Comic Con Talk (Renamed since LA Comic Con can't get it together) (1 Viewer)

[Sun Wukong]

So yeah. There's just so much bad in here...

Holy crap. What a bomb. No regrets on skipping at all. As a new con they had a lot to prove and made every mistake they could along the way.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Holy crap. What a bomb.

Yeah. I was just speaking with Peter Tomasi. He said it's been this way all weekend. It's a totally logistical fork-up that will take me a minute to type up.

 

[bonnjer]

So yeah. There's just so much bad in here...

Holy shirt. Where are all the people? That's even worse than I was imagining. Do we think that they'll survive for a Year 2 go?

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Xavier is rolling around in a scooter with a cast. Goes to show how much I've watched WWE. I didn't even know he was injured.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

So, from the time I paid for parking to the time I got back into my car was exactly 3 hours, 2 minutes. And this is only because I stopped to speak to some friends and I walked around twice just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

So the good...

1. They actually had a small DC booth that had a signing table for those creators that were there.
2. ...

And now, the pitiful...

1a. Logistics was horrible. The event was held in Hall J, which is at the day end on the convention center. Problem is, no one knows this because there's no signage saying this is where the event is. So if course I park at the other end.
1b. Construction on Convention Center Blvd. made matters worse with regards to finding parking. Having the con at the end they did forget limited access to parking because that end is almost exclusively used for cruise ship parking. Plus, there are only a few entrances into the convention center due to the construction.

2. Marketing has been terrible. Outside of social media, there's been no true marketing if this event. No billboards, no nothing.

3a. There were no more than 3 or 4 vendors who sold comics, one including my LCS. In fact, it was the only local comic vendor in the exhibit hall.
3b. There were more vendors selling bottles of 5-hour tea and signing up people for timeshares than comic vendors. What the hell?

So now that this event is over, I've learned more about the back dealings from the folks at my LCS...

1. The promoter constantly complained about presales, despite being told multiple times that the New Orleans market isn't a pre-sale market; we usually show up the day of. Frankly, I wonder if this is the true reason about the date change.

2. Sales were terrible after the date change. My LCS was one of the authorized local sellers. Well, it's kinda hard to sell tickets when people are coming in and telling of a website that is selling the same tickets for 50% off. When asked about this, the promoter basically said "I don't have an answer for this, so I won't answer." In the end, they basically told my LCS to give the tickets away.

For an event that's scheduled to end at 5pm, by 1:30, most of the well-known comic artists were packed up and walking out. There were a few, specifically Clay Mann, that I never got to see.

This was just bad. I never thought that anything could be worse than Wizard World, but I was wrong. I would hope that if they do come back next year, they'd learn their lesson of what NOT to do.

 

[bonnjer]

So, from the time I paid for parking to the time I got back into my car was exactly 3 hours, 2 minutes. And this is only because I stopped to speak to some friends and I walked around twice just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

So the good...

1. They actually had a small DC booth that had a signing table for those creators that were there.
2. ...

And now, the pitiful...

1a. Logistics was horrible. The event was held in Hall J, which is at the day end on the convention center. Problem is, no one knows this because there's no signage saying this is where the event is. So if course I park at the other end.
1b. Construction on Convention Center Blvd. made matters worse with regards to finding parking. Having the con at the end they did forget limited access to parking because that end is almost exclusively used for cruise ship parking. Plus, there are only a few entrances into the convention center due to the construction.

2. Horrible had been terrible. Outside of social media, there's been no true marketing if this event. No billboards, no nothing.

3a. There were no more than 3 or 4 vendors who sold comics, one including my LCS. In fact, it was the only local comic vendor in the exhibit hall.
3b. There were more vendors selling bottles of 5-hour tea and signing up people for timeshares than comic vendors. What the hell?

So now that this event is over, I've learned more about the back dealings from the folks at my LCS...

1. The promoter constantly complained about presales, despite being told multiple times that the New Orleans market isn't a pre-sale market; we usually show up the day of. Frankly, I wonder if this is the true reason about the date change.

2. Sales were terrible after the date change. My LCS was one of the authorized local sellers. Well, it's kinda hard to sell tickets when people are coming in and telling of a website that is selling the same tickets for 50% off. When asked about this, the promoter basically said "I don't have an answer for this, so I won't answer." In the end, they basically told my LCS to give the tickets away.

For an event that's scheduled to end at 5pm, by 1:30, most of the well-known comic artists were packed up and walking out. There were a few, specifically Clay Mann, that I never got to see.

This was just bad. I never thought that anything could be worse than Wizard World, but I was wrong. I would hope that if they do come back next year, they'd learn their lesson of what NOT to do.

Wow. Just wow.

Is this gonna be a one and done con?

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Wow. Just wow.

Is this gonna be a one and done con?

Honestly, I have no idea...

Something else I found funny... City tax collectors were roaming the floor passing out what I assume were tax bills to the various tables. The Louisiana Dept. of Revenue actually had a large booth at the far end. Never saw that before. Usually they're hidden.

 

[Sun Wukong]

So, from the time I paid for parking to the time I got back into my car was exactly 3 hours, 2 minutes. And this is only because I stopped to speak to some friends and I walked around twice just to make sure I didn't miss anything.

