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Social Climate Blamed For Cancellation Of Amazing Arizona Comic Con

Published Thu, 01 Dec 2016 11:00:31 -0600

Last updated Thu, 08 Dec 2016 17:43:04 -0600

The Amazing Arizona Comic Con was all set to happen in February 2017. Venue booked, posters printed, guests invited, tickets sold.

But now there will be no Amazing Arizona Comic Con in 2017. Nor an Amazing Houston Comic Con, The "Amazing" shows will just run in Las Vegas and Hawaii.

Guests who would have intended included Rob Liefeld, Chris Claremont, Scott Lobdell, Kevin Eastman, Steve McNiven, George Perez, Mat Nastos, Chad Hardin, Rick Hoberg, Jim Zub, Joe Rubenstein, Joe Ng, Ryan Ottley and Kyle Higgins.

They've also cancelled the Amazing Houston Comic Con for September. The "Amazing" shows will just run in Las Vegas and Hawaii.

The show organisers cite "changes in guest policies, the comic market, and social climate."

Rob Liefeld, replying to Jesse James of Arizona store Jesse James Comics on Facebook, has stated "I did 26 conventions through 2015-2016, coast to coast. The landscape has indeed changed. Wizard is going tits up as we speak, their cons are cratering. Many smaller shows have attempted to rise, clogging up the landscape with their disappointments. The change over in guest priorities from fans is visible. I believe Amazing is doing the right thing in playing to their strengths and ditching the overly competitive, saturated Arizona marketplace. Many of my friends have done the recent Arizona shows and have reported huge disappointments."

While organiser of the show, Jimmy Jay, has expanded on the statement, saying "The marketplace is much different than when we started organizing conventions 6+ years ago – with a number of fan events in phoenix (and in Arizona) have spring up, not to mention a strong store retail presence doing signings, sales, and promotions. JJC does some great stuff throughout the year, there is the Samurai/Bookman event on FCBD,and others who have followed their lead."

More to come I'm sure… including that statement by Liefeld about Wizard.

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