RISE OF THE MICRO-CON: GRASS ROOTS FANDOM OR OVERSATURATION OF THE GEEK SHOW MARKET?
Hey! Its time for me to bust out a brand new and quite informative as well as entertaining edition of…
THE OBSERVATION OF THE WEEK!
9-23-13
I’ve been going to comic book, fan, sci-fi, and pop culture shows and programs as an exhibitor since 2002, and as a fan since 1992. For most of that time, there have been one day shows and a few smaller programs alongside the bigger comic cons. They have ballooned and imploded according to the market. For most of that time those one day shows displayed the same characteristics: They were mostly in larger cities and urban areas. They were mostly for store fronts and dealers to unload overstock. And they were stripped down to essentials with little to no bells and whistles, like creators, costume contests or door prizes. Those kinds of things, along with other events and activities were the exclusive domains of large scale Wizardworlds New York or Comicon Internationals, as well as a handful of nice sized regionals. So most of that time, if you wanted to show off your cosplaying talents, go to a panel with some cast members from Star Trek, or meet a Marvel or DC creative talent. You had to venture from your home berg to whatever city was nearest to you. In some cases this could take up to 8 hours in each direction to do so.
Then around 2008 the economy took a hit. A few of those medium to large cons went out of business altogether. Most became even more difficult to get to, let alone get through the door. About 2010 and 11 a strange phenomenon started to arise. A lot of startup shows began springing out of the woodworks. Shows that were in towns, and hamlets, that ranged anywhere from OUT OF THE BOX to THE MIDDLE OF DOWNTOWN NOWHERE in terms of location. My term for them was MICRO-CONVENTION or MICRO-CON.
So what caused these micro-cons to spring up. A large part of it has to do with many Americans not living within an hour of one of these large city hubs. For a lot of these folks to venture to a major regional or national shows could cost your average them $40-$120 for gas depending on distance, $10-$50 for parking, and $15-$50 for a one day pass let alone multi-day ticket or hotel. At the end a comic or pop-culture fan could wind up sinking anywhere between $50-$200 just to place themselves on a big time convention floor. This doesn’t EVEN bring into account what you spend on artist and vendors. So it’s safe to say that a large contingency can’t scrape the scratch together to pay for the big top!
But that does not mean that they don’t want to get to go to a genuine comic book , sci-fi, horror, or fan show type shindig. I tend to think a lot of forward thinking promoters saw this and decided to make those events smaller in scale, closer to home, but with guests, costume contests, and events that would still bring out those crowds.
Case in point… Ben Penrod
Ben was a comic book dealer at most of these shows, that saw the opportunity the economy in general, and the changing convention scene in particular presented to bring that big punch/small venue combo to the his neck of the woods.
He started in fall of 2011 with THE ANNAPOLIS COMICON which while not a backwoods mountain village by any standards, was still untested waters for any type of geek type event. But excellent promotion and grass roots hype made that show a success. So much so, that it spawned future Annapolis shows. , Mister Penrod, then went even deeper into the woods and set up THE SOUTHERN MARYLAND CON in Waldorf. If Annapolis was shaky and untested, Southern Maryland seemed insane. It’s geographically on the borderland of the sticks. It’s population while respectable, would have seemed foolhardy just 5 years earlier to launch any kind of nerd-pop deal in. The numbers to some would not add up, but Ben went ahead with it anyway, and for his forward thinking and hard work was rewarded with another con flag to place down. Both these shows became so successful, it prompted his endeavor to grow and expand into what is known as AWESOMECON in DC: The first big comic book show in the Washington area in decades!
Ben Penrod is but one of many like-minded promoters. Casey Bassett is another. Two years ago, he started SCI-FI IN THE VALLEY CON. The first show was located in Johnstown Pennsylvania with the second year in Altoona. If Southern Maryland Comicon was in the gateway to the sticks, SCI-FI IN THE VALLEY was on the quiet section of the moon in comparison. It’s well outside the protective bubble that is the DC Metro area, and nowhere near as populated. Just by the numbers, one would have thought this show would have crashed and burned with one broad stroke. But fan devotion and good promotion told another story. Casey managed to put together a first class multi-day show both years with attendance in the 4 figure range for 2012 and 13.
