And They Will All Live Like Cartoonists: The US Economy And Comics, Post #1



"FYI, everyone, our region is out of gas. I hear there won't be a regular supply for a week or more, so Mal and I may not make it to SPX." -- Hope Larson, via Twitter, about an hour ago.

If you haven't heard, no, you haven't woken up to the movie Road Warrior -- well, not yet -- but the already strained gas delivery system snapped in several places by Hurricane Ike for the next fortnight or so has cast some doubt about drive-ins from below the Mason-Dixon line attending not just SPX but I have to imagine this week's Baltimore Con. Something to watch for and something to consider as a dry run for a less dramatic but still very likely outcome we should start to see in the future as early as 2009's cycle of shows. A lot of conventions have for the past decade or so depended on a lot of cheap and easily available gas being consumed in order to get people there, especially the professionals in attendance that are part of the attraction for local and regional fans and who tend to pick up that bill themselves because they can make the weekend cost-effective by selling stuff and conducting other business. In other words, although I doubt we're quite at the time where no one will go to any conventions we're also ten years or so past the era when I could fly from Seattle to SPX for $140 round trip, or could drive there from Chicago for about $80.

I apologize if I'm not supposed to quote that kind of thing; a few readers e-mailed it to me.
 
posted 11:00 am PST | Permalink
 

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