Chicago WW Report

I figured I’d do a Monday morning report on the Wizard World Chicago convention because I know if I don’t do it first thing, I’ll never get around to it. It was an exhausting trip on one hand or maybe it’s because I’m out of practice after years of doing so many cons and trade shows and now virtually none.

Overall, the convention seemed to be well attended and was a constant flow of crowds that you had to navigate through. If the news media and or fans wonder what the flavor of comics this generation is, I think the presentation here is pretty much that nothing has changed except it’s bigger. Still a medium of superheroes but one that has expanded into film and video games as part of the culture. There was very little to indicate that comics should be taken as a more literate art form and of course, they haven’t. I’ve accepted that the comics market is what it is and like most, I believe the plan it not changing the direction of the main comics’ highway but just building a few side streets here and there.

The front of the hall was the usual large displays of Marvel, DC, Wizard, Diamond, and some video game companies. It was haphazardly laid out as they were open booths and of course, very noisy. Since I have very little interest in that section, I usually skirted around the parameter of that area whenever I had to go into it. The walls were usually lined with fans wiped out from the stimulus or parents waiting for their kids who were bounding around the center core like steel balls in a pinball game. Off to one side were the other publishers, a bit more sedate in their presentation and with diminished crowds so they could actually see each other across the aisle. There weren’t a lot of the second tier publishers but then again, there aren’t that many that exist. I was surprised by the number of booths that showcased publishers who have virtually no presence in the comics market and quite a few seemed to be nothing more than a more elaborate set up of something that should have been in Artist Alley. I remembered seeing Top Shelf, (in which I made my only purchase of the con as I picked up SuperSpy), Ape Entertainment, Boom Studios, Moonstone, and Fox Atomic. The Dabel Brothers booth was empty all weekend and if Fangoria was there, I must have missed it. But again, I took a quick stroll once and most of the time avoided that area.

The middle part was the dealers’ area and held just about what you would expect. I was a bit surprised at the prices, as it seemed that many dealers came into the show with slashed prices. Since I don’t pay a lot of attention to what’s out on the market, I don’t know how new some of the stuff was but one dealer mentioned to me that some of the books at heavy discounts were virtually new. I heard quite a few complaints about the deep discounting and competitive pricing at the show.

Artists Alley was actually quite busy for most of the show. Even though the heavy traffic was in the aisle that separated Artists Alley from the dealer area it seemed that most of crowd eventually made the snake line and at least perused the tables. There was a small section of tables off to the side of the dealers and this was less busy from many accounts I got.

I was set up at table #4712 which I wasn’t happy about as I requested to be put next to the Mob Rules (a group of Chicago creators that I know) just because it’s always nicer to be by folks you know. But I realized that the organizers had a massive undertaking in assigning all the tables so even though I was bummed, I wasn’t upset. I had good neighbors so no complaints. I don’t bring comics to conventions only graphic novels so I had 15 different there including the five new releases from Transfuzion. I brought along the prototype of the King Zombie Deadworld mask and that seemed to get some people to stop. I also gave away free comics as previews of the graphic novels. Sales were a little on the slow side on Thursday night’s preview and most of Friday but the crowd was good. I view conventions and my role as letting people know my stuff if available rather than hawking it and I find most of my buyers are those that couldn’t find the item at that store for whatever reason. I signed a lot of books so overall it was good. However, on Saturday, I left my table and moved over to the Mob Rules clump of tables. I gave a third of my original table to each of my neighbors and left the center as a guide to where I had moved.

I wanted to set up next to Rafael Nieves so we could discuss the Transfuzion line we had just launched. It was a rather informal launch and we’ll probably keep it that way until we get some things in place. But there are five books out now and at least 20 that are near ready. Of course, most are compilations but we wanted to discuss some of the new projects. So, even though I moved from a full sized table to half, I still had plenty of room as I was on a corner and could move the Deadworld display and mask there. It actually got more attention there and many kids had pictures taken with the mask.

On Saturday, it was hectic for me most of the day. I sold a lot of books and signed quite a few more. Sunday was less busy but not bad. I think most people had about the same view as far as sales went in Artist Alley.

