Salt Lake City’s 2nd Annual Comic Con has come and gone.   As I decompress and enjoy a quiet moment eating macaroni salad and hanging out with my family, who really just want to sit next me, I find myself thinking about our incredible adventure. There were a lot of things that were enjoyable about the show, but there are also many things that need to be addressed and fixed to make this show … an incredible show.

After 13 years of exhibiting at shows (about 10 to 12) a year, I have seen shows that have been an incredible adventure, shows that have been so-so, and some that well, they join the ranks of the show that will not be named.

So what makes a show a success? Well if you read what some shows say about themselves it’s all about the numbers? Or what a celeb might say- yet – that’s not really true. If you really want to get a vibe of show, talk to the exhibitors. Look at the vendor list. Who has table space? What many cons do not realize is that vendors talk and wield a lot of influence to other vendors. Yet we will talk about that in a moment.

Understanding that what makes a show successful is truly the overall experience that a vendor has, that an attendee has, and that the organizers of the con have. If one or two are out of balance it creates a show that will struggle until it finds balance.  Also what makes a show successful is how they bill themselves. Many shows on the west coast want to be San Diego Comic Con. That’s what they want to be, they want huge inflated attendance numbers, lots of celebs (which is ok) and to be billed as the best show in the west. I think that they are missing the point of what a con is and how to make a con grow to be a fantastic show that allows all 3 aspects (vendor, attendee, and con runners) to have an enjoyable aspect. In fact my first suggestion is to focus not on being San Diego, or competing against SDCC, or anything to do with SDCC or another con, and focus on being the most incredible experience for your community. They you will create a truly incredible show.

Phoenix, Emerald City, and Tucson understand this principal. Their shows are geared to their community, they talk with each other, they talk to their vendors and they make sure the experience for the attendee is as smooth as possible.  Their shows are not about them, but about creating an experience and though they are not perfect, they are succeeding.

So let’s break down the show. Remember – I am not dogging the show, I am just talking about observations, things that can be approved on and things that worked well. I am actually talking to exhibitors. They want to know, because there is a vibe about SLCC, if it will be worth their time. I have always hoped for another show in the Midwest. I think Salt Lake is perfect for it actually.

There are a lot of great people there. They were kind, many were shell shocked (first con experience) and they seemed to enjoy themselves for the most part. Having a very strong show in the fall, would be ideal for artist and exhibitors. Especially an art heavy show (with good art). There several smaller shows, but not one that helps cover some of the slowest times for artists. SLCC has that possibility.  If we could get one or two more – that would be awesome and there are some shows out there that are working on it. So what happened – what was good and what… well needs to be addressed.

the Good-

The people. I love the people. When I go a show, I enjoy the interaction. I understand that I am there for them – not for me. My whole goal is to make sure the attendees that visit my booth have an incredible experience. Because of that- that benefits us.

Like I said the people were awesome.

Artist alley was in the front- I actually liked that. It’s the first thing people see as they walk in –

kabobs – ok call me silly- but at $3 a kabob, it was quick and easy meal that didn’t break the bank.

The con organizers offering free passes to those that couldn’t get in Thursday. Thursday was a rough day it seemed for everyone. The line management was out of control. It was quite frustrating, yet the organizers figured it out and Friday and sat went very smooth.

A lot of people there, many for the first time, and many looked very overwhelmed.

Loading in and out- for us was awesome. Easiest load in and load out experience ever.

The cosplay was fantastic. I must say that is what I love about the shows… It’s like Halloween for three days, but the costumes are soooo much better.

Having the tax people there to get you the right forms! Huge plus for us out-of-state vendors. Made it very nice.

the Bad

I really want this con to be successful – but there were some issues that really need to be addressed. They actually in the long run, can be pretty disastrous if they are not looked into.  This is not to make the show look bad- I had a good time, but there were other vendors (veteran vendors) that had a miserable time.

The hall layout was weird- It was a shape of an L- Now that’s not the fault of the organizers. Most conventions have no control over the hall space they are given at their local convention hall. What Organizers do have control over is the layout. There were many dead zones created with the layout. Huge dead-zones. Long walkways don’t work with t-bone sections. It messes with flow.

Phoenix and Emerald solved this problem and if more cons looked at their layout to improve theirs it would completely change their shows for the better. They grid it. Every booth is a corner at those shows. Salt Lake struggles here and the layout was odd and confusing. It did not help that there was a wrestling match going on in the middle of the hall. If that had been a little more off to the side it would have allowed for a lot easier flow between the two sides of the hall.

Lack of respect towards premium booths by the show. One vendor paid for two corner spots (a huge chunk of change) and they were made to believe that they would have good visibility and an aisle. They did until the organizers placed and Air Force tractor trailer right in front of their booth. Creating only a 5 foot walk and completely blocking off there booth to the public, effectively shutting them down at the show. No-one could find them and they do some most incredible work. There were other vendors blocked out by other things as well. The wrestling made it hard for the vendors in front of it trying to talk over the announcer and the noise. It wasn’t a good experience. (We were not in that group either).

