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

By Tom Spurgeon

* The Small Press Expo has announced a Graphic Novels Gift Program and has named its first recipient. The linked-to piece at Comic Riffs shows the bookplate designed by artist and cartoonist Lilli Carré. The books will be presented September 6, a few days before the 2011 show.

* here's a report on the annual Singapore Toy Game And Comic Convention, run last weekend for a second year (of the show's four years in existence) by Reed Exhibitions' ReedPOP arm. The article is quite straight-forward in describing more expensive exhibition costs and a perceived dimming of star wattage on comics guests, although the crowds themselves were up. I seem to remember the 2010 edition taking place much later in the year, too, for whatever that's worth.

* various con reports and anecdotal evidence suggest an extremely positive vibe emanating from last weekend's Baltimore Comic-Con, particularly for veteran con-attending professionals. Cited most frequently were the size and enthusiasm of the crowds, particularly given the comics-only focus of the show.

* this is likely only of non-groan-inducing interest to me, but we're getting to that point of the year where several of the standard hotels used for the 2012 Comic-Con International in San Diego are starting to show up on search engines, albeit with rooms in the $300-$600 a night range. This includes the Kimpton and Starwood offerings.

* I will never in my life fully understand the costuming impulse, including and maybe specifically its massive surge in popularity. It was less than ten years ago that I strained to find anyone at all in costume for my amused, non-comics reading brother to see at a big comics show.

* finally, Toronto's FanExpo is the big show of this weekend, and gets underway late afternoon today.
 
posted 4:05 am PST | Permalink
 

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