Death of the Comic Con | Are Comic Con's dying?

The Comicon is a sacred institution in fandom, but clearly they obviously centered around comic books. But as economic realities change, comicons are becoming less and less about comics every year, even the major ones like C2E2. Is it necessary to abject the major draw and driver of fandom just to continue to grow or is it time to get back to a comic centric comicon once again...or is there room for all of these fandoms to be robustly represented at one event?
#comicon #c2e2 #comicbooks #comics
Death of the Comicon| Are comiccon's dying?

[@apilgrim8715]

I remember when I was about 7 or 8 my uncle took me to a convention. I we went into a room with a prop maker talking about the prop design of a show and then a second room with a group of writers talking about writing the show. We poked around and found the dealer's room where my uncle proclaimed "Okay, here's where the convention is."

[@adammeade]

Last “comic con” I went to (uk) had 2 people selling back issue comics out of about 150 stalls. There is a lot of plastic at these events now.

[@Zane11]

I used to go to the fan expo in my city specifically just to meet the celebrities. This year, I went and was barely in that area at all. I went there for a couple of the vendors, but I spent most of my time in the comic creators/artist alley area. They're actually in a separate building and they prefer being there now because it's way more comic & art focused in that area & they have their own panel stage so theres more comic panels. There are no vendors, just people selling their art and the comic artists that were brought as guest. I had a way better time in that building than I did in the main building. I ended up talking to so many cool people about comics, got a commission done & I ended up winning an original Max Dunbar sketch at a sketch dual & that never would have happened if I was standing in line for 45 minutes waiting to meet someone like previous years.

[@4GQTV]

When I go to conventions I go for two things: comic creators and cosplay. We wouldn't have Comic Cons without comic creators. Instead of being major stars pulling in fans most of them are tossed into a group of comic alleys somewhere in the middle or the side. They are no longer the big name appeals like they used to be, except for a few names. The sole focus the past few years has been on known celebrity names. Comic Cons are about to have an awakening though. Gen Z and Gen Alpha don't recognize celebrities like the Gen X and millennials. Gen Z and Gen Alpha care more about content creators and tiktok superstars. So it probably wont be long before they start headlining the conventions and celebrities as we know them right now will be bunched right next to comic creators.

[@tomjohnson4922]

I think you can partly blame the San Diego Con for what this has turned into. I remember years ago seeing ads for the San Diego Con in the back of comics talking about all the creators, not one mention of a movie or studio.... a few years later that's all it seems to be about now. I no longer read a lot of comics because of glaucoma but I still enjoy going to the Fan Expo in Boston and see what's new and out. Oh and Hayden was there because she was in Heroes... super-hero based.

[@seanmalloy7249]

SDCC has changed from a con for and about the fandom to a industry expo where the organizers have succeeded in getting the fans to pay for the privilege of showing up to provide a captive marketing audience for the production houses.

[@talulah67]

I begged my mom to take me to my first Comicon in 5th grade. It was at the Holiday Inn. All room dividers were separated and it was one giant room with nothing but comic vendors. I was in absolute heaven. I don't even go to cons anymore. Just not the same. When this comic boom pops, eventually, comic vendors will be begging the comic buyers back. jmo

[@anthonycorrado2374]

I really loved the Philly Comic Cons of the late 90s. I think the last Con i went to was somewhere like 2009-2012? In 97 it was peak for me as it was a majority of LCS owners selling their overstock at a significant discounts (especially Sunday), major and minor publishers and their creative teams and con exclusive posters and signings, popular and up and coming artists and writers, a a dash of pop culture like some jobber wrestlers professional naked ladies and some burgeoning game companies (Wizards of the Coast while MTG was just finding its fanbase), and booths of bootleg DVDs of old sci fi TV and martial arts films that had not made the jump to the newer format and were hard to find on VHS. The main thing was that comic books dominated the cons then and the other stuff like the sword shuriken and knife retailer, Lou Ferrigno, the 501st Stormtroopers, and Aria Giovani were just a welcome pause from flipping through long boxes all day to pick up those "fill in" books for your runs of silver and bronze age hero books. I think it was around 09'-12' that i realized these conventions hit the tipping point and weren't really about the comic books almost at all and that's when i switched back to the local or regional shows. For me the hobby is the comics and i saw that the big cons were at the tipping point where book sellers were taking a back seat to pop culture retail and celebrity meet and greets as the primary focus...so I just stopped going.

