

How happy were the vendors?

Many exhibitors and vendors said business was good throughout the weekend.

“It’s been phenomenal, way better than I expected,” said Cam Adams, 28, an artist selling prints and on-demand drawings. “I am selling a lot more than I anticipated. I’ve sold about a dozen original drawings, which is great. I never sell that many originals.”

“The foot traffic has just been amazing,” said Andrew Smith, 31, who was working the Iowa Ghostbusters booth. (The Iowa Ghostbusters are a “Ghostbusters” fan group.) “We brought a ton of promotional materials and fliers, and we were wiped out a day and a half into the convention.”

The final word, from the WW CEO:

“We had very high expectations for Wizard World Comic Con Des Moines, but somehow the fans exceeded those,” said Wizard World CEO John Macaluso. “Attendees, exhibitors, artists and celebrities agree that this was a fabulous first show, and we’re excited about coming back next May.”

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For the second year, ReedPOP has hosted a comics-focused mini-con on the Hudson River: Special Editon: New York City, promoted as “a pure celebration of comic book culture created specifically for die-hard comic book fans, creators and publishers!”

Which, it was.  It was the size of MoCCA Fest (and recalled those shows at the Armory), and almost duplicated the Wizard World show held at the same pier in 2009. The show seemed to be little changed from last year’s inaugural show at the Javits Center, although the new venue offered some new challenges.

Here are my observations, with some caveats.  ReedPOP does advertise on this site, and overall, we like them, and they’ve been nice to us here at The Beat. I didn’t attend this show under a press pass…I was here strictly as a consumer, to meet artists, find some cheap comics, and just relax and enjoy the show. I also wanted to support the show, because, frankly, I love dealer shows, and even smaller comic cons, which this most definitely is. The hype level is lower, the personal space a bit wider, and I know I’ll meet most of the people I meet at other shows, but with more time to chat. With the Internet, I no longer feel the need to sit in a panel room, especially when someone will post a summary a few hours later. But that’s just me. Everyone has their own reasons for attending shows, and when people can do what they want to do with minimal headaches and snafus, most people are happy.

So… my observations.

I’ve attended almost all of the MoCCA Fests, I attended the Wizard World “con war” show hosted at this pier in October 2009. I’ve wandered the decaying aisles of the Hotel Pennsylvania during Big Apple shows. I’ve been to myriad comics shows all over the New York metro area.

So let’s talk about the venue: Pier 94.  This was the same venue used by Wizard World in 2009. It’s not “on the waterfront”, it’s ON THE WATER.  It’s a pier, once used for shipping goods to and from Manhattan.  (The cruise ship terminal is just a few blocks south.) The building is a giant field house shed. Exposed rafters and HVAC. Plain concrete floors. Rooms created by basically building a box on the floor.

So, this means that the roof leaks.  (I felt one drop, and one Facebook comment noted that a sketch was splotched by an errant drop.) Thankfully, the weather was perfect this weekend, or else there would have been more complaints, both inside and walking outside.  When I attended the venue in October 2009, the weather was damp and dreary, and the venue had little heating. (This might be due to the organizers not wanting to pay extra for climate control, for which MoCCA frequently was criticized when they used the Puck Building during Summer months.)

So, yes, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see Babes In Arms cosplay. That’s the basic DNA of a smaller comic con: find an affordable space, sell booths to retailers, tables to artists, and hope the general public shows up. That space can be a barn, an armory, a hotel, an arena, a pier, even a cruise ship! If done right, the show feels like a mini-con, with famous guests, events and panels aimed at specific fandoms, and a general feeling of “this is so great!”

But, there were some mistakes made.

The T-layout of the building (pier plus road-front building) caused a bit of a challenge with layout. The big open space made the panel rooms difficult to manage, as sound carried from one to the other. (This is a smaller problem at Javits, but even there, noise from one room can filter over to the next.) Curtain-and-drape does not muffle sound. This could have easily been solved by placing one of the panels at the far western end of the pier, on the other other side of Artist Alley which was used as a concessions area, far from the other panel which was at the front of the building. By placing a destination point at the back of the space, you encourage attendees to wander through artists alley, increasing the traffic and potential sales.

The booth layout was generally good and easy to navigate.  Artist Alley aisles did get crowded at times, especially those along the far north wall, (You can see the big empty space their, in the middle third.) Having one of two bathrooms in the building located there did not help matters, especially after the men’s room towards the front was taken out of service.