These are but two examples of many. Jon Hayes with the WV PopCon and Rosemary Ward with her 80s themed Retrocon, Eastern Shore Fan Con in Salisbury MD, Collectors Con from Collectors Corner owner Randy Meyers are but a few of many micro-cons of many that have popped up in just the Mid-Atlantic region alone in the last couple of years.
So why the sudden rise and success of these smaller comic and fan shows? Cost is a simpler more pragmatic reason. You can spend a 10th or less of the cost to travel to a large city on a WizardWorld Philly or New York Comicon. Sure you won’t get a big name movie companies, big two publisher booths or A list movie celebs at the smaller programs. But you also won’t get the winding 2-4 hour lines, overcrowded isle ways, obnoxious security, overpriced parking, or pretentious celebrity handlers as well. I also tend to come under the impression that these microcons are much like a fanboy baseball team to their perspective areas. Each event is distinctively theirs. Fans and attendees know if they don’t support these smaller events they will go away. In turn the more they turn out, the more those programs will grow, evolve and continue to bring bigger and better guests and events. One other HUGE reason the microcon has risen is the nature of the attendee, and the outlook of comic cons themselves. 20 years ago, hell! 10 years ago comic book and nerd type events were seen by non-hardcore fans as a gathering of the socially inept and sci fi and fantasy over fixated. Now with the mainstream acceptance of that subculture it’s become a destination for family and casual onlookers alike. For that demographic it’s a form of theme park to take the kids on a day trip to.
Now what is in the future for the microcon? Will they continue to pop up and for a few expand into regional powers? Or will they go the way of the video arcade or drive in theatre. Time and the economy will complete that story…
I hope I entertained as well as informed! Until next time, I won’t be here!
Dan Nokes
21st Century Sandshark Studios
9-23-13
THE OBSERVATION OF THE WEEK!
9-23-13
I’ve been going to comic book, fan, sci-fi, and pop culture shows and programs as an exhibitor since 2002, and as a fan since 1992. For most of that time, there have been one day shows and a few smaller programs alongside the bigger comic cons. They have ballooned and imploded according to the market. For most of that time those one day shows displayed the same characteristics: They were mostly in larger cities and urban areas. They were mostly for store fronts and dealers to unload overstock. And they were stripped down to essentials with little to no bells and whistles, like creators, costume contests or door prizes. Those kinds of things, along with other events and activities were the exclusive domains of large scale Wizardworlds New York or Comicon Internationals, as well as a handful of nice sized regionals. So most of that time, if you wanted to show off your cosplaying talents, go to a panel with some cast members from Star Trek, or meet a Marvel or DC creative talent. You had to venture from your home berg to whatever city was nearest to you. In some cases this could take up to 8 hours in each direction to do so.
Then around 2008 the economy took a hit. A few of those medium to large cons went out of business altogether. Most became even more difficult to get to, let alone get through the door. About 2010 and 11 a strange phenomenon started to arise. A lot of startup shows began springing out of the woodworks. Shows that were in towns, and hamlets, that ranged anywhere from OUT OF THE BOX to THE MIDDLE OF DOWNTOWN NOWHERE in terms of location. My term for them was MICRO-CONVENTION or MICRO-CON.
So what caused these micro-cons to spring up. A large part of it has to do with many Americans not living within an hour of one of these large city hubs. For a lot of these folks to venture to a major regional or national shows could cost your average them $40-$120 for gas depending on distance, $10-$50 for parking, and $15-$50 for a one day pass let alone multi-day ticket or hotel. At the end a comic or pop-culture fan could wind up sinking anywhere between $50-$200 just to place themselves on a big time convention floor. This doesn’t EVEN bring into account what you spend on artist and vendors. So it’s safe to say that a large contingency can’t scrape the scratch together to pay for the big top!