[@shanehannafey1361]

I like a mix of cons... Scifi/horror/Trek/comic/pop culture, but I don't like a general anime con even though I enjoy some manga/anime. Unfortunately, most cons in my area (South Florida) are becoming exactly what you are talking about especially the big one in the Miami area - Supercon which I haven't attended since 2019. I hate it. I feel like they are scaring away a lot of people with huge ticket prices. They are attracting anime fans, which are traditionally teen kids that don't have money for vendors (which hurts the vendors) or people just there to see a big celebrity and getting rid of the whole comic aspect, but yet still trying to make it look like a "comic con". There are so many things from traditional cons I miss, I could go on and on for a while, but they are not the same. Some things just don't make sense anymore, but I'm still nostalgic for... Art shows (not artist row), viewing rooms, etc. I'm aging and cons are changing; I accept that, but I will not go especially if I have to pay $50+ a day for admission for very little reward.

[@jmourgos55]

Agreed especially San Diego con! I go to the Planetcon in Kansas City and there were plenty of comic artists and writers and some pop culture guys like Henry Winkler. I also noticed a rise in comic-only shows which are always packed. The Berkeley show says no cosplay, no media just comics. So there is hope in the smaller cons.

[@markshadows3667]

Im a traditional artist who does artist Alley at cons across the country. Even though i do more horror art than pop culture art, i do all types of cons. In my experience at least, horror fans buy more art and merch in general than comic fans. The horror community is so nice for the most part. For me also, being a traditional artist helps me stand out among the increasing amount of digital artists. I do a lot of on site commissions at my table. Some cities though are being over saturated with cons though, with some having a different convention every other week with diminishing returns.

[@TheDOOMCAST]

It is truly awesome to hear they are still keeping artists especially traditional artists working in traditional mediums going and paid. I do agree that you see a lot more unique and interesting work amongst horror and oddity based artists and usually in more traditional mediums as well and I love that. Have a good friend who tours as both a comic and a traditional artist who drew his own tarot deck and is working on a card game as well but creates horror and…oddity based art and goes to a lot of oddity and horror cons as well as comic stuff. Odd because the impetus to create this episode came with a conversation with him about this very oversaturation problem. He’s @calculations on IG. Great dude.

[@ShogunZIlla]

Went to NYCC in 2022 and felt very similar to you. One factor that sucks is basically all of the comic creators now charge for signatures when the con tickets themselves keep getting more and more expensive. I think first signature free is a good compromise with some obvious exceptions for certain speculative books. I skipped out on NYCC 2023 but my friends who went said it was disappointing. I’m thinking of going to Baltimore from now on instead of NYCC because it seems like it still has that classic comic con feel.

[@Stopmotionguy2049-cf2bp]

I’m going to Galaxycon later this month. On the guest list there were no comic book creators. I feel like the luster of these conventions has been lost a bit. This makes me sad bc I love cons, getting to meet awesome people.

[@manuelramos3588]

Got back to C2E2 this yr for the 1st time since 2020 & although it was very busy, I agree with you,, it was missing something. I also didn't like the layout of the con. Those autograph guests directly up in the front entrance didn't make much sense when they had sooooo much empty space toward the back. I love C2E2 but I hope they change things up in future years.

[@drawrobot]

I’m a creator and have been doing cons for about 20 some years. I think one survey I’d be interested in seeing is an honest breakdown in comics sales: when you buy comics, is it to actually read them, just collect them, or a mix of both. I’d love to know that number. Artist alley feels pretty dead to me as far as people who actively seek out comics to buy from creators. What does sell at large cons is characters and properties people already know. So prints, sketches of known characters (the wall of prints vendor) and tables that have little to no comics are popping up. Where do I sell the most honest to god comics I make? Non-con events like music or book festivals. School book fairs are killing it on YA graphic novels. Alternative craft shows were also moving my comics. You get a large enough crowd and little to no competition, people still like comics. But when I do a mainstream con, it’s basically an autograph show where people only want Patrick Stewart’s autograph. It’s depressing.