Yet, the 2×2 booth layout didn’t work very well. (NYCC generally uses 2×3 or 2×4 layouts.) Booths felt spread out, some felt lonely, and the giant space of the building made it feel, well, dystopian. (Did anyone else expect Batman to come crashing through the ceiling to fight the Joker?)

But this is a problem all event planners face in New York… how do you rent a space, budget the show so that exhibitors will show up and ticket prices can be kept affordable so that people show up to buy stuff? I’m an armchair architect, and I love looking at venues, measuring spaces, and wondering if a show that took place in one venue can transition to someplace else. But it’s not easy, especially for shows of this size. Javits North (where SENYC14 was held) has 80,000 square feet of space. Pier 94: 133,000 sq.ft. (A football field, minus the endzones, is 48,000 square feet.)

The Armory Hall where MoCCA used to be? 45,000 sq.ft. The Marriott Marquis offers 21,550 and 28,258 sq.ft in two ballrooms. Here’s a site listing the ten largest venues in NYC for events. Javits North is #1, Pier 94 is #2, Resorts World way out by JFK airport is #3. The Penn Pavilion, which hosted the Big Apple shows back in the day, has 40,000 sq.ft. over two floors.

So… there are few places where a show like this can be in New York City. Even if a hotel were used, with a box office and event rooms elsewhere, the ballroom space available wouldn’t be large enough. I count 164 10×10 booths at SENYC15. That equals 16,400 sq.ft., not counting the aisles (~20,000 sq.ft.), or Artist Alley (~5,000 sq.ft. for the tables, ~10,000 for the aisles, as well as space behind the tables.). Over 50,000 sq.ft of space needed for a show floor, probably more given my sloppy back-of-the-envelope calculations.

ReedPOP’s Special Edition shows are small comic cons, and seem to be designed to compete with Wizard World.  A show like this would easily fit into a local convention center, not a hotel.  Wizard World Des Moines, scheduled for next week, will utilize 147,000 sq.ft. (147 booths, 117 artist tables, 6 fan tables).

I do hope that Special Edition continues, and as an attendee, I hope it moves back to Javits North.  That hall is big, brand new (2010), clean, and has multiple clean bathrooms. Fans are familiar with the space, and if panels are housed in 1-A, then it’s a short walk, and there’s space to hold more than two tracks of programming.  Even better… the northernmost exit… it’s two blocks to 42nd Street, and the 7-Eleven and Subway sandwiches.

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UPDATE: I’ve learned that this show could have been the victim of Wizard World’s own aggressive scheduling, as it was planned for literally ONE WEEK after the existing SC Comicon, which will be held at the exact same venue. Possibly the locals wanted to support the local show.

Although this sounds like a change in planning and not part of the Great Con Contraction, even Wizard has decided to postpone one of it’s show by a year. Wizard World Greenville, SC was scheduled for May 29-30, 2015 but has been rescheduled for July 15-17, 2016. The reason for the move was given as a scheduling conflict. The TD Convention Center in Greenville was only available for two days, and “Wizard World feels that the fans of Greenville would be best served by a weekend, three-day show for the full Wizard World Comic Con experience.”

Wizard World Greenville’s dates were previously a Friday-Saturday event; the current Wizard schedule shows several such events, although most are 3 day affairs.

This is a first year show in a new market for Wizard, but when the rookie does reappear, it will be a David v. Goliath event as the show will be smack dab in the middle of Comic-con month. While the dates for the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con haven’t been announced, it’s been speculated that the dates will be July 20-24th. Even if it isn’t the exact same dates, it isn’t likely too many major comics professionals will have much time or attention to even think about another smaller show.

Wizard has hitherto avoided direct conflict with San Diego’s dates; only the traditional Rosemont/Chicago Comic-Con is held in early August.

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WizardWorld has announced a new Chicago-based show with the Wizard World Comic Con Presents Fan Fest Chicago on March 7-8 at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont. In contrast to pricier Wizard shows, the event will be $25 for the weekend and $15 for either day, and people who sign up for VP or four day registration at the regular August show get in free.

Although Bleeding Cool originally positioned this show as a “Con Wars” shot across the bows to Reed’s C2E2 show held just a month later in Chicago proper—and we like a good con wars story as much as the next guy—the real reason was more prosaic: Wizard had originally booked the venue for these dates for Bruce Campell’s HorrorFest. However Campbell had to pull out due to filming on the new Evil Dead TV show (YYYAYYYYYYYY!) and since the dates were booked, Wizard put on another show rather than eat the costs of renting the venue.

