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Wizard Magazine caused the '90's Comics Collapse -- now they're after Comic Cons

Started by TupennyConan,

43 posts in this topic

mysterio

mysterio

Posted
Posted
Cons are definitely taking a hit from a comic book back issue point of view. It's kind of sad there can't be a pure comic book/artist show like there used to be.

 

These still exist, they just tend to be the smaller shows. There are a few larger shows that carry on this tradition, Baltimore is one (from what I've heard, I've still never been :cry: ).

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F For Fake

F For Fake

Posted
Posted
Cons are definitely taking a hit from a comic book back issue point of view. It's kind of sad there can't be a pure comic book/artist show like there used to be.

 

These still exist, they just tend to be the smaller shows. There are a few larger shows that carry on this tradition, Baltimore is one (from what I've heard, I've still never been :cry: ).

 

It's true, there are still some out there. Locally I enjoyed Derby City Comic Con and Cincy Comic Con, as they are pure comic shows with no wrestlers, washed up actors, etc. I don't mind cosplayers because I'm all about anything that gets people even vaguely interested in the hobby. But I can do without the Z-grade celebs and autograph events.

 

The aforementioned DCCC is in a couple of weeks, and I think it's like $20 for a 2 day pass, and it's all comics. Wizard World is coming back to town in November, and it's probably closer to what, $75? More? And for what? Lou Ferrigno and Bruce Campbell? Bah.

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Define999

Define999

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Yea, its sorta sad.... our local show here in ALbuquerque was handed off to Wizard and the price of admission jumped by 25 bucks! What was 50 turned into 75. Im not sure im going this year out of pure principle.

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Transplant

Transplant

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Posted

I want to understand the premise of the question. Is it whether Wizard is intentionally trying to cause the collapse of comic conventions? Or is it whether Wizard will cause the collapse of comic conventions?

 

Absent the death of comic conventions entirely, how would this be measured?

 

Is every competitor in a competitive space trying to kill the entire market or are they simply trying to beat their competitors and grow themselves, often at the expense of the competitor?

 

I think most wizard shows are ones I would never dream of paying real money to attend. The idea of paying significant money to shop (for autographs, swords, comics, prints, clothing, etc.) is not one that appeals to me in general. Thus, I've never understood the tens of thousands that many shows will draw in a weekend.

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Davenport

Davenport

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Wizard was THE hype-machine in the 90s. Along with 'money-to-be-made' fever dreams and publisher's pre-order hype, Wizard owned that space.

 

Today Wizard can still insert themselves and hope to create a small loyal niche, milk it for all it's worth. But now Wizard is marketer among many, competing for a pie piece.

 

So no, they're not going to collapse anything.

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mysterio

mysterio

Posted
Posted
I want to understand the premise of the question. Is it whether Wizard is intentionally trying to cause the collapse of comic conventions? Or is it whether Wizard will cause the collapse of comic conventions?

 

Absent the death of comic conventions entirely, how would this be measured?

 

Is every competitor in a competitive space trying to kill the entire market or are they simply trying to beat their competitors and grow themselves, often at the expense of the competitor?

 

I think most wizard shows are ones I would never dream of paying real money to attend. The idea of paying significant money to shop (for autographs, swords, comics, prints, clothing, etc.) is not one that appeals to me in general. Thus, I've never understood the tens of thousands that many shows will draw in a weekend.

 

I really enjoy going to comic shows, and shopping for books at shows. I like to be able to inspect books in hand before I buy, and see a variety of books in a variety of grades. I enjoy interacting with the dealers and (when it isn't overly crowded) other fans. I really enjoy the experience of selling at shows too, be they large or smaller. This is why I spend time updating and bumping the con threads in the event forum here, even for shows I won't attend. I want people to know about shows they may be interested in.

 

All that being said, I think that Wizard would be perfectly happy to host the first "comic con" without a single comic book or comic dealer in the room. Some of them still represent decent opportunities to buy comics, but most should be considered pop culture shows instead of a comic con. Wizard and others (I'm looking at you, SDCC) have succeeded in morphing the definition of "comic con" from "place to buy comics" into something much different than it was 15 years ago. This may be for good, or for ill.

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blazingbob

blazingbob

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Not sure how this topic comes across coming from another promoter.

 

This thread could be interpreted in the same way if I started a thread stating that "Is Dale Roberts, Harley Yee or Greg Reece is causing a comic collapse" because they do more shows than me.

 

If you have a great show, run it well and are priced fairly then you should be successful. Wizard has given every one of the "new" shows a perfect "price point" to compete against. Frankly you should thank them for doing the market research on what areas will support a show versus one that will not.

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Davenport

Davenport

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Except you don't pay $75 bucks to get in Walmart. Change it to "they're the Walmart Comcast of comic cons" and maybe.

 

Wizard likes the cable-company model: jam as many niches together as possible and charge a package-premium. That way an attendee who's there for something popular subsidized the attendee who's there for their smaller faction.

 

And like the 'cut the cord' movement, there's bound to be resistance.

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comix4fun

comix4fun

Posted
Posted
Not sure how this topic comes across coming from another promoter.

 

This thread could be interpreted in the same way if I started a thread stating that "Is Dale Roberts, Harley Yee or Greg Reece is causing a comic collapse" because they do more shows than me.

 

If you have a great show, run it well and are priced fairly then you should be successful. Wizard has given every one of the "new" shows a perfect "price point" to compete against. Frankly you should thank them for doing the market research on what areas will support a show versus one that will not.

 

 

That's true, except for when they schedule a show the same weekend as a small local show, knowing that both shows will lose money and only they can afford it and can outlast the local show.

 

Thus the market research includes knowing when an area can support one show, putting on a second show until the other one is burned to the ground.

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1Cool

1Cool

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I think you would be hard pressed to say Wizard caused the collapse of the 1990s and you definitely will not see a collapse in Cons anytime soon. Even if the Wizard shows quickly become unprofitable who would feel the pinch in terms of lost money? Wizard themselves would obviously lose money and I guess some of the dealers who pre-booked booths but the general public would just go back to do something else on their Saturday afternoon.

 

There are at least 4 or 5 comic only Cons scheduled within a 2 hour drive of my area so I don't see Wizard muscling out the little guy since these types of shows seem to be even more popular since Wizard started putting on shows.

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musicmeta

musicmeta

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I'll pay $75.00 if it's nothing but comics/comic mags dealers there. But I don't want to pay for the out of date actors/actresses and the other stuff that sells outside of comic books.

I need to attend the Baltimore con from what I'm hearing. Supposed to be mostly comics and not the other stuff.

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