On The Other Hand
by Dan Nadel
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
After posting yesterday and then emailing a bit with Tom Spurgeon, I got an email from Peggy Burns (see, this is why it takes forever to publish stuff–we’re all just talking to each other all the time) and two things occurred to me: one, if we want the NYCC to be different, we should set up there and participate. As Heidi/Beat pointed out, the only way to make a change is to participate. So, what if PictureBox and Fantagraphics and D&Q, etc etc set up as a block and invited interesting guests? Change? Maybe. On the other hand, I’m not sure that anyone other than the mainstream comics fanatics will pay $20-$40 to get into a comic-con–not with the far easier and cheaper MoCCA just a few months away. But then, as I mentioned in the comments section, the fact is, the comics read by many of the artists I publish are NYCC-fare–Chippendale’s Berserk and Daredevil, etc….maybe it would be an interesting meshing of sensibilities. But then, the environment of the NYCC is just pretty hostile to anything not insanely loud and fannish. So, to be continued, I suppose, in more distracting conversations.
Labels: Brian Chippendale, NYCC, PictureBox, superheroes
“It was like Barfly. Barfly with pens.” – Tom Sharpling on the depressing Artist Alley at the NY Comic Convention
Make it a first class ticket, Dan, and I’m in.
— tom
I like it that you guys are there. I have always been a mainstream guy, but there was no way to get exposed to ComicsComics style fare where I grew up in Kansas. Somewhere, somehow I learned a little about the underground, and it really opened my mind. I don’t remember what did it for me, but you guys showing up at places like that might be that which trips a similar trigger for other young folks.
Yeah, it’s easy enough to say, “If we want it better, we have to make it better ourselves,” but the start-up cost for exhibiting at this con is simply prohibitive to us west coasters. After the exhibition space, travel expenses, shipping, etc., I estimated we’d be in for around $10K to start. I have no faith we’d be able to recoup that, especially when the convention organizers don’t seem to be doing much to attract us our the people that read our books. If I felt a bit more of an effort to diversify the show in regard to the type of guests being invited and the programming being scheduled, it might help sway me, but without much of that there’s not a ton of incentive to take the risk…
P.S. I’m not really complaining. I don’t mind skipping this show. But I’ve had several people –mostly New Yorkers, naturally– express utter disbelief that we would not come out for this.
Maybe Eric’s problem could be addressed by joining together with other publishers–not to exhibit, necessarily, but to lobby the con organizers to include a little more programming and marketing for alternative/art comics fans. One publisher alone wouldn’t have much juice, but if a bunch went in as a unified group, promising to buy tables in exchange for some consideration in programming and promotion, maybe that would make it feasible.
Eric, Well, logistical concerns obviously trump my more theoretical expression. I guess I should have added, “all things being equal.” I mean, I never go to these Cons so why shoudl I push you to?
If groups hav ethe time and money to spare, it’s cool if they are there to help kids like me find you.