Pretty simple.

The Campbell event has now been moved to co-locate with Wizard World Chicago in August. WWC is generally held to be a pretty busy and profitable show for all, and the Chicago area can probably support a whole bunch of events. Parking not included, of course.

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Despite a Twitter non-denial denial, from owner Renee George, Wizard World has confirmed they have acquired the long running Pittsburgh Comicon, to be held September 11-13 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

“We are excited to have acquired the long-standing and popular Pittsburgh Comicon from Renee,” said John Macaluso, Wizard World CEO. “We are excited to inject the Wizard World flavor in the Pittsburgh market, a city we’ve been wanting to expand to for many years. We are looking forward to seeing all our fans in September!”

“I am pleased that Wizard World will be able to continue the two-decade tradition of our show,” said George. “It’s a great opportunity for all of our loyal attendees in the area to take part in an even bigger event with more of what they have enjoyed for many years.”

As with the recent ECCC/ReedPOP deal, the existing Pittsburgh Comicon staff will continue to be involved with aspects of the show. According to George, “Our family and friends will continue to run the charity events, including Charity Quick Sketch & the Make-A-Wish Auction. All current contracts between the Pittsburgh Comicon & exhibitors or artists will be honored at this show. The Pittsburgh fans have been asking for bigger and better media guests and Wizard World will be able to provide that for them.”

The Pittsburgh Comicon has a long history, going back to 1994 when it was founded by Renee George and husband Michael George. It had a rep as a very creator friendly show and even hosted the Harvey awards from 2000-2002—ironically, perhaps the most famous event ever at the show was the Harvey Awards banquet where Frank Miller ripped a Wizard magazine in half while decrying its emphasis on speculation.

The show continued on even when co-owner Michael George was charged and then convicted of the 20-year-old murder of his former wife. Renee George continued to run the show throughout the legal proceedings.

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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

TOTES MAGOTES YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WANT TO MISS THIS.

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Wizard World just released its Q2 SEC filings, reporting income up sharply on an increased slate of shows. You’ll recall that Wizard World is a public company having gone “penny stock” a few years ago. The PR cites “higher quality events, including better organization, more programming, and an exciting list of celebrities and artists to an increasing fan base, ” as aiding the growth as well as doubling their number of events from two to four—and increasing admission prices. Wizard ran four shows in the first six months of 2013 and 8 in the comparable period in 2014. Convention revenue was $7,110,940 for the quarter and $12,284,138 for the first six months, on costs of $4,348,167 and $7,608,194 for a gross margin of $2,762,773 and $4,675,944 respectively. After operating expenses, net income for Q2 was $759,842 and $1,452,044 for the first six months, both vs a seven figure loss in 2013.

While I’ll leave it to an actual financial expert to look at the stock part of the filing, I did notice this:

We expect to produce sixteen (16) live events during the year ending December 31, 2014. To date, we have operated profitable live events in Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, Columbus, Portland, Nashville, Austin, and St. Louis, but we have operated at a deficit in other events. In order for us to operate a successful event, we must produce an event that is relevant to the public in order to drive admissions, booth sales, sponsorship, and advertising. In order for the Company to grow the digital business, we must attract unique users and drive traffic to our online site. To date, we have exhausted considerable resources developing our media platform, but we have yet to earn a profit from the platform.

This suggests that the Sacramento, Louisville, Minneapolis, Atlanta and San Antonio Wizard worlds were not profitable. The San Antonio stop, at least, won’t be back in 2015, I’m told—it’s listed as TBD on the Wizard Site. To Atalnta stop is listed, although they’ll take another crack at Minneapolis, Louisville and Sacramento.

Clearly, running shows as long as Wizard has, they’ve learned a ting or two, and the business can be lucrative…but a new territory is a crapshhoot, and their ambitious expansion program will probably be fine tuned as good markets are recognized.

The stock was up a tad on the news, but it generally fluctuates in a small range list most penny stocks.

Wizard World, Inc

. (OTCBB: WIZD) (the “Company”), a leading provider of Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across the world, today announced that the Company has released its second quarter 2014 financial results in the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2014 (“Q2 2014”). 

