More Extensive Cape Comiccon Recap

And I'm back to what passes for home these days. Hoo-ray. So let's talk convention.

The AC did seem to be doing a better job holding up on Sunday, as Alex didn't have to flee outside at all. Smaller crowd on Sunday, so it was a bit more subdued. There was still a fair bit of activity, and Ken was pretty busy making announcements about how this table was lowering prices for the next x units of time, or reminding folks to swing by and check out Artists' Alley, or some of the tables for the independent creators.

Around 3 or so Ken was at one of the entry tables, and ended up discussing how things were going with myself and maybe 3 other friends of his. From what he could tell, the gamers were just as happy as could be with their set-up, and they did have a pretty good turnout, especially Saturday. From his perspective, as the guy who basically sets most of this up, he said he had more fun than he had in previous years, and he was certain of about a 5% increase in attendance. I don't know how significant that is compared to other conventions, but I imagine growth is certainly a plus. He did feel he'd been too enamored with the size of the venue he booked. What I mean is, this year's location was considerably larger than the Student Rec Center used the previous two years, and Ken felt he got a bit overeager as a result. He figured he had 60,000 square feet, might as well use all of it. The problem from his perspective seems to be that it spread things out too much, the crowd was too diffuse, and he that sapped the event of "energy", in some way he couldn't define.

My guess is when the people are in closer contact with each other, they can sense each others' enthusiasm, and it sparks their own, which other people pick up on, and so on. Like mob mentality, but in a positive way, with people get excited and festive, I suppose. Personally, I very much prefer the space that was available this year. The previous two conventions, the aisles were so narrow at times it was more prudent if you were on your knees going through a long box to go under the table so you weren't being bumped into by feet. Also, you might recall that at previous conventions, I ended up leaving after a couple hours, because the crowds overwhelmed me. That didn't happen this year, even with the larger turnout, as conditions were spacious enough I didn't feel hemmed in. So I'll disagree with Ken on that, though Ken said that from the feedback he'd received, about 95% of the people who had attended in previous years thought this year's convention was better, so if the greater amount of space was a factor, then I imagine he'll take it into account.

The thing Ken seemed most concerned about was the success of the vendors. He felt that 15 of them had made what he called 'big money'*. That was the same amount as the previous year. Problem was, the show had 28 vendors this year, as opposed to 18 in 2008 . I don't know how the others made out, since not making 'big money' doesn't mean they lost money on the trip, necessarily. I know he said one vendor in particular got fed up and just left part way through Saturday, and I think that was a first for the Cape Comic Con, so Ken said he needed to think about that this week. I think he may just have to cut back down on vendors, wait and see if attendance numbers continue to grow. If the show keeps growing in popularity over the years, it might be able to get more vendors to the "big money" territory, which will make everyone happy.

While discussing this, it was brought up that this is kind of capitalism exemplified, with all these people selling similar products right next to each other, and in that situation, the cream will rise to the top. I guess that's true**. You either need to have product the others don't, or your product has to be in better condition, or (and probably most importantly) cheaper. There was one vendor who was selling individual issues 1 for a dollar, but going 10 comics for $5, I was perusing his boxes, as was this young woman whose friends call her "Squeak", apparently***. As we were looking, Ken was periodically announcing that other tables were raising their discounts, and she never even looked up, because she said the prices at the her current location were still better, so why go elsewhere when she was still looking here? That vendor had a hook, in this case low, low prices, that compensated for the fact he was one of the schmoes that can't be arsed to organize his stuff****.

So that's mostly Ken's perspective, at least insofar as I'm privvy to what he was thinking. What about me? Well, I had a fine time. Part of that was just getting to chat with Ken for awhile, which I hadn't had the opportunity to do since last September. Part of that was bringing Alex, who had never attended a comic convention before, and had a blast. One of the things that's good about Alex is he doesn't hide his feelings much, so when he gets amped up for something, you will become aware of it, and it can be infectious. I didn't find too many comics that I was searching for (including largely whiffing on some comics I was seeking on the behalf of a coworker who couldn't make it), but that freed me up to spend money elsewhere (more on that in a bit). There was a fellow selling food and drinks, and he seemed to do brisk business on soda, and his corn dogs were popular based on what I saw. I know Ken devoured a plate of nachos he bought on Saturday, to the extent we were picking on him for spilling cheese on his shirt, and advising other friends who walked up to make Ken wipe (or just go ahead and dunk their hand in the cheese themselves) his hand first before shaking. Alex bought a drink called a Lemon Shake-Up, which he found disappointing on Saturday, but proclaimed good upon further reflection Sunday. Of course, when I asked if it was $2.50 good (that was how much if cost), he replied that no, it was about 80 cents good, and then I questioned whether you could call something "good" if you thought it was only worth a 1/3rd of what you paid, but we didn't get far with that conversation.

Originally, we were going to be a cosplay duo, Alex as Vash the Stampede, me as Nicholas Wolfwood*****. He couldn't really get the costume set up, so he went as the Spirit, looking rather dapper in a black shirt, red tie, and black hat. We didn't have time to find him a domino mask, so he just used my red sunglasses. It made me sort of the Bizarro Spirit, because I was rocking a white shirt (no tie), a red hat, and my black sunglasses. Sadly, no photos currently exist******. There was one fellow in a spectacular Predator outfit, which Alex did wisely get a picture of, unlike yours truly. Lots of kids rocking looks from Naruto, your standard Jedis and Stromtroopers, and a Pimp Vader. That's right; Darth Vader with a pimp cape, pimp hat, and possibly a pimp cane, which would also double as a pimp lightsaber. OK, I don't actually remember if he had a cane or light saber, but he really ought to have.

