Tag Archives: Cons

Convention Plans for 2010 (And a Look Back at 2009)

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Well, I did attend three comic conventions in 2009…but not the three I was expecting! WizardWorld Los Angeles was canceled with just two months’ notice, but Long Beach Comic Con stepped in to fill the gap.

I’ll most likely be staying in California again next year, so here’s what next year’s convention season looks like for me:

WonderCon

Yip! Yip! Yip!April 2–4, 2010; San Francisco, California. Probably.

The last two years have been a lot of fun. It’s a lot like San Diego Comic-Con used to be before it exploded, actually. (It’s also a good excuse to travel and visit people in the Bay Area!) This one’s still up in the air for now, since they haven’t started selling tickets yet, but despite the distance, it still ends up being cheaper than San Diego.

» Wondercon 2009 report and photos.
» Update: WonderCon 2010 report and photos.

Anaheim Comic Con

April 16–18, 2010; Anaheim, California. Maybe.

The show that officially replaces Wizard World Los Angeles is only 10 minutes away, so it would be a shame to skip it. And it’ll be close to the time that Flash and Kid Flash are launching. But it’s also only two weeks after WonderCon, and Wizard, or Gareb Shamus, or whoever is in charge keeps doing things that annoy me.

» Update: Anaheim Comic Con 2010 report and photos. After a lot of dithering, I went for it.

Westercon 63: Confirmation

July 1–4, 2010; Pasadena, California. Maybe.

It’s been years since I’ve been to a general science-fiction/fantasy convention. The last one was the 2006 WorldCon in Anaheim, L.A.Con IV, which I experienced through the haze of a summer cold and Day-Quil. I’ve considered Westercon the last two years, but the last two have been Las Vegas and Tempe, Arizona in July. Admittedly Pasadena is a good 10 degrees hotter in summer than where I live, but it’s probably not as hot as Vegas or Tempe…plus I can commute to Pasadena.

» Update: Westercon 63 Report. I finally decided to go.

Comic-Con International

Flash of Two WorldsJuly 22-25, 2010; San Diego, California. Definitely.

I’ve been going every year since 1990, and I’d hate to break that streak. Even if it ends up being too expensive to stay in town next year, it’s just close enough to commute for a few days.

UPDATE: I’ve just learned via Twitter that one-day tickets go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday, December 15). Four-day tickets are already sold out, so if you plan to go, but don’t have tickets yet, now’s your chance!

» Comic-Con International 2009 report and photos.
» Update: Comic-Con International 2010 report and photos.

Long Beach Comic Con

Dr. Mrs. The Monarch and DeadpoolOctober 29-31, 2010; Long Beach, California. Definitely.

I had a good time at the first event this year, and just discovered that they’ve set a date for next year! The website also mentions some sort of one-day event on February 20, but doesn’t provide any detail.

» Long Beach Comic Con 2009 report and photos.
» Update: Long Beach Comic Con 2010 report and photos.

Con-flict: Big Apple vs. NYCC — FIGHT!

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Comic Book Resources and The Beat both noticed something interesting in the program for this weekend’s Big Apple Comic Con: the dates for next year’s event. It’s going to be October 7-10, 2010 — the same weekend as the larger, well-regarded New York Comic Con.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

Sketchy

It’s only been 3 months since Wizard World[1] announced Anaheim Comic Con (in California) would launch on the same day as C2E2. Okay, they’re halfway across the country from each other, and that can happen with a crowded convention season. This year’s WonderCon (San Francisco) and MegaCon (Orlando, Florida) seemed to manage just fine on the same weekend. On the other hand, Anaheim and C2E2 are both new shows. More importantly, C2E2 is run by Reed Exhibitions, who run NYCC, and is setting up in Chicago, the same city as Wizard/Shamus’ flagship Chicago Comic Con. There’s already bad blood there.[2]

Of course, Big Apple Comic Con and New York Comic Con aren’t across the country from each other. They seem to be just down the street, about a mile apart. That’s closer than my hotel was to the San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con International this year — and I walked that distance. Twice.[3]

You don’t accidentally schedule your con for the same weekend, in the same city, within walking distance of the #2 show in your market. Especially when you’ve already scheduled another show to conflict with the same organization’s only other event in your industry. (Reed is big in general, but NYCC and C2E2 are the only shows that overlap with Wizard’s field.) Obviously they deliberately chose to compete with NYCC.

Goal?

What I can’t figure out is: What do they hope to accomplish?

Given all the good will NYCC has picked up over the last few years, and all the good will Wizard has lost over the same period of time, I can’t imagine that if forced to choose one over the other, the comic book industry would side with Big Apple at this point. Publishers will probably split delegations[4], and I can imagine some guests setting up at both cons if contracts allow it, and I’m sure Big Apple will be able to get some exclusive guests…

…but it really reminds me of the attempt a few years ago (2006?) to launch Wizard World Atlanta on the same weekend as the well-regarded Heroes Con. The industry came down solidly on the side of Heroes Con, and Wizard World Atlanta was canceled. If anything, Wizard’s reputation is worse now than it was then.