The Company hosted four comic cons in Q2 2014: St. Louis, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Philadelphia, bringing fans together with their favorite celebrities, artists, exhibitors in a pop culture and multimedia experience. Convention revenue for period ended June 30, 2014 was $7,110,940, 

an increase of $4,209,524 (or 145%) from $2,901,416 reported in the comparable period in 2013. Convention revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2014 was $12,284,138, an increase of $7,589,246 (or 162%) from $4,694,892 reported in the comparable period in 2013. The significant increase in revenue in 2014 is primarily accredited to the Company’s team’s dedication to delivering higher quality events, including better organization, more programming, and an exciting list of celebrities and artists to an increasing fan base, which all translates to higher revenue growth.

The Company ran eight events during the first six months ended June 30, 2014, as compared to four events during the comparable period in 2013. Average revenue generated per event in 2014 was $1,535,517 as compared to $1,173,723 during 2013.

 

Operating expenses were $2,002,931 

in Q2 2014, as compared to $859,536 the same period in 2013, which was the result of increases in staffing and employment costs due to the increased number and size of the events. Operating expenses for the six months ended June 30, 2014, was $3,223,900, as compared to $1,550,043 reported in the comparable period in 2013. 

Income from operations was $759,842 

in Q2 2014, an increase of 358% from $(293,666) reported in the comparable period in 2013. Income from operations for the six months ended June 30, 2014, was $1,452,044 as compared to $(167,574) reported in the comparable period in 2013. The increase is primarily attributable to running more and larger events with similar fixed costs.

$759,703 or income per share of $0.01 for the three months ended June 30, 2014, as compared to $(3,183,533) or loss per share of $0.09, in the comparable period in 2013. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2014, was $1,451,744 or income per share of $0.03, as compared to $(2,079,357) or loss per share of $(0.06), reported in the comparable period in 2013. Income in 2014 was primarily generated from convention revenue and stronger profit margin versus the loss in 2013 which was non-cash generated from a loss on the fair value of the Company’s derivative liabilities, and by year end of 2013 the Company successfully extinguished all derivative instruments.

At June 30, 2014, the Company had working capital of $4,030,802 and as of August 8, 2014, there were 51,341,524 shares of common stock issued and outstanding.

 

“We are excited to have successfully completed eight of our 2014 events to date, as our team is now preparing for our flagship event in Chicago which is expected to bring tens of thousands of fans to meet over 50 celebrities including the reunion of the cast from Star Trek: The Next Generation, more than 315 artists and more than 300 exhibitors,

” said John Macaluso, CEO of Wizard World, Inc. “We are thrilled to have already topped our 2013 revenue and we believe we will continue to exceed our expectations for the remainder of the year, increasing shareholder value and organically building our shareholder base with the ultimate shareholders, our fans.” 

The Company will continue its 2014 tour next in Chicago, August 21-24. Seven additional shows are scheduled in 2014, bringing the yearly total to 16 conventions. To find a Wizard World Comic Con in a city near you, go to: 

http://www.wizardworld.com/. 

The Company encourages shareholders to not rely on this press release and to refer to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for full disclosure relating to the second quarter financial report, filed on August 11, 2014, which can be found on www.sec.gov

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Author and historian Danny Fingeroth sent along his panel programming for this weekend’s Wizard World Minneapolis, and whatever the ongoing controversy, it is fair to say that WizWorld programming has improved quite a bit. While looking through the programs, we noticed that one participant is indie comics stalwart Zak Sally</a> of La Mano Press, Sammy the Mouse and more. Let’s just say that if there is one person we never expected to see at a Wizard World show it’s Zak Sally. Maybe he will hang out with “social media sensations” Nash and Hayes Grier and Nathan Fillion, and then the circle will be complete.

Here’s Danny’s programming line-up:

FRIDAY, MAY 2:

6:00 – 6:45PM
ONE-ON ONE WITH DAN JURGENS
Dan Jurgens is an accomplished creator who both writes and draws the adventures of the comic book industry’s most legendary characters including Superman and Spider-Man. His storytelling talents have breathed life into the most noteworthy properties from DC Comics, Marvel Comics and more. Dan has also created numerous characters that have become enduring staples in their fictional universes while stretching to other media as well. Dan speaks about his work and career with comics writer and editor Danny Fingeroth (Superman on the Couch). (M100 E)
 
 
SATURDAY, MAY 3: 