A lot of vendors were not media, comic, publishers, or artist… this is a problem, when insurance people and non-comic con vendors fill your show. The show becomes a bazaar and it’s not what the fans came to see. They can buy insurance somewhere else… the con floor space needs to be about comics, and media… especially if the show bills it’s self as a comic con. Best Buy? Really?

Several empty booths. This is not a good sign either. They need to sweeten the deal to publishers and creators… they are a lot cheaper than actors :).

Beer- ok this is touchy one… I don’t care if people drink, but open containers on the floor of a hall are a recipe for disaster. I have only been to 3 shows that have had alcohol on the floor.  New Mexico, APE and, I’m a little surprised… Salt Lake. The reason I don’t like booze on the floor is this- while in New Mexico someone dropped a 44 oz in front of the booth and the area smelled like stale beer for the rest of the day. At SLCC someone dropped an open beer all over a $400 original painting at my friends booth and the just walked off, leaving them with a ruined painting and out $400. That’s why I’m not a fan of drinking on the floor.

Panel information, aps and information in general. I understand they wanted to get people to use their app to find panels, but people just don’t. I was on two awesome panels. The problem was when trying to find my panels, we went to the guide to find them. PLEASE PRINT IN THE PROGRAM NEXT TO THE PANEL THE PANEL ROOMS AND THE TIMES AND DATES WHERE PANELS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE!!!!!! It made it really hard to get to our spots on time.

When I went to exhibitor information for important information- (twice) they shrugged and said they had no idea.

Security at the end. San Diego has this down to a t- Salt lake I would suggest to take notes. They clear the hall with their security. They start in the back and work their way to the front one aisle at a time. It’s the best way to do it. Asking people to politely leave, doesn’t work.

DJ’s next to vendor booths. They make it hard if not impossible for the vendor to interact. I know of several vendors that struggled here.

Lack of exhibitor information… this was frustrating-

the Weird Ok there are always a few things that I find weird.

Wrestling… I don’t know, a few cons have done it but I find them more as a distraction.

The overhead system asking for a licensed dentist in the house… Must have been due to the wrestling?

The overhead system asking for all lost children to go to the information desk… there seemed to be a lot of lost children.

Overall Feelings…

I enjoyed the experience at the show. My show was better than many of the vendors. This show is experience serious growing pains. Yet I believe the organizers want it to work. I saw that with the line issues on Thursday. They were on the ball. They tried really hard to make it up to the attendees. I applaud them for that.  They also seemed to want it to be fun for everyone.

I hope they reach out to exhibitors more especially the exhibitors that had the Air Force Trailer parked in front of their booth. They need to make that one right.

The main this is just the focus is a little off. Stop trying to be SDCC, stop focusing on numbers at the moment (focus a little on them) but don’t make that the priority, don’t be a comikaze (ugh), just focus on being a great show for your community. If you do that – if you make the vendors feel important as well, and organize the floor better so that it generates flow and not dead zone or blockages, you will have an incredible show.

I did enjoy myself. Like I said- I don’t expect a 2 year show to be like a 40 or 13 year show. There is a reason those shows are doing what they are doing. They figured out the balance of exhibitor, attendee and con…

Would I do the show again? Yeah, I would do it. I know what to expect and like I said I really really want to love and see this show be successful. It has a lot of potential and I look forward to what tweaks they will make.

Keep creating –

Keep adventuring and here’s to stronger show in the future.

trav-

So I am back from a con called APE (Alternative Press Expo). Before I go into my review, I want to say that APE is not a show that one goes to make a lot of money at. It’s not built for that (more on that in a moment). It is though a show that is fun and a good place to make some nice contacts and socialize a little.

This though is the last year the show will be held at the concourse in San Francisco. Which is sad, because it has been my home away from home for the last 9 to 10 years. The building is beautiful old building, with gorgeous wood and metal work inside. It’s being torn down, which is a shame, but i guess condos and parking structures are more important than beautiful old buildings. Well lets talk about APE.

I don’t recommend the show to those outside CA unless you have a place to stay and make it a little vacation. I will drive 7 hours one way to do it, but I also go into the show with the knowledge that this is not like other cons. I do make my own personal expenses back but a lot of people dont. The charm of APE for a creator though is the table price… the draw back is it is only 6 ft, so tables can become crowded with a hodgepodge of good art (several pixar artist and other artists were there this year) and other wares. The other issue with APE and why sales struggle a little is that APE is billed as a 18 up show. This scares off my primary audience which is kids and families. There are some kids but not much.

