I’m told that the convention had about 350 people in attendance and that the organizers are claiming that my failure to attend was entirely my own fault due to my refusal to commit and my constantly changing my mind. It supposedly had nothing to do with lack of communication and no one booking flights (the same problems that prevented Stuart Immonen and Tad Stones from attending). They did, however, insist that they were on good terms with me and that I’d be attending next year.
No. I won’t be. Fool me once and all that.
PAD
• 
pnly 350 people attended? Will they be having a convention next year?
350?
I’ve seen more people at an in-store signing!
How was this advertised, smoke signal?
350?
I’ve seen more people at an in-store signing!
How was this advertised, smoke signal?
350?
I’ve seen more people at an in-store signing!
How was this advertised, smoke signal?
350?
I’ve seen more people at an in-store signing!
How was this advertised, smoke signal?
I was at the con on Saturday, and the attendance was over 1000, and that was just in the first three hours I was there. I spoke with both
Alex Saviuk and Billy Tucci, and they said the attendance was better in that one day than the whole weekend at Wizard World Chicago and they were doing more business (sketches, sales) than either had at San Diego Comic Con.
If, indeed, this was said, it is more than foolish that there’d be no consideration given to word getting back to Peter about it. Based on the low number of patrons currently attending the show, that behavior wouldn’t help to ensure its continued existance.
I was a reatailer there and let me tell you, there weren’t 1000 people there all weekend.
Lenil Yu was there for his 2nd US apperaance and he never had mors than 5 people at his table. Derrik Robertson sat at his table with no one coming up to him at all.
I personally did a count at the line to get in on Saturday, and there were 42 people in that line. There was no line to get in on Sunday.
Bily Tucci and Alex Saviuk sat alone most of the day as well. My booth was in plain sight of the artist tables.
I don’t know what con you atteneded, but it most ceratinly was not OrlandoCon.
I attended on Saturday as well, and if 1000 people showed up, they did it after I left. I thought it was worse than last year’s, and that’s saying something. I was very disappointed, and I won’t be back.
I didn’t make it out this year but I’m disappointed I didn’t as I would loved to have get some sketches and personal time with some of those great artists sitting alone and unattended!
I’m also disappointed that this promising show seems to be flushing away in a talespin of unprofessionalism. Sorry they jerked you around Peter…hope to see you in Orlando one day regardless.
Maybe they meant that no more than 350 were there at one time?
It would be great to see you at Megacon again
First time I did this show and the LAST TIME I will be doing this show. Very unorganized and promoters misrepresented everything. Very big waste of time. I lost a lot of money. Total count I was told by someone counting people at door was 750.
Most of the vendors I talked to on Saturday said they sold a ton of stuff. Don’t know the numbers, but just going on what was said.
Telling people that you would be there next year is got to be one of the biggest displays of idiocy and/or asshattery that I’ve heard of in a while… it’s almost like they don’t know that there’s other more reliable and direct ways for people to get information these days…
Oh well – their loss… sounds like a convention that’s on its last legs anyway, from the reports of those who attended…
That really frustrates me that they would treat a guest like that. That’s exactly why some people refuse to do cons anymore.
I am a member of the Iowa Comic Book Club and we put on our own Con once a year. We doing great if we get 500 people to come to a one day show.
I can’t belive in Orlando they couldn’t have pulled in a better crowd. I am ususally praying to the comic gods that we get at least 300 people so we can make back the money we spend so we can have another event next year. I guess that’s what makes the fan run events diffrent from those who are doing this to turn a quick buck.
“I spoke with both Alex Saviuk and Billy Tucci, (…) and they were doing more business (sketches, sales) than either had at San Diego Comic Con.”
I’m not going to accuse those two of lying, but they got more traffic in an hour at SDCC then they would’ve seen all weekend in Orlando, so I find this very hard to believe.
1000.. yeah right. Sunday was DEAD! Badly mismanaged con, especially since Friday was cancelled without notice. I showed up at noon to set up (set up was 8-12 on my vendor packet) and the hall was bare. Luckly i love in Orlando but still unprofessional.
Be surprised if it is back next year.
