I would have thought that the Thanksgiving weekend would affect attendance at a comic convention, but it doesn’t sound like it slowed down the Mid-Ohio-Con. A good time was had by all this weekend, comic writer Mark Evanier reports on his blog. Evanier joined Sergio Aragones, Michael Golden, Roger Stern, Doug Jones, Tom Batiuk, Sean McKeever, Ale Garza, Barry Kitson, David Mack, Steve Rude and many more at the almost 30-year-old con.
In addition to all the celebrities and comic pros, Evanier notes that a lot of small press publishers attended the event, as does the site Comic Related:
I’m going to start my look back on Saturday at Mid-Ohio-Con with a tip of the metaphorical hat to the small press creators at this weekend’s show. I think the product being presented this weekend by the independent creators is stronger than any show I’ve been to this year. I will temper that remark with the fact that I wasn’t able to attend SPACE, APE, MOCCA or SPX (a fact I plan to remedy in 2008). That said, for the mainstream shows I’ve attended I came away from Saturday at Mid-Ohio-Con blown away by the quality. Title after title I found books I didn’t just want to read, I wanted to own (and in many cases I now do own). I can sum up my feelings here in two simple words… “more please”.
Small press creator Max Ink, creator of the comic Blink, reports he saw good sales on Saturday. And blogger Sean Kleefeld has a report up from the event, where he runs down what he saw on the dealer room floor:
What struck me about this year’s con was a seemingly greater emphasis on a few “key” sub-markets. Obviously, a good representation of marvel and DC superheroes, mainly through the retailers, but also in the guest list. Star Wars was pretty well seen with several booths devoted exclusively to it. There were a smattering of independent folks, but their visual presence seemed more stifled by and large. And few retailers had any independent books. Admittedly, it’s a pain to cart 100 long boxes to a convention hall like that, and you’re going to want to focus on the stuff you have the least likelihood of having to haul back home, but the indie market was slim.
It also struck me the type of comics being sold. A lot of high grade Golden Age and early Silver Age books. A lot of new/current material. Not much in between. And not much in the way of TPBs or hardcovers, aside from a few folks who had some Masterworks and Archives titles. Also not much in the way of original art — I think I looked at three small portfolios and one pile in the whole show. Lots of commission work, but not a lot of originals used for publication.
I only attended one panel discussion: “I Go Pogo” with Mark Evanier, Maggie Thompson and Carolyn Kelly. Not a large crowd there, but I did learn that the Fantagraphics Pogo collection has been delayed (probably until Fall ’08) because they’re having trouble getting some high quality artwork from some of the earlier strips. Mark was quite effusive on Carolyn’s attention to detail regarding the Pogo license, and said that’s helped a great deal in maintaining the high quality of Walt’s legacy.
For more info on the con or to check out pictures, Comic Related has much more on their site.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
I went to the mid ohio con this past weekend. needless to say, i was disappointed. I will say it was well organized and i like the promoter but the show has lost a lot of the vibe and excitement it once had.
there were no big current stars. Doug Jones? is he a mime or an actor. besides him, no household names. no big artists. the dealer room was not that great. more comics than anything else.
i saw a big drop off in dealers who used to do the show. i guess the high table rates scared them off.
i would suggest that there be some sort of party saturday night for costume people. i like to meet other people in costumes outside of the show if possible and also, there would be more people in attendance.
i also think moving the show from thanksgiving weekend to say a week later would make a big difference. i know many people who wanted to attend but couldn’t due to family committments.
i just hope the show gets better