11:00 – 11:45AM
1939: THE YEAR THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING (BATMAN WAS JUST THE BEGINNING!)
75 years ago, as fateful events that would lead to the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 were coming together in Europe, the U.S.A. was experiencing an explosion of popular culture. In 1939, Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27; Timely (later Marvel) Comics released Marvel Comics #1, showcasing the first Marvel superheroes, Sub-Mariner and the Human Torch; and Hollywood produced classic films including The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind and Stagecoach. Discussing historical and cultural factors that made that year so important is a panel including Dr. Alex Lubet (University of Minnesota), pop culture expert Aaron Sagers, and Danny Fingeroth (Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics, and the Creation of the Superhero.) (M100 B)
 
 
1:00 – 1:45PM
THE COMIC BOOK AND ME: BOB DYLAN AND COMICS
As he has profoundly affected creators in all media, Bob Dylan has influenced comics and graphic novel writers and artists for the past five decades. Showing and discussing Dylan homages and references in comics through the years (including Moore and Gibbons’ Watchmen) are Dr. Alex Lubet (a Dylan expert who teaches Bob-courses at the University of Minnesota) and Danny Fingeroth (The Stan Lee Universe.) (M100 I)
 
3:00 – 3:45PM
SUPERSTAR ARTISTS ROUNDTABLE WITH KEVIN MAGUIRE, BARRY KITSON, CHAZ TRUOG AND DOUG WHEATLEY
Five of the top artists in comics talk about their careers, their craft, the comics business and whatever else might come up. Join Kevin Maguire (Justice League; Captain America,) Barry Kitson (Thor; X-Force,) Chaz Truog (Coyote; Animal Man) and Doug Wheatley (Star Wars; Batman) for this pencil-powered panel. Danny Fingeroth (How to Draw Comics from Script to Print DVD) moderates. (M100 I)
 
5:00 – 5:45PM
INDEPENDENT COMICS CREATORS ROUNDTABLE WITH: ZANDER CANNON, ZAK SALLY, VINCENT STALL, AND URSULA MURRAY HUSTED
The model of comics creators tethered to one or two major publishers, working on adventures of corporately-owned characters is no longer the only game in town. Many of the top talents in comics work either exclusively on their own material, while others work both sides of the street, alternating independent work with mainstream assignments done in their own distinctive styles. Here, speaking about how they have forged their own paths, are some of the most distinctive creators in comics today: Zander Cannon (Double Barrel; Heck,) Zak Sally (Sammy the Mouse; Recidivist,) Vincent Stall (5M The Busline Diary; Jetsom) and Ursula Murray Husted (Drawing on Yourself; The Lions of Valletta.) Danny Fingeroth (How to Draw Comics from Script to Print) moderates. (M100 I)
 
6:30 – 7:15PM
CAPTAIN AMERICA VS. SUPERMAN: THE BATTLE OF THE SUPER PATRIOTS
One started as a car crushing super human before fighting for “Truth, Justice and the American Way.” The other began as a flag-clad symbol of propaganda before breaking with the government. And in 2016, sequels to their movies will go head to head on the same weekend. Join pop culture expert and TV personality Aaron Sagers, along with other geeky pundits, as they talk Cap vs. Supes in a discussion about the icons have crossed paths, evolved, stayed similar or became radically different. (M100 E)
 
 
SUNDAY, MAY 4:                            

12:00 – 12:45PM
GETTING RESPECT: COMICS GO TO COLLEGE
Comics and graphic novels have come into their own as subjects worthy of—indeed, demanding—attention from academia. Historians and cultural theorists teach courses, hold conferences, and publish books on various aspects of sequential art colleges and universities teach courses in comics as literature and social history as well as how to make them. Here, to give an overview of various ideas about and approaches to comics studies are a cross-section of comics scholars and teachers, including Barbara Schulz (Minneapolis College of Art and Design—MCAD—Comic Art Degree Program), Ursula Murray Husted (University of Wisconsin Stout), and Dr. Alex Lubet (University of Minnesota). The panel is moderated by Danny Fingeroth (The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels.) (M100 I)
 

2:00 – 2:45PM
HOW TO WRITE COMICS WITH ZANDER CANNON, ZAK SALLY AND DANNY FINGEROTH
Accomplished comics writers Zander Cannon (Top Ten; The Tick,) Zak Sally (Sammy the Mouse; Recidivist) and Danny Fingeroth (Deadly Foes of Spider-Man; How to Create Comics from Script to Print) show and tell you how to write comics and graphic novels, going from initial idea to outline to script to finished story. Plus, the panelists will answer your questions about both the creative and business sides of the comics writing profession, including how to find an artist to work with (hint: a comics convention is the number one place!) and how to write exciting dialogue! (M100 I)