Given their relative size, reputation and location, I can’t imagine that Big Apple expects to beat New York Comic Con by going head to head with it. So what are they tying to do? Ride on the other con’s coat-tails? Interfere with NYCC’s guests and exhibitors? Interfere with NYCC’s attendance? It just doesn’t make sense.

Update: It gets better! Big Apple kicked out 3 NYCC staffers today — just like they kicked out an LBCC staffer from Philadelphia a few months ago. (via Robot6)

Mr. Shamus, Wizard, whoever: you’re really making it hard for me to justify going to Anaheim Comic-Con next year. And considering it’ll take me longer to find a parking space than to drive to the convention center, that should take some doing.

Update 2: Reed Exhibitions has responded to the scheduling announcement, saying, “We confidently welcome any competition, whomever they may be.”

Notes

1. Or whoever actually runs the conventions that Gareb Shamus owns, since they seem to be downplaying the Wizard brand.

2. Robot 6 goes into more detail on Wizard/Shamus’ history dealing with other conventions.

3. Okay, the second time was a mix of walking, running and a pedicab ride, but still, it was walkable.

4. DC Comics will often hold DC Nation panels at two cons on the same weekend, sending Dan Didio to one and Ian Sattler to the other.

Long Beach Comic-Con Report – 2009

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My full write-up of Long Beach Comic Con is done! I looked at lots of art, caught some panels, got stuff signed by both Mark Waid and Geoff Johns, bought some books and prints, saw people in costumes, and did some sightseeing.

Here’s the coverage breakdown:

I had a great time at the con on Saturday, and will definitely go next year if they hold it again.

Upcoming Cons: Long Beach, WonderCon, Anaheim & San Diego

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Long Beach Comic ConLong Beach Comic-Con is only two weeks away! They’ve posted their programming schedule and floor map, and I’m happy to see that the panels I most want to see are (a) on the day I’m going and (b) not opposite each other!

Comic Con International has opened online registration for 2010. There’s a pretty steep price jump — the full week is $100 now. Admittedly, that comes out to $25 a day, so it’s not that bad when you think about it. But it’s still triple digits.

They’re trying to cut down on the Wednesday night crowds by selling two types of full-con tickets, one with Preview Night and one without. On one hand, that’s probably a good idea. “Preview” Night has gotten rather insane the last couple of years (since the last time Warren Ellis came out to San Diego, really). On the other hand…you need the Preview Night version to pick up your badge early. If you get the regular version, you have to wait until Thursday morning. Otherwise, I’d happily forgo Preview Night so that someone who really wants to go can have a slightly less crowded experience, since I rarely spend more than half an hour on Wednesday anyway.

WonderCon has announced the dates for next year’s convention: April 2-4, 2010. That’s later than it’s been the last few years, and puts it only 2 weeks before Wizard’s Anaheim Comic Con (April 16-18). It’s close enough to make me feel like there’s no point in going to both. WonderCon looks like a better idea for a lot of reasons…but Anaheim is so close that it feels like it would be a waste to not go.

Wizard World on the Way Out?

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Chicago Comic-Con is running this weekend. Yes, Chicago Comic-Con, not Wizard World Chicago as it’s been called for most of this decade.

And that name change brings up all kinds of questions.

Back in 1997, Wizard bought the Chicago Comicon, at its time the #2 comic book convention in the country after Comic-Con International in San Diego. They renamed it Wizard World Chicago and started building a series of conventions across the country. At its height there were five shows in Chicago, Los Angeles, Texas, Philadelphia, and (briefly) Boston.

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Then in January 2009, Wizard dropped a bomb: citing the economy, Wizard World Texas and Wizard World Los Angeles were being canceled. People planning for WWTX at least got fair notice, but WWLA had been scheduled for March, just two months away. They insisted that WWLA was merely “postponed,” but made no indication of when the show might return.

That left two: Wizard World Philadelphia in June and Wizard World Chicago in August.

Rebuilding and Rebranding

Over the next few months, though, something odd happened: the convention series started growing again, as Wizard owner Gareb Shamus bought Big Apple Con, then bought Paradise Toronto Comicon. Neither show was rebranded as a Wizard World event, and Wizard quietly started referring to WWC as “Chicago Comic-Con.” And then they launched Anaheim Comic-Con.

So now there are again five conventions under the umbrella, but only one, Philadelphia, still has the Wizard World name. Chances are pretty good that they’ll rename it by next June…or possibly cancel it the way they dropped WWLA.

Whither the Wizards?

The obvious question is: why?

Well, Wizard World has acquired a bit of a bad reputation. Maybe they’re rebranding in hopes of escaping that.

Or maybe they want to give the shows a more local feel, rather than corporate.

Or maybe it’s something else. Judging by the announcements, it’s not Wizard Entertainment that’s been buying and launching these new shows — it’s Gareb Shamus. I wonder whether he might be planning to sell off Wizard and keep the conventions, or otherwise split the cons and the magazine into separate companies.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Update (August 11): After reading this article on “Comic-Con” vs. “Comic Con” vs. “Comicon,” I’ve gone back and tried to make sure I have the official spellings for each convention.