Comics Portal: My First Convention of 2023!

It took a while, but I finally made it to my first comic convention this year, 2023!

MEGACON

Because it’s held near where I live, I make a habit of going to MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, each year. It’s a four-day convention that draws a LOT of fan favorites when it comes to guests and pros. This year I caught up with Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Jonathan Hedrick, Scott Hanna, and Joshua Williamson, and I even got to speak with Geoff Johns, a long-time favorite creator of mine!  We even bumped into comics friends in the aisles who also were just there to enjoy the experience!

What’s different for me is that I’m on the other side of the table. Previously, I’d been helping friends from the selling side. That meant early mornings and late nights from Thursday to Sunday, and that also included lugging boxes of stuff there, setting up, talking with people who attended, then tearing down and removing what we had left so we could do it again at the next con.

This year, just like last year, I was walking the floor, mostly in Artist Alley. We always eat before we go, which helps me make it through the day. I say “day” because we only attended on Friday, which is one of the quieter days during MegaCon. I actually got to accomplish what I wanted to do, again very similar to 2022.

You go on Saturday, get ready for crowded aisles and such! I heard from friends who went every day that Saturday was completely packed, with everyone stopping at various booths, which of course slowed down the foot traffic. That’s to be expected, naturally, because people don’t go to conventions just to walk! We want to interact with the creators and stars and such!

If you go to buy action figures and comics, always be sure to get there as early as you can on Thursday! The later you go, the more picked-through these items will be. The best selection is available just when the doors open. Oh, and if you can’t do that, go at the end when vendors are anxious to unload as much as they can so they don’t have to carry it all back home! That’s true of pretty much every convention, not just MegaCon!

The con’s app was intriguing! It constantly let me know of events going on even when I wasn’t in the building! I liked that!

So, I had a great time even though I was only there for one day! Well done, MegaCon!

C2E2

It’s always tough when people running cons have to contend with other big events happening the same weekend. This year, C2E2 in Chicago also took place at the same time.

I have enjoyed that convention when I’ve been there in years past (pre-pandemic times), but I really found getting around to be a beast in the Windy City! Yikes! One year I drove a van full of comics there, and the worst time travelling was right in the Chicago area!

I still found the convention a good one, meeting lots of great creators and friends. From some people I know who attended, word has it that it went well this year.

OTHER CONS

As I’ve previously mentioned in this column, the number of medium-sized and smaller cons continues to grow, so I couldn’t even begin to mention them all.

I keep looking for websites that do a great job of listing gatherings all over the country, but I haven’t found one that I think does an efficient job of informing me just what is going on where. We need that! Anyone up for filling this need?

There are a lot of conventions going on this year, some in hotels, others in convention centers just like MegaCon did. I hope that local comics shops are the best resources to keep up with just what’s happening in your particular area.

WHY ATTEND A CON?

In this column, I’ve often discussed comic conventions and why they are important on several levels. If you have made your own comic and want to get the word out, a booth at a con can be a very helpful way to let people know about it. Also, if you sell comic-related wares, you have an audience that is already interested in the books and such, so a booth can also be a good way to sell your stuff!

The most important reason for going to a con is to make connections. Granted, it’s not NEARLY as much fun attending alone—I’ve done that several times, and it just doesn’t work for me. When it’s only me, I zoom through all the offerings in an hour or so, regardless of the size of the con. Having someone to go with just makes it a more social event.

It’s also fun to interact with creators you admire. It makes it a more personal experience when you buy and read that person’s books later on. You also learn a lot from them when it comes to why they made the choices they did. If you are interested in making your own comic, ask good questions and you will save a lot of time and money!

It’s also a chance to browse what others have been busy making. I’ve discovered many excellent comics at conventions, and that makes me a better fan!

Moving forward, I’ll be going to some local cons as well as Free Comic Book Day on the first Saturday in the month of May. I hope to get in to a bigger con later in the year, but we’ll see!

What do you think? Do you prefer to go to conventions in your area or travel somewhere else? Do you like bigger or smaller cons? What advice would you give to someone attending for the first time? Whatever your opinions, be sure to share them in the space below!

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