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By Bruce Lidl

The Sacramento Wizard World convention was an opportunity for comic fans in Northern California to gather and celebrate their passions with other fans and celebrities. It was also a chance for Jimmie Robinson, a veteran Bay Area comic book creator (and frequent commentator at The Beat) to meet his readers and spread the word about his on-going all-ages Image series, Five Weapons. I was curious to get a creator’s insight about this new convention, but we ended up chatting about a variety of topics, so I decided to make a separate article in its own right. As a long-time participant and observer in the comics industry, Jimmie has a great perspective on what is really happening right now, and he was very generous of his time to speak with me on the show floor.

Robinson was quite positive about the Wizard show, the staff, and the vibe around the convention center. Everybody was seemingly happy with the turnout and the enthusiasm of the attendees, especially the local downtown merchants. I was curious to hear how his convention schedule played into his work-time and income, and whether he was seeing the kinds of returns on paid sketches, commissions and appearance fees that some artist superstars like George Perez have experienced. According to Robinson, conventions, even well attended ones like Sacramento Wizard, are not “real money makers” for him, as he still has to pay his expenses, including travel and lodging. The worst thing about conventions for Robinson is not the expense, though, it is the time taken away from his work of actually making comics, something he much prefers to do if possible. In general, he limits himself these days to shows he and his team (wife Gail and dog Eli) can drive to, including the Reno Wizard show and possibly San Diego. For him, conventions remain all about “spreading the word” about his books, particularly Five Weapons, his current title from Image/Shadowline, an all-ages tale of the one pacifist student enrolled at a school for assassins (broken up into 5 weapon-themed houses, kind of a killers’ Hogwarts). He emphasized just how “tough” a sell an all-ages title can be. Currently at issue #7, in the second five issue story arc of the title, he has a commitment from Image to publish a third story arc, taking him through issue #15. Depending on how these story arc sell, he hopes to publish at least through #20, which would complete the initial narrative he conceived for the title.

Robinson was “very appreciative of the huge support” he’s received from Jim Valentino and the Shadowline imprint at Image, particularly with a book that may not be the most marketable. And he “regretted” not being at the January ImageExpo, where the homogeneity of the creators on exhibit was negatively received online. Robinson had only complimentary things to say about his experiences with Image.

While Robinson appreciates the personal outreach opportunities conventions give comic creators, he is also “very enthusiastic” about the growth of digital comics, both from a sales perspective but also from a creative viewpoint. Digital sales of his older Bomb Queen title have been “very good” and he has seen bumps in sales of older issues when new ones come out and re-ignite interest. He is also an outspoken fan of comiXology’s Guided View reading enhancement, although he does struggle somewhat with making sure that his books look good when they are going to be converted to the new format. The process of conversion is quite “mysterious” to Robinson, and he does not have any insight at all into who actually does the work at comiXology, but he’s “very conscious” when he is drawing of what kind of panel layouts work best with the new technology.

His one major criticism of the current digital comics trend is the lack of transparency into the data generated by digital sales, as any data he does get from comiXology is basically limited to royalty statements and is usually “way old, usually from two quarters behind.” He is eager to see if he is able to get quicker and more detailed information from the shift at Image to selling directly and without DRM (Five Weapons #1 is available right now for free in either PDF, EPUB, CBR or CBZ formats). Robinson is “completely for” Image’s move to drop DRM and is generally really excited to see his work available in as many formats as possible. As someone who first heard Scott McCloud talking up online comics way back in the mid-90s, Robinson knows first hand how far the industry has come in expanding distribution avenues for new creators to attract readers. He echoed the message oft repeated today, that the challenge is no longer to “break into comics but to stay in comics!”

It was a pleasure chatting with Robinson and getting his expert viewpoint on a comics industry that  offers both unprecedented opportunities and daunting challenges for even well-established creators like himself. And check out Five Weapons and see how good all-age titles really are these days!

