Or Have I learned to expect more?

A local con that I enjoy is the Philadelphia Comic Con. This is held multiple times throughout the year in Essington, right outside the city limits of Philadelphia. This small event is only three dollars to enter or two with a flyer, an admittance fee that cannot be disputed. Even though this small event is located in a "hall" of a local hotel, it normally occupies at least twenty dealers and they try to host at least one artist/author.

One of the recent contributors I missed was Herb Trimpe, an amazing icon that Wizard World Philadelphia couldn't rave about on their guest list. Many of these same dealers can be seen at other major conventions along the lines of Baltimore, New York, and even Philadelphia. The difference between the three is the dealers seem happier at the first two.

The New York Comic Con or NYCC as it is better known as showed me what a major Comic Book Con really is, either that or it's the equivalent of a teaser trailer for the SDCC. I feel the NYCC is a massively produced version of the Philadelphia Comic Con sprinkled with inkers, pencillers, writers, publishers, and a multitude of other individuals that placed together in the same room becomes a comic geeks version of paradise.

I went to New York's event for signatures on some of my graded comic books. I chose to cross state lines for this because of the huge variety of different artists and writers attending this convention. Can you imagine that, a variety of comic book artists and creators sitting there waiting to greet you?

I wanted my signature series collection to grow from the books I previously purchased through eBay or from alternate purveyors. This was mainly for my New Mutants, but I did throw in an Uncanny X-Men or two. It was also one of the first experiences and opportunities I had to crack the slabs hoping to go from a universal blue to a sought after yellow. Previous conventions I attended for the sole reason to buy comic books, not get signatures. I was never one to stand in line to meet and greet an artist until I started collecting CGC. There are a few exceptions, fifteen years ago Jeremy Bulloch was one of them.

Wizard World's change between 2007 and 2012 was more than just their logo. In my eyes it lost its Comic Con Status and created a Pop Culture Event. In hindsight, not a very good thing.

Two major things ascertain to this change. The first I contribute to the decline is the loss of Marvel and DC. How can any major convention call itself a Comic Book Convention without having these industry giants? Television shows like The Big Bang Theory and multi million budgeted movies based of the characters themselves have broadened a fan base from what was once a dirty little secret of geeks and nerds everywhere.

Today people proudly display their Nerdom outside convention halls. Throngs of fans swarm outside in lines discussing their love of the hobby. Lines are the worst thing about conventions (and airports) because their is no escaping them. It's also the place where you hear the most complaints.

I was invited as press and as press get no special privileges, at least that's what it said in the fine print. I am OK with that. In past years I was normally within the first five people waiting to get in. Wanting to write about it, I decided it was best if I could watch as the masses entered. However, where was I supposed to wait? I didn't know where to stand or even if I could enter. I stood in line with the VIP holders because after asking a few Wizard World personal where I was supposed to go, the universal reply was "I don't know, I'll find out for you"...and never return with an answer.

At ECCC 2013 there were two entrances, both were large enough to admit the amount of fans attending. The single opening for Wizard World Philadelphia was smaller than the combined amount of singular doors in the previous hall the convention was located a year before. This created a long wait for those who came in to purchase single day tickets. A wait lasting at least thirty minutes long of watching others enter, which also could create an excuse of "why go" next year?

Philadelphia's Convention Center was recently added too. A full city blocks business's were bought out, demolished, and rebuilt over. This allowed Wizard World to show off what they could produce in a brand new wing. The single massive room hosted the signing area, picture area, and sales area for the multiple dealers, dealers that will eventually stop attending as customers pay over a hundred dollars for a four day pass cutting into any funds for purchases. This doesn't include the VIP passes which went upward of five hundred dollars.

Do the people running Wizard World feel that local residence will continue to pay the astronomical prices when nearby conventions like Baltimore only charge forty dollars for a two day comic con with twenty times more comic book contributors? I just bought a single day ticket and the cost was a measly $20. Will Wizard World wake up? Will they shrivel and die, or will they keep buying conventions hoping the attendees don't notice?

Thanks for Reading

Tnerb

Photo is from NYCC 2012

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