So the good...

1. They actually had a small DC booth that had a signing table for those creators that were there.
2. ...

And now, the pitiful...

1a. Logistics was horrible. The event was held in Hall J, which is at the day end on the convention center. Problem is, no one knows this because there's no signage saying this is where the event is. So if course I park at the other end.
1b. Construction on Convention Center Blvd. made matters worse with regards to finding parking. Having the con at the end they did forget limited access to parking because that end is almost exclusively used for cruise ship parking. Plus, there are only a few entrances into the convention center due to the construction.

2. Horrible had been terrible. Outside of social media, there's been no true marketing if this event. No billboards, no nothing.

3a. There were no more than 3 or 4 vendors who sold comics, one including my LCS. In fact, it was the only local comic vendor in the exhibit hall.
3b. There were more vendors selling bottles of 5-hour tea and signing up people for timeshares than comic vendors. What the hell?

So now that this event is over, I've learned more about the back dealings from the folks at my LCS...

1. The promoter constantly complained about presales, despite being told multiple times that the New Orleans market isn't a pre-sale market; we usually show up the day of. Frankly, I wonder if this is the true reason about the date change.

2. Sales were terrible after the date change. My LCS was one of the authorized local sellers. Well, it's kinda hard to sell tickets when people are coming in and telling of a website that is selling the same tickets for 50% off. When asked about this, the promoter basically said "I don't have an answer for this, so I won't answer." In the end, they basically told my LCS to give the tickets away.

For an event that's scheduled to end at 5pm, by 1:30, most of the well-known comic artists were packed up and walking out. There were a few, specifically Clay Mann, that I never got to see.

This was just bad. I never thought that anything could be worse than Wizard World, but I was wrong. I would hope that if they do come back next year, they'd learn their lesson of what NOT to do.

Wow.

This is exactly why I decided against going. Everything that was happening indicated they were running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Lack of presales as the reason they moved the original date wouldn't shock me, but that's still a a dumb panic move for a first year con. They had no name recognition to build off of. Why should they expect big presales?

Understand your market. And I think they just in general tried to go too big too early. But with the date move and cancellations, the confidence was never there for me. Just seemed fly by the seat of their pants. Unfortunate.

 

[bonnjer]

It just makes me sad knowing what could have been with the original date and those guests. Oh well, not much that can be done about it.

Now it's time to turn our attention to Louisiana CC in March. I know they've got their shirt together and I'm hoping that they continue to build on the first two guest announcements.

 

[Doug B]

The date change ended up preventing me and my family from going to Big Easy Con. Was set to buy tickets for June, then it was moved to November. Was going to try for that date, but a bunch of real-life stuff sapped the entertainment budget.

I wouldn’t necessarily have minded walking around a lightly-attended con. Uncrowded merch room. Presumably, access to guests was simpler than usual for a big con. Few lines for panels.

However, it looks like energy and excitement was lacking. Probably would’ve felt sorry for the vendors, and a little embarrassed for the city (for no good reason, really).

...

Grandadmiral, the half-off website was Groupon. Seemed like they kept their Groupon promotion running a really long time, like 6-8 weeks. Not sure how many tickets BEC made available through Groupon ... but it sounds like it was enough to affect vendors selling full-price tickets.

In comparison, Wizard World puts tickets on a half-price site, too (Get My Perks, I think), but it’s a much more limited distribution. Only for a week or two, or a set number .... something like that.

 

[bonnjer]

Grandadmiral, how much merch was available compared to Louisiana CC or Geek'd Con?

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Grandadmiral, how much merch was available compared to Louisiana CC or Geek'd Con?

Merch from what aspect? Like I said earlier, if you're a comic book fan, it was completely lacking.

 

[bonnjer]

Merch from what aspect? Like I said earlier, if you're a comic book fan, it was completely lacking.

Everything else other than comics, since you already covered that. Paintings / prints, Pops, figures / toys, etc.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

Everything else other than comics, since you already covered that. Paintings / prints, Pops, figures / toys, etc.

Can't remember exactly. Artist Alley wasn't that big. Some of those were on the guest page pushing their stuff...

Two separate Star Trek groups (New Orleans and Baton Rouge)...

Ghostbusters group and Star Wars...

Will Bill's Soda...

Two mystery box vendors and a third doing a light saber box...

About 7-10 tables pimping off stuff from timeshares to tea to pain relief dohickies...

Maybe four tables selling toys. I remember only one with a big supply.

That's the best I can remember off the top of my head.

 

[bonnjer]

Can't remember exactly. Artist Alley wasn't that big. Some of those were on the guest page pushing their stuff...

Two separate Star Trek groups (New Orleans and Baton Rouge)...

Ghostbusters group and Star Wars...

Will Bill's Soda...

Two mystery box vendors and a third doing a light saber box...

About 7-10 tables pimping off stuff from timeshares to tea to pain relief dohickies...

Maybe four tables selling toys. I remember only one with a big supply.

That's the best I can remember off the top of my head.

That doesn't sound all that impressive. At all.