The Never-Ending, Four-Color Festival: Cons, Shows & Major Events



By Tom Spurgeon

* TCAF sends out its first big press release, which I almost missed not being on the list. The PR talks about the basic set-up of the show and includes TCAF's first round of guest announcements. Chester Brown is one of the best cartoonists alive, so that's great news he's a headlining guest. I expect several more such announcements. I think they're going to have a big, big year.

* I also almost missed this notice because I register as press now, but the Comic-Con registration for pros that have previously attended is open now. You should have received an e-mail with a code on it if this is you. One thing worth noting is that the number of guests they can accommodate for professionals is going to depend on overall attendance, so you want to take care of this immediately, I'd think.

* the Arizona Comic Con was last weekend. Excuse me: the Amazing Arizona Comic Con -- like Marvelous Marvin Hagler, the adjective is part of the actual name. I didn't see a whole bunch of comics site coverage of the event, but I did catch the occasional blog post like this one from creator Mat Nastos.

* I don't know if Fan Expo Canada is a comics show, really, or why on earth anyone in 2011 is sending out text-driven press releases without a link to that same material on their own site, but they want you to know they're adding a fourth day.

* I don't have a whole lot of con-related news to post this week, but I have been thinking about what shows I'll be able to attend this year... and it's sort of amazing how many at least pretty-good shows there are out there to attend. With an unlimited budget I could probably go to 21 such shows a year, and it's not like I'm a convention nut or anything. I'm considering a WonderCon/MoCCA Festival/Stumptown three-shows-in-two-weeks jaunt, followed by TCAF, followed by San Diego, followed by SPX followed by BCGF (yet to be announced). But I may also skip the April trip and SPX and BCGF entirely. Even my expanded list leaves off the possibility of doing any of the great international shows, like the imminent Angouleme and the increasingly awesome-sounding Fumetto. Or the reinvigorated, inside-the-city-walls Lucca. My schedule also has me skipping Chicago, which would be a shame as a) I love Chicago in that way that those of us lucky to live there at some point miss it, and b) I think the sophomore edition of C2E2 is the big story of the year on the "business of cons" beat. I miss Seattle, too, and regret I won't be able to go to Emerald City Comicon this year because of a prior commitment. And who doesn't love Heroes Con? I've never even been to APE. While I love reporting on conventions, and find them generally useful places to a certain kind of business, I'm enough in the middle of nowhere that there are financial concerns, so some tough decisions are involved. I imagine a lot of folks out there feel the same way. It's nice to have that problem, though, too many shows. There was a time from which I still wear clothes that there were almost no shows at all.

* finally, Bart Beaty sent me a link to this fine array of photos from a fun event just past, the unveiling of Jim Woodring's giant pen.


 
posted 9:00 am PST | Permalink
 

---

 
Daily Blog Archives
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
 
Full Archives