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By Bruce Lidl

As the on-going explosion of interest in comics and pop culture conventions continues seemingly unabated, companies like Wizard World are rushing to meet the demand. The first ever Wizard World Sacramento took place this last weekend, making it the first big comic convention in California’s capital city, and likely the biggest show of its kind in Northern California since Wonder-Con moved to Anaheim in 2012. Clearly a success attendance-wise, the show was a sellout for 3-day passes and Saturday passes, and was very crowded when I stopped by on Sunday, with a line to enter that wrapped around two full sides of the Sacramento Convention center. According to Jerry Milani of Wizard, they were a bit cautious when planning this inaugural show, only renting out part of the convention center, but they are confident enough now to already book the entire convention center for their return in June 2015.

To this only slightly jaded con-goer, the show was very consistent with the new culture of comic conventions, with both organizers and attendees clearly influenced by all the recent coverage of the San Diego Comic Con. At one point I overheard Wizard staffers have to explain that they were not in fact the same organization that ran the San Diego convention. The crowd was very diverse in age and demographic background, many families and couples, was heavily sprinkled with cosplayers, and seemed attracted to a wide range of media properties, with strong The Walking Dead, Marvel movie series and Game of Thrones presences. The key marker of this new era of conventions to me, however, was the very large and central role of big-name media celebrities there to explicitly make some money. Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead) and William Shatner were featured guests, and they offered all manner of paid opportunities for interaction. VIP fan meetings, paid autographs, paid photo ops, you name it, for a price you could seemingly have any kind of experience with the stars.

Comic books were present, though, with industry legends Stan Lee, Chris Claremont, Chris Golden and Neal Adams appearing. Local comic book vendors were a notable presence on the sales floor, although it must be said, the area set aside for autographs and photo ops with celebrities was probably bigger than the entire area for traditional commerce. There was a small artists alley, with a handful of Big 2 artists and a number of independent and/or specialty artists offering sketches and commissions. I had the opportunity to speak in-depth with Jimmie Robinson of Image (Bomb Queen, Five Weapons) and he thought it had been a “good” show, overall, although not a particularly big money maker for him. (I’ll have more from Robinson in a companion article coming later).

As The Beat has speculated previously, Wizard World is clearly pushing hard to take advantage of the growing interest in pop culture, comics and celebrities, with a number of first time shows this year in cities like Louisville, Richmond, Tulsa, San Antonio, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Reno, in addition to return shows in St. Louis, Nashville, New Orleans, Portland, Columbus, Austin, Columbus, Philadelphia and Chicago. According to Wizard’s Milani, the key attributes that determine their choice of a city include available venues, a market that makes sense for their offerings and their existing show calendar. He admitted that they do pay attention to avoiding conflicts with other comic book conventions (they don’t have any shows at all in July to avoid San Diego issues, and their new Atlanta show will be three months before the long-established Dragon-Con) but it was clear that they consider their shows to be different from more locally organized efforts.

The key element Milani cited was Wizard’s ability to bring a large number of celebrities of a certain level to regional cities. Matt Smith of Dr. Who fame will be a featured guest at their next show in Louisville, Kentucky, and fans can have a VIP experience with him for $349, a photo op with him for $99 ($195 for a dual photo with co-star Karen Gillan) or an autograph for $99. The seem like pretty high prices to me, but they are not too surprising when appearance fees for big stars like Smith and Hemsworth may be as much as $100,000. Milani told me that Sacramento had courted Wizard aggressively, with a great deal of enthusiasm from Mayor Kevin Johnson’s office, and numbers released by the city after the show claim an economic impact of $2 million dollars for the weekend.

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I'll be at the Philadelphia Comic Con on Friday dressed as a short semi-bald cartoonist named Chuck Dillon. Say hi. I'm very approachable (so long as you don't smell).

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The long awaited Wizard World Digital magazine has debuted, and it’s basically a pdf that you can read on your computer or iWhatever.

Or as the tweets had it:

 

Wizard World Digital Issue #1 is out RIGHT NOW!! A new era in digital publishing has begun!! The revolution has… http://fb.me/SZ9JvbWz

On the plus side, it’s nice to see comics from Slave Labor, Image and Alterna being covered. All on the same page. And it is very well designed. It just doesn’t seem very interactive at this point.

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The first Miami Wizard World was held this weekend and here are some photos.
Nothing too notable…people went, wore costumes, made out with Elmo, and got autographs.

