The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Shows And Events
By Tom Spurgeon
* Salt Lake Vs. San Diego goes to jury. My gut is that San Diego has been wronged but I'm not legally knowledgeable enough to know if they've been wronged in the way spelled out in their case. That's why they have trials, I suppose.
* the Shamus brothers are back with a series of focused-theme superhero conventions called the ACE Comic Cons. The first one will be in September. There's certainly room for variations in the basic model, although whether this is it I could not tell you.
* Jared Whitley writes about con burnout. I don't think that's exactly what's going on in the festival end of things, but there was a lot of talk at SPX about creators attending for their last time, or near their last time. I think part of that is perception: the current 30-somethings are a mass like the current 48 to 52s were a mass, so what they're doing seems more important for their numbers. It's pretty common for people in their early thirties to drop out of attending festivals. I also think all of the shows' general utility is being questioned.
* Secret Acres has split in two and now it's Barry's last SPX, boo-hoo.
