Curious about how many of you approach comic cons from an attendance/social aspect.
I tend to be the type who doesn’t really enjoy going to a convention with other people/family/friends as a rule. I hope that doesn’t make me sound anti-social/bad, but I tend to be very agenda driven and easily irritated when I’m not on task. I have a bit of PTSD/anxiety but it is more related to agenda/tasks/distractions versus issues with the crowds and such.
Now, I love hanging out with my friends/family and socializing after the con/outside of the con, etc. I can party with the best of them and I’m a social butterfly. So if it is something like a weekend con, then our whole family goes and we have an amazing time.
I just hate digging/going through the con with other people. I find it distracting, annoying, and I get impatient as hell.
Also, do you all tend to organize your day in some sort of fashion at a con? Autographs as a first priority? Dollar bin digging first? Hitting a certain booth you know you love first?
If you have to pick just one day out of three day con? Which day is your first choice? (Mine is always the first day-typically the Friday).
At any rate, just curious to everyone’s habits and plans with cons.
I was sort of coerced into attending a con with someone I know and it has already made the con less appealing to me and increased my anxiety (I know that sounds horrible but can’t help the way I’m wired). Wife said I’m just sort of a #@#$% when it comes to some things (she put it in her own sweet loving way though lol).
I hate crowds so I usually go on the very first day (usually Fridays) as it’s less busier than the weekends. Sadly these big cons are less and less about comics as they are about pop culture. For this reason I have skipped some of the larger cons like Fanexpo in my area the last few years now. I enjoy going to small cons as it’s all about comics. We have a comics arts festival that is great as all the tables are for local/guests creators. Going this weekend as Jeff Lemire is there.
I don’t mind going with someone but I can understand why you’d feel agitated if you’re agenda/task drivened. I don’t have a set rule on how I approach a con. Generally if there’s a creator that I wanted to meet I would go there first if there’s no lineup. If the lineup is too long I’ll come back later. I was able to meet Don Rosa at Fan Expo as it was only another person and I in line, absolutely shameful for such a giant in the industry as Rosa. He was super nice, talked to him for about a half hour and he sketched for me.
I usually go to all the comic vendors first and if I see some recent books that are overpriced then I immediately skipped the entire table. Last con I was at there was one table where the dealer was selling the 2022 FCBD Axe/ first appearance Bloodline book for $25. It was a $5 ebay book on a good day. It was the first book I saw at that table so I just totally skipped that booth. There will be no other books I would want from this dealer that is overpricing their inventory like that.
When I go to cons (which I just started doing in 2022), I actually like to have my wife with me. She has been great when it comes to looking for books I’m interested in (we share a Google Keep list that has books I want). She will also keep track of what we saw at each booth, which is something I’m terrible at. This is still kind of funny to me, though, as I like to going to shops alone.
My favorite day to go to a con is the second day, when vendors are ready to deal (to an extent), but I’ll go any day really. I always go in straight for comic vendors and will move back and forth between them. Sometimes it’s to look for higher grades or better prices at other booths. Typically, I’m only there for comics (not autographs or merch), but will definitely look around at the toy vendors for Transformers or a few other things.
I go primarily for Artists’ Alley at this point and artist panels, so for that alone I would choose the first day if I had to limit to one day. No one’s burnt out yet, you still have a shot at getting on a commission list, portfolios aren’t picked over yet, and there are (usually) fewer attendees.
I enjoy getting together with friends AFTER con hours are over, like for dinner. Milling around a con floor with someone who is only there for a celebrity or who just wants to look at Funko Pops makes me feel like I’ve wasted part of my admission that day.
I find a lot of comic vendors now price per eBay or KCC app, and I’m not looking to pay online prices in person. If someone has good books at good prices, I make a note to look for them again in the future.
I’ve gone to shows with friends but we generally separate after arriving and meet-up for a snack and to review how things are going. We then separate again and get back together when it’s time to go so we can do whatever we want.
I have soured on many, “Bigger,” shows because they just don’t have much in the way of comics or collectibles as opposed to having to wait in line to get a signature from a celebrity and little else to do. I love small little collectible and comic shows. I will often show up with a few items of my own in hand to try to trade or sell, and I will dig through shortboxes and the other vendor stuff.
After I feel like I’m done selling and buying will usually go look at the creative stuff in those areas a.k.a. artist alley and so forth. If there is a big guest I will sometimes say hello if it is like a comic creator I enjoy or a celebrity who is friendly and doesn’t expect me to pay a bunch of money just for them to sign a picture but might like to be featured for my blog.
Most of the time someone who is relatively famous will like me to take a picture of them with links to all their social media to help promote them once I explain I don’t want to be in the picture and I wanna help them get some eyes on their work. Big-name celebrities don’t care about my site though so I just avoid interacting with them besides just telling them I enjoyed whatever show they were in.
I usually have a game plan going into cons. Hit exclusives I know are going to be hot, get books signed, that kind of thing. I use cons as a money making opportunity and will list purchases on the fly. I try to get as many promo freebies as possible as they can be good money making items and cost nothing. I try to network with creators I know personally, check in and see what they are working on. This can also lead to meeting new creators. I found out Artgerm was a CHU reader by his art rep and this turned into him hooking me up on signatures in the past. (Great guy). I always try for certain artists to get books that I can get signatures from that make for easy flips. J Scott Campbell for example.
I also try to shower every day before a con. Don’t want to add to the funk that floats around bigger conventions.
I always go to cons smelling good. I may not leave with a fresh odor if they’re hot, crowded, and so forth, but at least I arrive bathed and with deodorant on.
I don’t think you’ve smelled the times we went together but you might of been trying to impress me as well… At least you didn’t wear cologne or body axe… There’s no reason for that stuff unless you’re going to high school prom!
Wife was not allowed to go trick or treating growing up, think that is where her interest in cosplay comes from. Will be at Fan Expo Dallas today as William Riker and my wife as Deanna Troi, anyone else going to be there?