As far as attendance goes, because of the way the booths were set up, we couldn’t see past our particular area to even GUESS at how many people were there, but I would never be able to claim that there were 1000 people–it was fairly sparse at best for a Saturday but I did have a few handfuls of people pass by my table for comic book signings, look at my past and current work and/or just chat. One or two decent sales can make or break a LOCAL show considering there literally were NO expenses for me since I live an hour away by car. And for the record, although SDCC was mobbed, it costs a bunch to fly to SD and the hotel prices are through the roof, plus spending your own money on food and incidentals. I didn’t make one sale of a sketch OR a page of art and only signed about a dozen books on opening day Thursday which was pretty surprising to me–and I never covered my expenses by a longshot for the week, which was very disappointing , to say the least. Many artists I spoke to didn’t fare as well in ’07 as in recent years, either. Therefore, yes, by comparison, I did much better in Orlando in just one day without the expenses to concern me. A high point for me was meeting Darick Robertson–he came over and introduced himself to me and let me know how much he enjoyed MY work over the years which was really very nice gesture and was greatly appreciated.
Craig,
I’d point the “L” word at the poster above and not the artists. I have no firsthand knowledge of the event, but several friends of mine drove over from St. Pete and said that it could have been a deserted island for all the people that were there. And they were there on Saturday as well. I’m thinking that “C. Matusiak” is a fake name for someone affiliated with the Con, someone in charge of the con or just a nut.
One or two decent sales can make or break a LOCAL show considering there literally were NO expenses for me since I live an hour away by car.
Thanks for clearing that up. And yes, expenses obviously would make a huge difference.
It’s too bad they can’t (won’t?) move the Artist Alley to somewhere more accessible on the convention floor.
For example, I was at each day of SDCC this year, including preview night, and even though I went over to the Alley several times during the convention to check out stuff and chat with artists, I still didn’t make it to the very back of the Alley area because of everything else going on.
See, that makes sense & it doesn’t pump up the numbers of the attendees in the face of so many statements by the attendees.
Bryan L and I were discussing this earlier today–if I didn’t have a kid and a mortgage and a mountain of debt (or a wife, for that matter, since she’d kill me for doing it), I’d go through the second mortgage and endless debt of putting on a fall show here in Orlando.
Megacon and FX are great but they’re back to back in the winter…and summer has enough competition from the rest of the country.
A well-run show in Sept/Oct/Nov here in Orlando would be great. I had hoped it would be this show but it sounds unlikely at this point.
A well-run show in Sept/Oct/Nov here in Orlando would be great. I had hoped it would be this show but it sounds unlikely at this point.
http://www.AssimilationCon.com
ah joke em if they can’t take a…….
A few retailers, myself included, are looking into doing a con in October 2008. This is directly because of what happened this year with Orlando (poor excuse for a) Con. If you or any other retailers would be interested in helping out with this, email me as dstevic@gmail.com.
I contacted a few venues today, and it looks like it may be very possible.
here’s the story that broke today in Lying in The Gutters
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/?column=13
Looks like more screw jobs
ORLANDO BOOM
by Rich Johnston
[Yellow Light]The Orlando Comic Con just put on its second year show this weekend, talking it up and boasting of 3000 pre-registration attendees. They also advertised such guests as Peter David and Stuart Immonen.
Peter David had his own take as to why he wasn’t there. The organisers never got round to sending him air tickets.
Same with Stuart Immonen.
David Lloyd, it appears, had requested a return ticket to take him home the Thursday after the con, so he could attend a signing at local store “AComicShop.” The organisers agreed. But he got a Monday return instead.
That same shop had paid for an ad in the convention guide book. It didn’t get printed.
The show was advertised as three days but shrank to two.
Artists’ Alley only filled ten out of fifty seats and gained the nickname “Artists’ Back Alley Abortion.”
Apparently around 600 people turned up, including dealers, guests and staff.
With inflation like that, maybe these guys should work for Wizard World?
Still, that meant a rather high pro to fan ratio, so the fans who did turn up probably had a great time.
Yeah, there wasn’t 1000 people in attendance at all. Not even close. I was in the back row of the show and we didn’t get much traffic at all. Thankfully, I did do remotely well on Saturday, but sales just weren’t there on Sunday. I think I sold maybe two or three books, that was it.
I hear they will be putting on a show in 2008, but that’s all I know.
We sat in a general area for the show and actually did quite well. we are an independent company called Panda!Monium Press and we put out “The Maniacal SMile”. Saturday was great for us, we sold a lot of books that day… but as for Sunday, i agree. we sold about 10 books that day. dont know for sure if we’ll ber back or not, but it wasnt the worst show we’ve ever done. not the best either…
I wasnt able to make it and it was also the weekend of yom kippur…
It couldnt have been that bad – at least 600 to 1000 people show. Some show dont even get that.
As I was reading across the net on other pages – sounds like they had more problems that could have been solved from the beginning with some better communication but instead did not get taken care of.
In lew of all the issues – did anyone get any pictures? Sketches? Anything special for themselves?
and http://www.AssimilationCon.com cant be considered a great show with 7 guests and a $35 dollar pricing cost but there is always fx and megacon. Just wish megacon would be less anime and more comics.
