Now that Comic Con has come and gone, much is being said about how it has lost much of its focus, and, let’s face it, its appeal. But the best articulation of this sentiment has to be a lengthy article from Publisher’s Weekly’s The Beat blog. I know I sound like a dyed-in-the-wool geek, but I think an era has passed in the con and comic book world, and I doubt it will ever return.
Read the eulogy here:
http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/08/01/boil-that-dust-speck/
One Response to “Is Comic Con Comic-Gone?”
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August 5th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
I’ve heard these rumblings too and I honestly think it stems from sour grapes. Comic Con has bigger issues (like hotel rooms and floor space). Even the article at PW (which is mostly rambling musings on the word “scrum” and the parties [huh?]) makes the point that the con itself isn’t leaving comics behind. The problem it cites concerns the PR space (AKA HYPE) at the con and the fact that the movies and TV shows get all of it. Is this really news to anyone? More people watch TV and go to movies than read books – even comic books – and an increasing number of those books are being made into Hollywood properties. So what’s the problem? Comics companies, especially small ones, don’t promote their stuff as well as Hollywood does? They also don’t have the budgets for it. Again I ask, is this really news to anyone?
Why don’t these companies get deeper into online distro? Why don’t they get creative with their marketing plans? Why don’t they get off their butts and DO something? Anything’s better than whining about getting overlooked at Comic Con. I don’t see whining as a good plan. Just ask the record labels where that path leads.