[@luciferchristian]

Philly Fan Expo this year was a huge disappointment. It was merely a shadow of past Wizard World experiences.

[@namelesswhocares8648]

Comicons died years ago. I saw the writing on the wall when they merged them with manga otakucons A bunch of lonely antisocial nerds like me surrounded by happy cosplaying japanime fanatics. It's like they were forcing us out of the shadows and Into the limelight . Then it go worse, Hollywood got lazy, stopped creating new ideas and decided to milk Nerdom dry. So the comic book space in comicons shrunk from 90 percent to today 's 20 percent of the space. I go to a Comicon. The prices are inflated, you are lucky to find the book you want at a good price, and the rest of the time, you have a listen to a bunch of actors talking how how great their life and their career is. And the food sucks

[@TheDOOMCAST]

The food ABSOLUTELY sucks

[@namelesswhocares8648]

@@TheDOOMCAST And it gets worse, if you look carefully, it's always the same dealers. You are walking around in a maze of cosplayers.I don't care about the video games and the memorabilia.I'm just looking for the classics books you can't find anywhere (hunger dogs for example).I weep for my friend who paid 100$ for a Christina Ricci poster and the chance to talk to her for 3 minutes. You can tell those artists need a break . A lot of the old marvel and DC artist look broken.No doubt under contract not to tell the whole story. But I will still go because it's the only way I can complete my collection. At least I will go eat in a fancy restaurant afterwards

[@TheDOOMCAST]

@@namelesswhocares8648 well yeah the money made by writers and artists right now, and historically, (in any medium but especially this one) is pitiful and frankly predatory.

[@namelesswhocares8648]

@@TheDOOMCAST I met Mike zeck, 20$ signature fee per comics. No problem Met Larry hama. He looked bored out of mind, I was paying him 20$ per book. He was surprised when I showed him the GI joe issue featuring the first appearance of the dreadlock Zanzibar. Maybe it because the art was by Todd McFarlane.. Ain't no way I'm going to talk to Gail Simone or those woke clown currently in the industry. The ones that are interesting.. all their publications are online or on their websites. It's really sad

[@stunsisacul]

You named Stephany Philips as a major comics creator? She’s trash-tier.

[@hauntedvoyager7806]

Exactly. She’s no Louise Simonson, Rachel Pollack or Ann Nocenti, is she?

[@TheDOOMCAST]

Not arguing with your opinion or assessment of her work, or making a critical appraisal or endorsement of anyone I mentioned. Simply noting people I recalled who have more than a few books in print currently or recently is all.

[@aewriter]

How you explained comics is exactly how Funko Pops! are! It's not dead, in fact still thriving. Is just the general people/mainstream audience isn't into it. Those are the basic people that will say something is dead but actually is the total opposite. They're the kind of people that collect Beanie Babies, Hydro Flask then move onto Stanley Cups, Pillow Pets then move onto Squishmallows. They will say Funko and comics are dead but everything they collected actually died or will die off!

[@steppingrazor9685]

I've never been to a con. At this point i dont think I ever will. High ticket prices mixed with over priced books and big crowds are not appealing to me in the least. Social media has made it too easy to find the books I'm looking to purchase at competative prices from my living room.

[@TheDOOMCAST]

I will say this, if you have the opportunity to go to smaller regional comic cons, many (and it takes a bit to figure out which ones) are more geared to collectors of comics and often comic dealers will make serious deals for cash. If you have cash and know what you’re dealing with and specifics of which keys are approximately worth what, and rough grading, you can make incredible deals. However, you can also haggle online as well easier than ever and the inflated collector market is kind of deflating fortunately. So…worth a shot if it’s a free local convention.

[@steppingrazor9685]

@@TheDOOMCAST I'd definitely check out a small local con. I meant more of the bigger ones. I'm in Tampa. We have a big one here that I'll likely never go to. I used to buy and sell vinyl lps. I love hotel/VFW style gatherings of dealers and buyers. Hopefully I can find a good one like that around here at some point for comics.