Mr. Peter David,
I had the pleasure of meeting you some 20 plus years ago at a Creation Con in, if I remember correctly, Philly. I now live in Tampa and promote several different Shows in this area. One being the Epic Con on December 9,2007, a one day show in Orlando, and The Tri-County Comic Con, December 28-30 2007, a three day show in West Palm Beach.
I attended the Orlando show hoping to meet with you once again, reintroduce myself, and to invite you to My West Palm Beach show as a guest. Florida needs Peter David as does Tri-County. You have many fans here and I would love to discuss this further with you off the chats.
Since I promote many dates throughout the year, I am sure I can find a suitable date for you if you are interested.
Thank you in advance for your response and best wishes on your upcoming ventures,
J.D.
As to attendance – there used to be a con in the Atlanta area which some of my dealer friends strongly suspected of skipping blocks of numbers on badges on Saturday. That way, dealers who were spending most of their time in one place and couldn’t get a true feel for actual numbers would see, say, badge number 1527 go by their table when iut was actually like maybe attendee number 527 in actuality…
Mike-
I remember that. The excuse given was that the 1 was to signify that it was a Saturday badge or a one day badge depending on who you talked to. This was suppose to make it easier for security but I think it was to give better numbers
I don’t recall saying that it was as busy as San Diego or Chicago or that I did the same amount of business, but it was a really good show for me. I had a great time and got to hang out with Mike Perkins, Alex, Lenil Francis Yu and the Big City guys — among others, again what a blast.
Hey Peter, this is A Comic Shop in Orlando. This convention was a joke! We handed out flyers with your name on it for months, and your name wasn’t taken off the website untill the last few days. You never changed any of your requests, I feel he just ran out of money. I feel like he was using the he “couldn’t get tickets for Yom Kippur” for you as a scapegoat excuse to back out of paying your way down here after he used your name to promote. I feel after we got you tickets for Yom Kippur it took away his main excuse and he just stopped talking to you all together.
This is all just how I feel as a person involved in all this. People should draw their own conclusions.
Hey Peter, this is A Comic Shop in Orlando. This convention was a joke! We handed out flyers with your name on it for months, and your name wasn’t taken off the website untill the last few days. You never changed any of your requests, I feel he just ran out of money. I feel like he was using the he “couldn’t get tickets for Yom Kippur” for you as a scapegoat excuse to back out of paying your way down here after he used your name to promote. I feel after we got you tickets for Yom Kippur it took away his main excuse and he just stopped talking to you all together.
This is all just how I feel as a person involved in all this. People should draw their own conclusions.
In Minnesota we have a big 2-day Fallcon in Oct.
These guys put on a great show. They have tons of guests and a huge dealer space and they put the guests right there in among the dealer tables so they dont really have an “alley”.
I have started to sell off the collection (Mortgage=Good, Living with in-laws=BAD)with last year being my first time as a “dealer” and did pretty well Im planning to try it again this year.
I meet Peter there a few years ago and had him sign a short story in Shock Rock he did with Bill Mummy. Please come back Peter!!!
I attended the show on all Saturday afternoon and I bet there wasn’t 200-300 attendees there. To compound matters, apparently people were just walking into the con without paying. This was stopped after a guard was eventually posted around 2 PM. Here are some pics that were taken around 3 PM:
http://www.awe4one.com/pics/occ1.JPG
http://www.awe4one.com/pics/occ2.JPG
http://www.awe4one.com/pics/occ3.JPG
I still had a good time though. Enjoyed meeting Yu and Cardy and not having to fight a crowd to do so.
I was also looking forward to meeting you Peter and discussing your run on Hulk. But that’ll obviously have to happen another day.
Peter,
Be glad you didn’t go to the Orlando Comic-con… There was at best 350 people there on Saturday, and you would have been doing what all the other guests were doing. Twidiling their thumbs.
I also see that some other promoters are trying to get your attention. Well, a few words of warning. The Epic Comic-Con show had about 40 people and the Assimilation Con show had about 45 people last week. So… you’re not missing out on anything. It’s a shame, as I live in Orlando and would like to have more good shows. But these bozos are just making our town look bad. If you’re going to come to Florida for a show, I recommend Megacon (the biggest)… the Tampa Comic and Toy show is a nice one day show. FL. Supercon is trying and had a nice big crowd at their show this year. FX is a big show, but the comic book people don’t really get a crowd. That’s about it for shows where you wouldn’t be wasting your time. Hope to see you at one of those shows. And I wish these new guys would get their act together.