Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: A Piggy's Tale, c2e2, Ethan Young, Tod Emko

An Indie Comics Table Vandalized Ahead Of C2E2 Gives Cons A Bad Name(UPDATE)

Published Fri, 24 Apr 2015 12:14:00 -0500

Last updated Fri, 24 Apr 2015 15:00:33 -0500

When exhibitors have arranged to be at a major convention, it is usually the product of months of planning, big financial investments, not only in the table, but in travel, and when the moment arrives for a show to open, it's like a performer taking the stage. They put on their best face and get set to reach out to the public–particularly if it's a kid and animal friendly labor of love like the successfully Kickstartered series A Piggy's Tale, by Tod Emko and Ethan Young. Emko and Young had even produced special variants for C2E2 ahead of the show featuring their inspiring superhero pup who shows kids, adults, and animal lovers what a rescue dog is capable of. A bright, large poster and a special set of collectible trading cards made the journey to Chicago.

When Emko arrived at his book this morning before opening at C2E2, however, he had quite a shock. The booth he had so carefully arranged the night before was in great disarray. At first thinking something had just fallen over on the table, causing other things to be moved, he walked inside the booth and found that the interior, too, had been, basically trashed. Things were thrown around randomly. There was no longer any thought that this could have been an accident. Someone intentionally vandalized Emko's booth and A Piggy's Tale merchandise. Why?

As a con-goer myself, and that's an understatement, I've seen the set up and break down of cons umpteen times, enough to know that every small arrangement is physically demanding in total tally, and that being a comic creator, particularly an indie comic creator with your own imprint, is exhausting work at a convention. This kind of behavior represents the worst kind of disrespect for the medium and for the goodwill that conventions engender.

[Photo Emko took this morning of the inside of the booth]

And I have to ask, is it really so unsafe to set up a booth at C2E2 and expect it to be in tact when you return? Hopefully, the convention organizers will look into this further and at least attempt to keep a closer eye on things. And if you're tabling at C2E2, you might want to consider really locking things down as best you can and avoiding leaving breakables at the table. It's sad that we even have to give that advice!

[UPDATE: Upon reflection, A Piggy's Tale creators Tod Emko and Ethan Young are considering whether a forklift might have been somehow involved in the damage, but we don't have any definite information to share either way. If you have information about what occurred, feel free to reach out to Tod Emko on Twitter @todemko ]

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