[@TheDOOMCAST]

@@steppingrazor9685 yes. Yeah the big cons are definitely not worth it for collecting anymore. At all. Way too expensive.

[@batdadwholaughs]

This is sad. I jumped back in about 2 years ago....was on fire. Right off a cliff. I will stick around for back issues but the writing isn't very good in the new stuff. It's the problem. Too much social parity and we are losing our ability to immerse in a classic comic universe any longer. Fix the writing, story and continuity and you can try to repair this mess.

[@Kirok2005]

I've only gone to two Comic conventions. The biggest was the Baltimore ComiCon in 2014. It was really stressful on Day 1, way too crowded for someone like me who just wanted to hit as many dealer stalls as possible. (It still had a lot of dealers back then.) The high point of the convention for me was getting to meet Herb Trimpe, the artist of my early childhood favorite comic, the 1977 Marvel (Toho) 24-issue Godzilla run. (Sure...I know about Hulk 181...but I didn't when I was 12.) I just loved Godzilla, and that was the first complete set I ever had. Anyway, I had two of my original, tattered Godzilla comics that I had bought off the spinner rack, VG at best, read many times, probably in one hand with the cover folded back behind as was common in those days. My wife and I waited in line with all the people and their stacks of crap to sign, and their little CGC yellow signature envelope box whatever things, and he was so polite with those hounds and flippers. (Addendum after reading a few comments below...he was not charging for signatures.) When I finally got to the table where he sat smiling, with his charming wife, I handed him my two crappy Godzilla books with a tear in my eye, he immediately looked up...no one was holding Godzilla...I just told him how honored I was to meet him, the honored artist of Godzilla and Shogun Warriors (Hulk or Wolverine never came up). He asked where to sign the books, and I said "I truly don't care, I can't believe I'm meeting you." I asked to shake his hand for making my childhood a bit brighter sometimes, which he graciously did with a big grin. Somewhere in the brief conversation, we discovered we had both served in the US Air Force. He was enlisted in the early 70's and I was an officer for 22 years starting in the 1990s. He stood up, walked around the table (now mind you, there's a MASSIVE line, easily 100 people...). He INSISTED on saluting me while my wife took a picture, and his wife was grinning so wide. Even our wives hit it off. I treasure those two comics and my meeting with Herb Trimpe. He passed away nine months later. I have told this story to others, and they tend to not believe me until they see the pictures, much like your pics! Other than that bright spot, I found my two comicons way too crowded and poppy and cosplay-ey and not enough peace and quiet to look at awesome back issue comics.

[@christophertomasello1227]

Back in the day I would only go to these things to buy comic books and meet artists but now I have to navigate through a jungle of irrelevant material that I just wish was not there

[@bigrobotnewstoday1436]

A lot of people will start going for fun at first and might go to all of them in their area but then might stop. Its a hobby kind of and people will get board of anything if they do it a lot. I use to go to cons a lot and then I was just sick of them its the same thing over and over again.

[@bradkoski]

There’s only 1 Con that’s mainly Comic based left, and that’s Heroes Con in Charlotte NC

[@bradkoski]

I live in Michigan, which use to be a hot spot for Comics, no longer…….Motor City Con is coming up next weekend, which I plan on attending. praying it’s not a cluster fuck full of Teens, jumping on Mystery garbage, which I’m expecting…..sadly 😢

[@elbowdan6543]

Reedpop run a lot of these.

[@bestblerd5042]

Yes they are. Nerd culture has exploded and now it is imploding.

[@TheDOOMCAST]

There’s always been an ebb and flow. People have been saying comics are dead since the 1950’s. Every decade it’s something different. And yet here they still are. Cons will change and so will comics. Fandom will change. But it’ll still exist in some form.

[@bestblerd5042]

@TheDOOMCAST Yes but I was referring specifically to cons. For a while a packed con was such a cool concept but now that the wall to wall crowds are a guarantee but the quality content is not, its lost its appeal.

[@TheDOOMCAST]

@@bestblerd5042 hard agree there my man. You nailed it.

[@suezcontours6653]

@@TheDOOMCAST Death of Comic Con? Or death of the demographic who usually frequents it? Nerds don't typically go out and have babies. Got to get a girlfriend first.