I met with quite a few people who did work for Caliber a long time ago so it was good to see them. I talked briefly with most people I ran into such so conversations were short with the likes of Phil Hester, Jim Calafiore, Andy Bennett, David Mack, Dave Dorman, and others. I talked a bit with Matt Anderson of White Picket Fences who had given me copies of the first issue a long time ago and delivered the complete mini-series to me today. I remembered liking the first issue so I was glad to get the full set. David Mack gave me issues of Kabuki to get me caught up and of course, David had a crowd at his table all the time.

About two years ago, I was out in LA and met with a producer who was interested in Renfield but then the interest seemed to fizzle out (which is the norm when dealing with Hollywood) but to my surprise, he showed up at the con and wanted to discuss Renfield with his new company. We talked a bit during and after the con and he wants to do it as a stage play and apparently they figure I should write the play. So, that should be a new experience.

I often get questions about why I don’t do more freelance writing. Most of my stuff has been through Caliber of course but I have written for Penguin and a couple of others. My answer is pretty simple. No one has asked me. I don’t do the whole networking thing in trying to find work and that’s for a couple of reasons. I’m not looking for writing gigs and taking on any assignment just to get a job. Luckily, I’m in a position where I can write what I want to and when, so I’m not looking for something to put food on my table. But like most writers, I think it would be fun to write different things so I’m not opposed to the idea. However, I just don’t pursue it but certainly would welcome it. I bring this up because I had four different publishers (of various sizes) inquire if I would be interested. I have to see where it leads but some sound enticing.

I hung out with the Mob Rules guys, most notable Rafael Nieves, Tony Maldonado, Doug Klauba, Nick Muntean, Juan Arevalo, and La Morris Richmond. They’re all creative and enterprising and they took me in as one of their own and I had a good time with them. We were surprised when we went over to the Hyatt to catch dinner as the bar was completely redone and the restaurant went upscale. When you walk into the Hyatt now, the main floor resembled the baggage claim area of a major airport at 3 in the morning yet it was even more sterile than that. The bar was designed with the pod motif of having small conversational pits scattered around and was very unappealing. We went to the restaurant after a few drinks and decided that hamburgers should not cost over $20 and a fish dinner should not hedge just below the $40 mark. So, we got up and left. It didn’t take long to find out why anyone at all was eating at the Hyatt as most places were filled with waiting lines. We finally found a Steak and Shake but you now, after a long con and not eating all day, it tasted damned good. On Saturday, we did a better job and got some good Chicago pizza (although the Chicago pizza is pretty much the same as many places in Detroit area).

Raf and I spent some time outlining what we’re planning to do with Transfuzion and since we agree on virtually everything about the comics market, the idea fest was primarily just determining the next steps. We decided on launching some themed anthologies and so we took a walk around artists alley to see what promising artists there might want to contribute. We aren’t too aggressive in looking for talent at this stage as we don’t want to have anyone commit when we haven’t determined things fully but things tend to move fast so even by the end of Sunday, we had the strategy mapped out. Of course, nothing will be announced until its ready. We don’t want to be one of those companies that announce things a year in advance…but things are moving along quickly.

As most people know, Artists Alley is certainly a mixed bag of offerings both in terms of subject matter and quality. Sometimes you just shake your head and wonder why someone would pay the money for a table but then again, it’s their passion and if they enjoy it, nothing wrong with that. When looking at potential artists, I usually bypassed the tables that featured superheroes as many of those artists have their goal of working on Spiderman or Superman and pin-ups of spandex heroes just doesn’t tell me anything.

I was invited to attend a few cons from organizers who came to recruit talent but I don’t plan to do too many conventions. I have a couple of book festivals coming up in September and with school starting back up, it’s hard to take the time off. I’m getting quite a few inquiries from Horror shows and I have found that I have a base there with Deadworld, Renfield, and the Penguin books that I don’t have with the comics market.

Overall, I thought the Chicago Con seemed a bit more organized this year but that just may be in regards to my interpretation but I didn’t hear of any major complaints from anyone about the execution of the convention besides glitches that can plague any show at any time. Having organized conventions myself, I know that sometimes things are just out of your control. Whether I go back next year depends on what’s going on with Transfuzion at the time but probably.