Attendance this year seemed lower than last year and the year before, which both suffered due to bad weather. Which also adds to the challenge of the show. Yet the new venue should help improve that, especially being in a nicer part of the city.

So Why do it if it is such a struggle and a 14 hour drive both ways (sunday’s drive was grueling… left at 6:30 and got home at 3:00 am thanks to an accident in san jose, which caused the freeway to be shut down and that I do that drive alone). Well I do it for a few reasons. One I am able to connect with my flatter and her family. Friday game night (something I dont get to do much anymore) was awesome…

2nd I was placed next to some really fun artists and creators. One was one of the supervising artists on The Iron Giant… very awesome guy – I also found some new creators and got to talk to some friends I don’t always get to see at shows.

Last and the most wonderful moments were the three new exhibitors, who each came up to me with books in their hands that wanted to show me what they had created. What makes this special, is that all three of them and I had talked the year the prior about following their own dreams and my favorite phrase of “how bad do you want it? dont tell me …. show me.” They showed me that they were starting to take those steps to doing their own thing.  How awesome is that to see the careers of 3 young artists beginning with such potential.

All in all I had a good time. My hosts were awesome as always and company and conversations were very memorable. Thank you. Do I recommend APE to creator. I do if you go into it with the right attitude and not expecting to make a return. As for APE’s future I am not sure. It’s about to go through some changes, hopefully all good, yet if attendance and exhibitor size continues to drop it might be tough. I will be there next year.

Keep Creating.

trav-

This last weekend was Comikaze.  If you listened to what the promoters and owners said. It is the best/biggest show in SoCal. It was successful for fans, vendors, artists and the con itself. That’s what they said.

As a artist/vendor (because everyone that is there is selling something), my opinion of Comikaze is a little different than what the organizers claim. I do not think it is a horrible show, I just think that many times brand new shows miss the points on what makes a successful con work.

Now where do I get off on reviewing a con? Well I have been exhibiting at cons for the last 12 years. I average about 9 to 10 a year. I have gone as a guest, an exhibitor, an artist and a fan. I understand it’s a business and that the con, like the exhibitors need to make shows financially viable. I have done small shows and do the grand daddy of them all (SDCC).  The top two show in my opinion are Phoenix and Emerald City. They are run not by ego’s but by guys who want the fans and the venders to have the best experience possible. I also think that cons do not realize how many of us vendors talk about the shows we exhibit at. We grade them, we talk about how well they are run and/or how bad. We recommend them (go to Phoenix and ECCC) and sometimes we tell people not to go, because of the experiences we have had.

You see even though we all sell different things, and compete for sales, we want each other to succeed and do well. We know what cons want the same for us and we promote those cons heavily. It becomes a win/win situation for both parties.

I will not hate on Comikaze. I think it has potential. Yet there are many issues that will  need to be addressed before I come back and exhibit at the show. I am also not alone. I know 10 other venders that feel the same way and had the same issues that I did. So as part of my review I will discuss them a little. I also believe that this show is dealing with some major growing pains. When a con grows to quickly, it raises problems that include, crowd control, long lines and frustrations from fans.

So what worked and what didn’t?

The pro – I saw a lot of friends and other talented artists. My neighbors were cool and we got along. We have seen each other at many shows and it is always nice to hang out with new people and old friends, Artist and vendors alike.

The fans. There were a lot of people there. It was nice to meet new folks. I drew a lot of FREE Sketches and kids loved them.

There was some cool stuff to see- Stan Lee is always a joy

Freeman were good. It ran smoothly (honestly if you just follow the directions, and be patient. Your experience with the Freemen will be just fine).

Nice signage to find where you were at

The stage was cool, I didn’t mind that.

Oh, and that I got interviewed by an spanish news outlet from Argentina and I got to do the whole interview in spanish. (If you didn’t know, yes I am fluent, dyslexic too if that makes a difference:))

I also recognize and appreciate the work that goes into a con. The set up and the desire to create an environment for fans and creators alike. I want to thank you for doing it. I also recognize that you have made some huge improvements from the year before. That’s a good sign and hopefully you listen to the feedback both fans, guests and exhibitors provide. Ponder it a bit. Take what you need from it and tweak the show a little. I do want you to succeed.

Now what didn’t

Now remember as an artist/vendor support for our work comes from people buying our products. Though there were a lot of people. Not a lot of money was spent. It was a general vibe through the show. Hey, sometimes that just happens. Good days/ bad days. One of the general complaints. After they bought their tickets, they still had to buy tickets (30 apiece) to do the zombie walk inside the hall.  Plus it seemed every couple of minutes, on the overhead – They were encouraging people to buy con merchandise.  I don’t care if a con sells t-shirts and prints to bring in more money. That’s cool with me, but to announce it every twenty minutes or so, was a little too much. It creates competition between the con and the vender.

