While the idea of making a big trip to San Diego Comic Con has always been intriguing to me, so far my experience of conventions has been limited to the local con that happens in my city every October.
Nerd culture must be experiencing a boom in Canada, because I’ve watched our comic convention grow exponentially over the last few years. When I first started attending, it took place in the basement of a smallish inn and featured local artists and merchandisers almost exclusively. Now it takes up the entirety of our large convention centre, and people come from all over to sell their wares. Minor celebrities even come to sign autographs and take pictures with fans.
Personally, my favourite part of comic con is meeting comic artists, especially local ones. Comic con was where I first learned about webcomics (the now-defunct Geek Tragedy)! Unfortunately, this aspect of the event seems to be falling by the wayside as the convention grows. This year the main area was reserved entirely for merchandisers and celebrities, while “artists’ alley” was relegated to the smaller second floor and mainly comprised of artists selling jewelry, trinkets and posters. Ultimately, I only met one person who was flogging their own comic book! As much as I’ve loved seeing the convention thrive, it seems as though it’s lost the aspect that drew me in the first place – the comics!
Does your city/region have a local comic convention, or other types of conventions? Have you ever been to one of the major conventions? Comment below!
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FRIDAY NEWSPOST - Local Comic Cons
HippieVan at 12:00AM, Nov. 7, 2014
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fallopiancrusader at 5:21PM, Nov. 8, 2014
@hippievan: here's the info for MoCCA fest 2015: http://moccafestnyc.tumblr.com/ I almost forgot: I attended the Concours International de la bande dessinee in Angouleme, France years ago. That was a worthwhile convention.
HippieVan at 3:02PM, Nov. 8, 2014
@fallopiancrusader: That sounds like exactly the kind of convention I would want to attend! Buying comics straight from the creators is always a neat experience.
fallopiancrusader at 8:29AM, Nov. 8, 2014
The only convention (that's reasonably near to me) that I am enthusiastic about is the MoCCA festival in New York. It's produced by the New York society of illustrators, and it only focuses in independent comics. You will still get legendary heavyweights like Charles Burns showing up, but it's mostly self-published DIY comics. Also lots of zines and micro- runs printed at Kinko's the night before.
KAM at 4:53AM, Nov. 8, 2014
The only con I ever attended was the Puyallup Mini-comic Con in 2013. Apparently it didn't do well as they haven't had a second one. Then again it was poorly promoted. I found out about it a week before it happened. Trying to find it was tough. Turned out I had driven past the entrance, but didn't know it because there were no signs out. There were maybe 10 vendors (including the creator of Modest Medusa). Nice little thing though, shame there hasn't been a second one.
kawaiidaigakusei at 5:30PM, Nov. 7, 2014
I would say, save the plane fare and skip the SDCC. I grew up near San Diego and I attended that con for seven consecutive years. It was cool in the early 2000s when webcomics were just getting popular and the comic creators would make guest appearances. Then suddenly around 2010, the tickets were being purchased in bulk by the entertainment industry from Los Angeles and getting one was similar to finding a golden ticket in a Willy Wonka bar. SDCC has since turned into a way for the film industry to debut new "comic" related tv shows for the Fall or the next year's blockbusters. On the otherhand, I sttended the Ottawa ComicCon last year and loved every second of it because it was made for a smaller audience.
shastab24 at 3:23PM, Nov. 7, 2014
We don't have a Con where I live, though I wish we did. But it's a lot more rural here in northern California. Even if I could drive, I don't think I'd have the finances to go to one, as well.
HippieVan at 10:09AM, Nov. 7, 2014
Klingon Elvis sounds amazing! The best thing I saw this year was the guy in the picture above who looked freakishly like Spock.
KimLuster at 7:41AM, Nov. 7, 2014
I've been to Dragon Con in Atlanta GA a couple times. Lots of Comic Books folks there (along with RolePlaying, Boardgame and Computer Games enthusiasts)...! Was a lot of fun, and the people you see (saw a Klingon Elvis - maybe the coolest thing I ever saw in my life!)