But that does not mean that they don’t want to get to go to a genuine comic book , sci-fi, horror, or fan show type shindig. I tend to think a lot of forward thinking promoters saw this and decided to make those events smaller in scale, closer to home, but with guests, costume contests, and events that would still bring out those crowds.
Case in point… Ben Penrod
Ben was a comic book dealer at most of these shows, that saw the opportunity the economy in general, and the changing convention scene in particular presented to bring that big punch/small venue combo to the his neck of the woods.
He started in fall of 2011 with THE ANNAPOLIS COMICON which while not a backwoods mountain village by any standards, was still untested waters for any type of geek type event. But excellent promotion and grass roots hype made that show a success. So much so, that it spawned future Annapolis shows. , Mister Penrod, then went even deeper into the woods and set up THE SOUTHERN MARYLAND CON in Waldorf. If Annapolis was shaky and untested, Southern Maryland seemed insane. It’s geographically on the borderland of the sticks. It’s population while respectable, would have seemed foolhardy just 5 years earlier to launch any kind of nerd-pop deal in. The numbers to some would not add up, but Ben went ahead with it anyway, and for his forward thinking and hard work was rewarded with another con flag to place down. Both these shows became so successful, it prompted his endeavor to grow and expand into what is known as AWESOMECON in DC: The first big comic book show in the Washington area in decades!
Ben Penrod is but one of many like-minded promoters. Casey Bassett is another. Two years ago, he started SCI-FI IN THE VALLEY CON. The first show was located in Johnstown Pennsylvania with the second year in Altoona. If Southern Maryland Comicon was in the gateway to the sticks, SCI-FI IN THE VALLEY was on the quiet section of the moon in comparison. It’s well outside the protective bubble that is the DC Metro area, and nowhere near as populated. Just by the numbers, one would have thought this show would have crashed and burned with one broad stroke. But fan devotion and good promotion told another story. Casey managed to put together a first class multi-day show both years with attendance in the 4 figure range for 2012 and 13.
These are but two examples of many. Jon Hayes with the WV PopCon and Rosemary Ward with her 80s themed Retrocon, Eastern Shore Fan Con in Salisbury MD, Collectors Con from Collectors Corner owner Randy Meyers are but a few of many micro-cons of many that have popped up in just the Mid-Atlantic region alone in the last couple of years.
So why the sudden rise and success of these smaller comic and fan shows? Cost is a simpler more pragmatic reason. You can spend a 10th or less of the cost to travel to a large city on a WizardWorld Philly or New York Comicon. Sure you won’t get a big name movie companies, big two publisher booths or A list movie celebs at the smaller programs. But you also won’t get the winding 2-4 hour lines, overcrowded isle ways, obnoxious security, overpriced parking, or pretentious celebrity handlers as well. I also tend to come under the impression that these microcons are much like a fanboy baseball team to their perspective areas. Each event is distinctively theirs. Fans and attendees know if they don’t support these smaller events they will go away. In turn the more they turn out, the more those programs will grow, evolve and continue to bring bigger and better guests and events. One other HUGE reason the microcon has risen is the nature of the attendee, and the outlook of comic cons themselves. 20 years ago, hell! 10 years ago comic book and nerd type events were seen by non-hardcore fans as a gathering of the socially inept and sci fi and fantasy over fixated. Now with the mainstream acceptance of that subculture it’s become a destination for family and casual onlookers alike. For that demographic it’s a form of theme park to take the kids on a day trip to.
Now what is in the future for the microcon? Will they continue to pop up and for a few expand into regional powers? Or will they go the way of the video arcade or drive in theatre. Time and the economy will complete that story…
I hope I entertained as well as informed! Until next time, I won’t be here!
Dan Nokes
21st Century Sandshark Studios
9-23-13