I have seen shows that have no problem selling their stuff and try very hard not compete with vendors. That is important to exhibitors. We don’t want to compete with you – we want to work with you.

The microphone backlash. Seriously thy over-com was abused way to much. I had two interviews at this show where they had stop, because of the overhead speaker. It was loud, and spent more time pushing their own interest it seemed than anything else. My interviewers were frustrated because they had had this problem all day long.  Now, make announcements – that’s good- people need to know about signings, events, panels – that’s all good. Keep them at announcements.

Ok the EGO. It seems like this show has an ego. Even towards other shows. As an exhibitor I want to attend as many shows possible. The shows that have personal ego’s really turn us off. Look WE WANT CONS TO WORK TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT BENEFITS EVERYONE…. what I mean is talk, open dialogue on when shows are so you give vendors more opportunities to visit your shows and not compete on what show to exhibit at. I know that SDCC, Emerald and phoenix all make sure they work around each other’s dates. Why  do they do this? Well, they understand that exhibitors and artist, do a lot of shows, and we like the shows that treat us good. They know that if their show has a bad rap and falls on the date on another show, than we will more than likely do the other show than the show with the bad rap.  Seriously, the exhibitor helps create the environment for the fan to have a good experience. The con creates an environment with good guest and good organization that makes the vendor want to be there and the fan have an incredible experience that is affordable. I heard more on how awesome comikaze was from the staff, and it’s organizers than I did from the vendors.  If i had heard it from the vendors, I would believe it more. Exhibitors can create a buzz that makes more people want to exhibit (more money for the con) and give them free advertising by telling people how great a con is, then the con just telling you how great it is.

Cost for vendors. I can seeing paying $500 a booth for a two-year show. I am not talking about artist tables, thats a different issue. If a show has proven itself, I can see paying $1200 for a booth and will do so. Once again the show NEEDS to prove that it is worth that. Comikaze gave us the rates for their third year…. $900 a booth. I do not think this show has proven that its booth space is worth what they are asking.  That’s a $400 jump. So I know of 10 vendors that have told me they are not coming back, because they feel this is outrageous, a slap in the face. They are con veterans. They are willing to pay the higher booth space if they feel the con has proven itself. They need to make money as well. I do not doubt the con will pick up new vendors,  but they loose the old ones, and the new ones will soon learn the same lesson we did. Honestly, I will pay the higher amount, if the show has proven track record, I feel that I will do well, and on how well organized the con is.  Other shows have proven that and they have a much much smaller attendance record and yet I will always go back and I will always pay what they ask for for a booth space.  So earn the right to ask for the high booth rate. SDCC, Phoenix, and Emerald have all earned that right.

Not thrilled on next year’s dates. There are two other shows I enjoy going to that have been that same weekend for the last few years. (it seems that you are trying to push them out).

Other issues. There were a few security issues for vendors that I felt were not in our favor. (You can email me on that if you want to know those, I don’t think I will post them here).

The disorganization in the lines. They recognized this and good for them for trying to make it better on sunday.

And not but least the flipping of panels from day to day. This seemed to be a bigger problem than most shows I have been at.

The Wrap Up-

Was it all bad. No. Like I said I really enjoyed the company. Our booth neighbors were awesome. Than fans and the kids were for the most part excited. The costumes were good. Some were fantastic and some well… lets just say there comes a time when you need to rethink wearing spandex. I love drawing for people as well, to watch them light up and I enjoyed the time I spent with my son as ran the booth. I am lucky dad.

I enjoyed talking to my artists and publishing friends.  I am really glad there are other shows in SoCal. so I can see you there.

Comikaze has great potential, just a lot of kinks to work out. Sadly I will not attend next year. I plan to do the other smaller show which usually falls that same weekend.

I do hope that Comikaze will sit down and evaluate how to make things stronger for everyone. As an exhibitor we would love a really good strong show for the fall. There is just not one there on the west coast. Yet there is potential for two of you (long beach & Comikaze) to become that. Seriously, both of your cons can create a much stronger comic show for both fans, guests and vendors. You turn your shows into A shows or strong B shows and artists/exhibitors will flock to you. The fans will feel it and you will reap the rewards of it.

Will this be read? I am not sure, we will see, honestly I just want to see things work. I also hope more vendors start posting reviews of cons. Be honest, it helps us pick the best shows.

Overall rating for Comikaze: a solid C

If you would like other reviews about Comikaze – just follow the links below or if you have a review about the show just link us to you and i will put it up. The more the merrier, cons need to see honest feedback.

Zombie Ranch Review – Sophomore or less-

Veteran Attendee – Geek. Pirate. Mom – Whitney Drake Review- Whitney, TheBoy & Comikaze Expo

Comikaze 2012 Recap – From the eyes of a new exhibitor – by Ed Ouano

Keep creating
trav-