The Miami New Times’ Victor Gonzalez has a typical mainstream write-up focusing on the AARP celebs and costumes:

We missed the 9:30 a.m. red carpet arrival of comic con’s biggest names–Edward James Olmos’ son Bodie, professional wrestler Kevin Nash, Baywatch babe/sex tape starlet Gene Lee Nolin. In fact, we missed their triumphant entrances by a full hour, but so did a lot of other people; 9:30 is much too early for anything, especially if you were up all night playing Dungeons and Dragons, or polishing your Storm Trooper regalia.

Speaking of Storm Troopers, we nearly ran one over in the parking lot. The line to buy convention tickets stretched from the front of MACC to the first row of cars when we arrived at 10:30 a.m. Upon entering, you’re slapped in the face with Batman. Pow! To our left was a 1960’s Batmobile roped off to the general public. Across from it, Batman and Robin’s autograph booth–Adam West’s and Burt Ward’s weekend bat cave, so to speak.

Not one mention of comics. But maybe that’s for the best.

Did any faithful Beat readers attend?

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Wizard is going Miami! Dexter! Sonny Crockett! Horatio Caine! Michael Westen and Sam Axe! Miami Sound Machine and LeBron! The show will be held at the newly redesigned Miami Airport Convention Center in February.

This is already the home to the Florida Supercon, which is held un July each year.

As long as this show doesn’t try to steal the still un-scheduled Cleveland Comic-Con things should be okay.

 

Just as LeBron James did, Wizard World is taking its talent to South Beach.

 

Gareb Shamus, CEO of Wizard Entertainment, today announced the addition of Wizard World Miami Comic Con to the world’s largest pop culture convention series. The event is scheduled for Feb. 26-27, 2011, at the Miami Airport Convention Center (MACC) in Miami.

“The fans wanted a warm weather destination for the winter, so we are presenting Miami Comic Con,” said Shamus. “We have the greatest fans in the world, and they are supporting us in every city. We are looking forward to celebrating pop culture in Miami this coming February.”

The newly redesigned MACC will feature 172,000 square feet of luxurious, state-of-the-art meeting, social function and exhibition space. The adjacent 334-room Doubletree Hotel is also newly updated, with remodeled guest rooms, and new signature restaurant, lobby and lounge. The Doubletree is situated just three miles south of Miami International Airport (MIA), adjacent the Waterford Blue Lagoon Business District and seven miles from the Miami City Center, Bayside Marketplace and the Port of Miami, as well as just minutes away from Miami’s Internationally famous South Beach.

 

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Looking at the Wizard World schedule appended to the New Orleans announcement we just posted, it looks like a truce of sorts has been posted for Con Wars! — at least on the New York City battlefront.

You’ll recall that last year, The Big Apple Con was at one point schedule for the exact same weekend as New York Comic Con — a move seen as retaliation for ReedPOP starting a show in Chicago. However, cooler heads prevailed, and the Big Apple was moved to the weekend BEFORE NYCC, while the New England Comic-Con in Boston completed the bookend the week after.

However in 2011, this isn’t even an issue. The fall Big Apple Con and New England Comic-Con — have been moved to September 17-18 and Sept. 24-25, respectively, a month prior to the 2011 NYCC which will be held October 14-16, 2011.

There’s still a wee bit of con battle with Wizard World’s Toronto show planned for March 18-20 — the same weekend as next year’s C2E2. However, looking at nationwide attendance this year, it seems that the pie is big enough for everyone.

Wizard World Comic Con Tour:
November 12-14, 2010 – Austin Comic Con – Austin Convention Center
December 4-5, 2010 – Atlanta Comic Con – Cobb Galleria Centre
January 29-30, 2011 – New Orleans Comic Con – Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
March 18-20, 2011 – Toronto Comic Con – Direct Energy Centre
April 29-May 1, 2011 – Anaheim Comic Con – Anaheim Convention Center
May 21-22, 2011 – Big Apple Comic Con ‘Spring Edition’ – Penn Plaza Pavilion
June 17-19, 2011 – Philadelphia Comic Con – Pennsylvania Convention Center
August 11-14, 2011 – Chicago Comic Con – Stephens Convention Center
September 17-18, 2011 – New England Comic Con – Hynes Convention Center
September 24-25, 2011 – Big Apple Comic Con – Penn Plaza Pavilion
November 2011 – Austin Comic Con – Austin Convention Center
December 2011 – Atlanta Comic Con
TBA – New Jersey Comic Con
TBA – Cincinnati Comic Con
TBA – Cleveland Comic Con
TBA – Nashville Comic Con

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