[@bradkoski]

Most Cons have turned into Media and Cosplay Mystery Box Shows……..been going on for the past 4 years. No longer the Cons of Comic Books

[@wokeaf1242]

Yeah, it;s true. Comic conventions are so not about comics anymore. it's weird. Then again I grew up attending Creation Cons and Big Apple Comic Con. Star Trek conventions used to happen every year in New York City long before the movie and Next Generation. I really never looked into what happened to them, but by the sound of things they may have simply converted to another form. I remember when San Diego Comic Con was just a convention. I don't know when it became the Mecca of comic cons, but one day it was and it's pretty much stayed that way since. Now it's an entire production on a scale I could not imagine back when I was sixteen working my fast food job to afford going out of town to a Creation Con. At first I liked the idea that comic conventions became mainstream. Now. . . I simply don't know how to feel. Well except one part. Cosplay. IMO, if anything is responsible for elevating comic conventions it's cosplay. Cosplay does not get the credit it so richly deserves. Good video. I'm glad to be a new subscriber.

[@TheDOOMCAST]

Cosplay DOES deserve a lot of credit and it’s incredibly fun.

[@lucas8095]

They just started having Comic Con in Springfield , Mass for some reason they did not do it last year ....

[@sycodog]

i mean it's no longer a " comic con " its popculture con now, gotta look at the smaller shows that are just comic centric like the old days

[@sirguy6678]

Commercial capitalism is the death of many niche things

[@TheDOOMCAST]

100%

[@FloridaEbikes]

IMO The comics have become part of pop culture not just nerd/underground culture.

[@Easy-Eight]

The movies of "The Marvels" and "Madam Web" just did so well... not. It's over.

[@Easy-Eight]

Comics are over. Gamers are taking over. Since the death of Ed Piskor it's been realized that American comics are dead. The comic book stores are either going out of business or switching.

[@TheDOOMCAST]

Ed Piskor took his own life only a month ago, and yeah a tragedy all the way around. Comics are absolutely not dead, the culture surrounding their exploitation is certainly reshaping and imploding. ‘Gamers are taking over’ taking over what? Comics and games have existed and are in no way straddling or competing for space. Anime either. They’re all distinct media forms. The zero sum absolutism is hostile infective thought form.

[@ShuggsComicsandStatues]

I like that it’s took yous all this time to realise Comic Cons, are not Comic Cons Now! 😂😂

[@jamescole7930]

I just want to go and have a chance to find great deals and buy comics and maybe some action figures. But not the special guest’s, I mean i different, I do not care to meet any stars, writers, artists and I do not want to pay up to $200 for a selfie and a signature. I just want to save money on things I can find on ebay, but I save the shipping and put that money towards more comic books. So section off the celebrity hounds and keep the sales floor for us collectors.

[@TheDOOMCAST]

Well and there definitely is a place for that. Smaller conventions will ALWAYS exist I think and be like gun shows sort of: like a flea market with a little more pageantry. Which, this absolutely has its place. Personally, I DO want to meet top tier artists and writers. A lot…don’t. Which is also ok. I guess it comes down to determine what each con wants to do, to serve everyone or find a specific identity and market to appeal to.

[@Steverogers84715]

There hasn't been publishers at c2e2 the past few yrs, I think. I think c2e2 fell off a lot this yr

[@TheDOOMCAST]

Yes. Well less and less. I think 2020 was the last time the big two were. At least Image and Boom, Valiant and even Aftershock etc were present the last few. This year…nobody.

[@charlesrogers8420]

Woke infiltration diluted the brand.

[@lotsalube]

You'll find it's more pop culture/fantasy/sci-fi than comics as it use to be. Besides, Marvel & DC books suck, so why go see them.🙄🙄🙄

[@TheDOOMCAST]

I guess the latter statement is a matter of opinion. I read a lot of independent stuff these days but tend to follow writers or artists more than I do publisher or character or imprint.

[@scotthunter8321]

video is waste of time

[@TheDOOMCAST]

And yet here you took the time out of your day to watch, comment, and boost it in the algorithm and for that, you have my sincere appreciation.