Fan culture contains multitudes, and three events taking place this month capture a broad spectrum of special interests. Yes, there’s NYCC that will take up a lot of oxygen, energy and money, but the following week, LightBox Expo in Pasadena will gather the cream of commercial artists for a professional conference, while the intimate San Diego ComicFest recreates the atmosphere of a 1970s-style comic show.
If you can make it there… New York Comic Con is the big news this week, expecting to draw its usual enormous crowd to the Javits Center for four days of mayhem. While this year’s show might be light on comics-oriented programming, there are no shortage of big announcements in the wings. A lot of publishers and media companies have been treating NYCC as equivalent to, if not equal to, San Diego in terms of the opportunity to unveil new projects as well as to show out for fans.
Ordinarily I’d do a listing of business-oriented programs, but there really aren’t enough to fill a column this year. Instead, I’ll preview my panel at this year’s ICv2 Insider Talks on Thursday, where I will hopefully see a bunch of you for the annual industry meetup at 2:30 p.m. and Milton’s must-hear market report White Paper at 3:30 p.m. (see “ICv2 Insider Talks: The Next Comics Revolution, and Comic Industry Social Hour“).
At 4:00 p.m., I’ll be hosting a conversation on the market impact of vertically scrolling digital comics, featuring WEBTOON’s David Lee and Chris Carter, cofounder/CEO of GlobalComix. There’s a lot to talk about here, but we’ll be focusing on the issues of biggest interest to retailers, distributors, licensors and creators, specifically:
- How vertically-scrolling digital comics can bring in new readers and fans, whether for new or existing titles
- How the platforms can create new sources of income for creators and publishers, and maybe grow the market beyond what we’ve previously seen as the ceiling for digital comics
- The challenges and opportunities around adapting scrolling comics for print and print comics into vertical scroll, and how the differences in the medium can help sell the material to fans in multiple formats
- How global digital platforms can use their data-based systems to popularize new IP, with potential licensing and merchandising opportunities.
As always, the ICv2 event and the many gatherings around the show should be prime time to catch up on the relationships that keep this business running, as well as previewing the big plans, media and products heading our way in the last quarter of 2024.
For art’s sake. I’m very excited to get to see LightBox Expo (October 24-27) in person for the first time this year. The show started up right before the pandemic, organized by original Emerald City Comic Con founder Jim Demonakos and artist/educator Bobby Chiu. A big deal even at its inception, LightBox has grown to become a huge event for current and aspiring art professionals in all aspects of the business, but particularly illustration, animation and special effects. It draws something like 10,000 people for a three-day event at the Pasadena Convention Center, and looks like a lot of fun even if you’re not entirely sure which end of the pencil goes on the paper.
The program is heavy on professional development, with tutorials and networking events prominently featured. On Friday evening, I’ll be moderating a panel on The Art of Illustration featuring an absolutely killer international lineup of Loish, Eliza Ivanova, Devin Elle Kurtz, Claire Wendling, and Craig Mullins. Unfortunately, that means I will be missing the panel on technology countermeasures against AI, featuring the inventor of Glaze/Nightshade Dr. Ben Zhou with Mia Araujo, Karla Ortiz, JonLamArt, Reid Southen and Deana Igelsrud taking place at the same time.
My only regret with the show is that I won’t be there for the entire weekend. I’ll be heading back to Seattle for the annual Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair, which doesn’t specialize in comics, but often turns up a few treats for collectors of vintage trade books and pulps.
The old, good stuff. Speaking of vintage, the other fun October show is San Diego Comic Fest (October 25-27), back after a prolonged absence. This year’s Fest will be held at the Carlsbad Westin, just north of San Diego, in what is likely to be an improved facility from its old Sheraton Five Points digs.
SDCF was created by original SDCC pioneer Mike Towry back in 2011 with the goal of recreating the ambiance of those original 60s-70s conventions: no big media stars, no autographs, no activations, just old comics, artists, old movies, a few toys and games, and panels talking about the stuff comic fans love. Current showrunners continue it in that vein.
The theme of this year’s Fest is the twin centenaries of Harvey Kurtzman and Rod Serling. Guests include Rick Geary, Mark Russell, Jill Thompson, Steve Leialoha, Barbara Kessel and Mike Royer. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a speck of a show, but it punches well above its weight. I’m sorry to be missing it this year as it functions as a kind of family reunion of mostly West Coast pros, fans, comic scholars and assorted others who never have enough time to meet up at that other San Diego convention over the summer.
Events for everyone. There are a bunch of other worthwhile events in this timeframe as well, including some good local small shows and indie press expos. Seattle’s Short Run is November 2nd this year, for example.
The point is, we may love to complain that the big shows like SDCC or NYCC aren’t all about us and our industry anymore, but (a) they’re big enough that even if we’re not the focus, there’s still plenty going on, and (b) there are lots of smaller shows that cater specifically to the interests of professionals and fans. It doesn’t all have to happen in one big room.
The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
Rob Salkowitz is the author of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture and a two-time Eisner-Award nominee.
Source: ICV2
