Conned By The Con:

I feel like such a fool. I actually let optimism get the best of me. I was silly enough to get my hopes up about something. I once thought that I had learned my lesson about anticipation and hopefulness, but I recently fell prey to its grasp yet again. I thought I was going to the first ever New York Comic Con. Instead, I only tried to go to the first ever New York Comic Con. I went with the dazzling intentions of meeting folks such as Kevin Smith, Roman Dirge, and Evan Dorkin. When my father and I arrived at the convention center, however, we could do nothing but wander around for a while, looking among all the crowds and lines, hoping to find someplace where we could actually by tickets to get onto the convention floor, until eventually we were informed that tickets were sold out. So, rather than actually having the opportunity to attend the first ever New York Comic Con, I instead got the chance to see the first ever New York Comic Con. Specifically, I saw the convention floor from a window on the ground floor just above. It looked like an absolute madhouse.

Quite honestly, I wasn’t expecting much different. There are a few things to consider in developing expectations for such an event. First of all, I have seen footage from the annual Comic Con in San Diego. I understand it to be a very large area filled with a nearly hazardous number of people, some of which are dressed in ridiculous costumes. Secondly, it must be taken into account that (as I have said repeatedly) this is the first ever New York Comic Con, so it would naturally attract less attention than the long-running, full-fledged Comic Con in San Diego. In addition to that, however, there still remains the fact that the space allowed for this new New York Comic Con is drastically smaller in scale compared to its west coast counterpart. Therefore, since there would be fewer attendees but also a smaller space, one would think that this Con would be just as crowded as the other. From what I saw, this evaluation is nearly flawless. That floor was absolutely packed with comic book lovers. (At least, I hope they were all comic book lovers. Because if there was a single person down there who was indifferent towards comic books, then I think it would be a total injustice that they would have a ticket rather than me.)

Overall, I cannot say that I am very disappointed. I would say that instead I have the right to be angry. It really isn’t my fault that I didn’t get tickets. I don’t think that I could really be expected to show up in the wake of the early morning just to get my ticket for the convention. I have heard that there was actually quite a significant amount of people who, just like me and my father, could not get tickets because the maximum occupancy of the convention area had already been reached. It is my understanding that adding even a single person into that room would have been an unforgivable fire hazard. I think the blame should really fall on the misguided convention planner who decided to book such a small space, under the terrible misconception that there would not be a big turnout for the first ever New York Comic Con, and yet still decided to give this event as much publicity as possible, by every means feasible. (There were probably blimps hyping the convention. I myself didn’t see them, but I bet that there were probably a few blimps.) 

Since my father had already paid an arm, a leg, a nose, and a few toes for parking, he was not so eager to leave the city right away. We decided we would do some browsing and purchasing at Jim Hanley’s Universe, a very reliable comic book store just a few blocks away. My father bought a few Dark Horse titles that we couldn’t expect to find at the second-rate comic book shops in our neighborhood, while I purchased a couple of lovely collections from SLG (one created by Jhonen Vasquez, and the other created by Roman Dirge). Therefore, traveling into the city was not really a waste of time. I got my merchandise much more quickly and probably more inexpensively that I would’ve gotten it online. I’m sure that someday I’ll have another chance to meet Roman Dirge and Evan Dorkin. And if Jhonen Vasquez, Rosearik Rikki Simons, or Norm Scott is at the next New York Comic Con, then absolutely nothing will keep me away—not even accepting a role as a fire hazard.

End Post.

Comments

[Academiannut]

Hey - almost the same thing happened to me. I was extra annoyed because I tried to get tix online in advance, but repeatedly couldn't get through. I'd have loved to see the craziness first hand, but they definitely needed a bigger venue.

Damnit. I love comics. I was looking forward to hanging out with other people who think superman and spiderman are VERY important.

[Evan Dorkin]

Saw a link to your post on Spurgeon's COmics Reporter. Sorry you weren't able to get in. Come to the MOCCA show in April, I think it's $5, if you want to see some of the indy folks, and if you're goofy enough to want to meet me. Otherwise, next year, SLG should be doing trhe show again, it will hopefully be more organized, so please come by the table and say hiand I'll be happy to draw a sketch for you.

[Will]

Hey, you're Evan Dorkin! Okay, I just wanted to be sure that you realize that. But seriously, it's really cool that you would come by my blog and comment and whatnot. Very neato.

I'd be happy to come to that show in April, if possible. And I haven't totally given up on New York Comic Con either. I'll meet you and your comic-biz buddies yet!

[Nadia]

I'm a librarian, and I REGISTERED weeks in advance and I couldn't get in either. Since it was the first in New York, I give them one more chance before I tell all the comic loving kiddies at my library to avoid the comic con at all costs. I would have attended the trade-only day the day before but I had to work. Next year, I'll beg harder for the time off! I was really disappointed and it's no way to treat the people who registered ahead of time - all 400 of us - but couldn't get in. I feel your pain. I was hoping to not only enjoy my comic-lovin' self but to beg for stuff to give away at my teen summer reading program. So much for that!