Pittsburgh Comicon Review

I knew something was up when there was no line to get in when I arrived 5 minutes before they opened. Because I got in free, I had to walk across a hallway over the convention floor to the other side. Looking down I could see that most of the dealers weren't set up yet. Again not good. After getting in, I immediately noticed that there were less than half of the dealers from last year. And after walking the floor multiple times, I knew it was time to go. Normally I could stay all day, but there was nothing to see. Same local dealers, same local talent and special guests. And many guests apparently decided not to show up Sunday. Not good.

Now, I remember last year, there was some question of the viability for the show because the New York Comicon was moving back from February. And the fact that it actually ended up being the week before. I am sure that was the main cause for a lot of dealers not being there. Most could not do both and NYCC is mare more prestigious and probably better attended. The same problem with the guests I am sure.

Now there certainly were a lot of big names, but it is always the same big names. now while it is nice saying hi to many, including those that have been to my store, I think a variety would be better to draw in more people. Now I talked to the people I needed to and made a contact that will make both of us some money, but that was about it. A couple of notable absences were Diamond Comics and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. A big deal, no. But odd that 2 national organizations didn't show.

And I am not even going to delve into the fact that the organizer was just convicted of murder. Probably did not help, but I don't know how much.

I looked at doing the show before I got in with New Dimension Comics, but the price was too much. $500 for a 10 x 10 square with one 6 ft table. That's a whole lot of comics just to cover that.

As for the selection of stuff.... I came ready to spend $400 on customer requests, maybe some stuff for me, maybe some stuff for the store. I spent $10. Hopefully next year will be better.