Then there was the Silk Spectre. While I was waiting for Ken to finish an announcement so we could chat a bit, Alex resolved to go and get a picture of her. Whether he was going to be in it or not, I don't know. He said he walked up to her, got close enough that she started to smile and probably offer a greeting. Then he opened his mouth to say something, and based on his gestures, basically spasmed, closed his mouth, and retreated, leaving a confused cosplayer in his wake. I was stunned. That's the sort of crash and burn I'd have, not Alex. I couldn't get him to approach again, even the next day, when she showed up as Poison Ivy. Guess I should have gone with him the first time. Oh well, it's a funny story to relate, and it balances the scale for Alex laughing about how ill I looked when I disembarked from that second carnival ride on Saturday.

Everyone I talked to was very friendly, and Alex went over to meet Gary Friedrich, and eventually I took their picture together. Alex loved that Gary smiled so much, and described him as the 'sweetest old guy ever'. So that was good. I mentioned that the money not spent on comics went elsewhere. Well, the "elsewhere" was Artists' Alley, not a place I'd visited in any of the previous conventions, but Sunday I thought what the heck. Actually, if I'm being honest, I noticed that on Sunday most of the artists didn't seem busy, and I wanted to throw some business their way, hopefully keep their opinion of the show high. Yeah, silly, but I get something out of it (art, conversation), they get something out of it (money, some time chatting with folks about their work), and Ken gets something out of it (happy people at his convention on both sides of the tables). That's a win-win-win, right there.

Alex and I purchased two pictures a piece from Terry Huddleston, Alex opting for a Punisher picture, and a Fantastic Four group shot I thought was pretty nice. Me, I knew I'd be giving Mr. Huddleston money the moment I say the Scarlet Spider picture, and then I found a Moon Knight, and well, like I told him, second-tier characters need love too*******. Then we visited Alan Schell's table, and he was selling 8.5" x 11" pieces for $2 a pop, so I grabbed 10 (the Punisher and Nightcrawler were for Alex). Schell's style is slightly more simple than Huddleston's, more Super Friends sort of, but it's still highly expressive. He had Iron Man in the Silver Centurion armor, so I was sold right there! And he had a Guy Gardner (which I also purchased, as Guy has his arms folded across his chest cockily, with one eyebrow raised and a smirk on his face. He's still sporting the bowl cut, but that's OK, it's a pretty Guy pose).

The last stop for me on the artist alley was Brandon Rout. I've resolved to try and collect sketches of the Nicieza/Bagley New Warriors, and when I walked by his table earlier, something about his style caught my eye, so I decided to start with him. It's probably not proper form, but I asked him if he had a preference. There wasn't anyone else in line, so I figured he might not mind. He said he was partial to Namorita or Speedball, and I figured, let's go with Speedball, because how often will you find an artist that wants to draw him? I think Brandon did a pretty sweet job. He drew it, inked it, colored it right then and there. It took awhile (Alex and I actually went to Schell's table while we were waiting, then came back), but I think the full body, color shot of Robbie bouncing and smiling was worth the wait********. About that point, I felt I'd probably spent enough money for a weekend, and Alex was also restraining himself from spending anymore, so we called it a day, had some dinner, and we drove back to his house.

I thought it was a great weekend, personally. Purchased some nifty art, visited with folks I hadn't seen in some time, gave Alex a good morale boost. I'd say that's definitely a weekend well spent. Right now, I'm waiting for Alex to call me back, because I asked him if he wanted to give an official quote for this post about his experiences at the convention, so I'll add that at the bottom, assuming he hasn't forgotten. Still, I can throw in this little exchange he and Ken had on Sunday.

Ken is at one of the entryways, greeting folks, accepting the cash, marking hands for reentry, etc. Alex and I are standing nearby (I think I was waiting on the Speedball pic at this point), and I might have asked Alex if he was enjoying the weekend. His response was 'This is the most fun I've had in months.' Ken overheard and gave me that odd look he has, where he tilts his head, sort of raises one eyebrow while squinting his other eye at me, and nodding, the look saying "Did ya hear that? Sweet!" Then Ken looked at Alex and asked 'You didn't just get out of prison recently, did you?' We all burst into laughter. So if Alex doesn't get on the horn, that's his quote. Not a bad one, as those things go.

{Edit: OK, here's Alex, direct from his text message to me} 'My first and certainly not my last Cape Comic Con was an awesome adventure full of the nicest people doing what they love. It was an experience I would love to live a thousand times over and an expedition that opened my imagination once more. Thanks, Ken!'

* Which I assume means enough profit they feel buying table space at the convention was a good idea, and are positively disposed towards the con.

** I've only taken one economics class, and that was at 8 a.m., so I don't think I remember any Econ I didn't already know beforehand.

*** This really amused the vendor, who kept bringing up that it's the same name one of his wife's friends named her cat.

**** I found copies of Nightwing #107 in four different longboxes, for goodness sakes!

***** Though it's one of those cases where I'm going along with it because of how fired up Alex is, rather than out of any eagerness on my part. I'm too self-conscious.

****** I always forget to take photos when I really ought to.

******* Though Mr. Huddleston stated Scarlet Spider is still pretty popular. Hear that, Ben Reilly? You live on in our hearts!

******** Maybe I should have asked if he could have Speedball bouncing over a discarded Penance costume, as Brandon seemed to dislike that character path as much as I do.