Comic Cons are NOT true Comic Conventions anymore...

A rant on the truth of modern day "comic book" conventions.

This past weekend, my wife and I spent four days in San Antonio TX, at a show called Superhero Comic Con. I can say that I truly had a good time. Our table was in the artist alley, located right next to the stage where they had all of the celebrity panels going on. So it was really cool seeing Laura Vandervoort, Tom Welling, Andy Serkis, Iman Vellani just to name a few really up close and personal.

Another highlight of the con was meeting a great artist Ariel Diaz in person, and having her sign two of my comics in which she did exclusive covers for. I was also able to get some amazing gems that are helping me in my journey to becoming a cover artist for other comic book creators. Add to that, meeting other indie comic book artists and illustrators was a huge plus for me as well. Big shout to Nynroot on IG who were our neighbors in the Artist Alley. Marcus and Caitlin were super dope and we became fast friends.

Overall, as far as experience goes, the Superhero Comic Con was a good time as far as connections and such go. But let’s not forget the MAIN reason we artists go to these cons. It’s to make money. My wife and I do our jobs as creatives full time, and I think it would be safe to say that we will not be doing this convention again. Even more, we may begin being very selective in our decision to attend conventions like this in the future. WHY???

A BUST… Identifying the problem.

It would be safe to say that this convention was a serious bust for us. And I’m not saying this was the case for just us. EVERYONE in the artist alley suffered at this particular convention. Vendors that usually racked up between $1500-3000 per con only walked away with a third of what they usually made if they were lucky. And what made the entire thing worse, is that this was a FOUR DAY convention. That’s right… a whopping four whole days.

The first day started on Thursday, which let’s be honest, was just a preview day. A day that obviously wasn’t advertised well enough for there to be massive numbers. One of the many things I noticed at this particular convention, is that most of the attendees only had single day passes! I wondered why this was the case as most of the time, people would usually have 2 or 3 day passes to the show.

The only ones that really bought anything were those that had the full 4 day passes. The attendees had specific things they wanted to purchase or do at the con. The celebrity list at this comic con was STACKED. Actors from Smallville, Arrow, Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings, Marvel Studios were all there at this show. And most of the attendees were there for just that… the celebrities. I’ll go more into this later.

Another feature that was at the convention, which on its face is very cool for the attendees, but detrimental to the vendors, whether in the vendor area or artist alley, is that they had a completely separate area for FREE celebrity autographs and a free video game arcade! Again, super cool for attendees, but terrible for us vendors. Having something like that which literally directs potential customers away from the main convention is a HUGE mistake. And it cost everyone there.

And the final nail in the coffin… Pricing. I had come to find out the reason why most attendees only had single day passes, was because for this convention, ticket prices were $90-100 per person! Children 14 and older were $15. You literally had to spend an entire paycheck to just get your family into the convention! They had no money left to spend on anything else! And if they did have money, it was only to get that photo op with their favorite celebrity. Then they would head over to get a free autograph in the next building over and play video games the rest of the day until everyone was ready to go.

Once I realized this, I really had to admit a fundamental problem with modern day “comic book conventions”.

Comic Cons are no longer about the comics…

In the years past, especially in the 90’s, comic book conventions were the place to go to get amazing artwork, meet your favorite comic book creators, go to panels to get insights on how to get into the comic book industry and so much more. They were so centered on the comic book experience. It was a really niched experience, and it was AMAZING! The entertainment industry didn’t have as much of a chokehold on conventions as much as they do now. More than anything, the advent of the MCU made comic cons an additional highlight because it was the gateway to seeing our favorite characters on the big screen. I mean how hyped were we all when we saw Kevin Feige reveal the yearly plan for the early MCU, and then surprise us all with the first 15 minutes of the Avengers movie!?

Back then it was about the comics and future movies! But now, Post pandemic conventions are all about the celebrities. Comic books suffered and movies became the huge focus. And now that the golden years of the MCU and Star Wars are gone far away, celebrities from these movies and TV shows are the main draw to conventions. Comic books are no longer at the forefront. Panels at these shows are not about comic books, and how to get into the industry, but about celebrities being interviewed and reveling in their time during the height of their superhero careers.

And in order to get these celebrities to these shows, the cons have to pay exorbitant amounts of money to these stars. In order to do this, they have to increase prices for both vendors and artists that wish to try and sell their wares, along with people who want to attend these shows! And the attendees themselves aren’t even real fans of the comic books themselves, or interested in indie comics, but just the celebrities. They have no incentive at all to support or even attempt to learn about this genre. It’s ludicrous…

It’s coming to a point now where more smaller independent shows are the place where comic artists, illustrators and creatives have to find other convention types or shows geared toward what they do in order to make a living. But the problem is that even these type of shows are few and far in between.

The Solution?

Go back to basics. Or in other words, we creatives may have to take it upon ourselves to recreate the basics! These modern day “comic book conventions” must rebrand and rename their venues, and call them what they really are… Celebrity Expos, or Celebrity Showcases. If they want to have artists and vendors there, fine… but this will give artists and vendors the opportunity to have the correct expectations for these shows. To know exactly what they are in for, understanding that these shows are NOT for them, but for the celebrities. Whatever they make if they decide to attend is extra butter for them. But we need to have that understanding to make viable business decisions. Because let’s face it, these type conventions are hurting our businesses.

We waste HUNDREDS of dollars on these events to walk away with next to nothing when finding out that these shows were never about us in the first place. There need to be people out there that are willing to take the bull by the horns and bring back the original formula of the true comic book convention. And yes if the show is big enough have some industry big hitters there like Marvel and DC. But they need to be there with the understanding that this is all about comic books.

Let’s bring back educational panels on how to break into comics, bring back workshops on how to make comics, or draw superheroes or your own characters. Let’s bring back portfolio reviews and discover the talent that is out there; not just reviews from big industry, but also for indie publishers too! Bring back networking opportunities and drink and draws, and cosplay contests that bring out the essence and spirit of the comic book characters we love, both mainstream and indie! And make these shows a reasonable price for everyone. For vendors to sell, and attendees to attend and buy!

I attribute these modern day comic book conventions as a part of the downfall of the comic book industry. By drawing in people who have no real attraction or interest in actual comics, but just celebrities, I feel that it has actually hurt the industry more than helped it like they thought it would.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter. Do you guys think I’m over thinking this? Or do you guys agree with what I’m saying? I would love to have an awesome discourse on this subject, so leave your comments below. Until next time…

See ya!

Ian W.