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Goodbye To C2E2 Says Greg Baldino

Published Sun, 18 Apr 2010 16:38:43 -0500

Greg Baldino continues to report for Bleeding Cool from the floor of C2E2.

In a weird way C2E2 is a much welcomed throwback as a con. These days most of your big conventions tend to promote themselves as "entertainment exhibitions," bringing in as many celebrities, sports figures, and media promotions as they possibly can. C2E2 kept the non-comics guests to a relatively small percentage of their overall listing; aside from about a half dozen or so Star Wars guests, movie promotions were mostly limited to the bombastic Iron Man 2 displays and the indy superhero film Mission Park, being produced in Massachusetts. Citing the films strong comic book influence, screenwriter and director Chip Perro said "it's something that kind of doesn't fit with the film festival crowd, so we came here to find people who would connect with the material." Perro was on hand along with the film's stars to generate interest in the film, planned for a 2010 release.

Modern comics legend and all-around nice guy David Mack has quite a number of conventions under his belt, and found the atmosphere to be remarkable. "I had a great time and met a lot of people," said the Kabuki creator, "There's a really positive vibe; a lot of people came looking for stuff, ready to take initiative and try new things. The natural light is also amazing."

Mack wasn't the only one who appreciated the venue's ample amount of windows. Co-owner of Challengers Comics + Conversation Patrick Brower found the McCormick Place location to be very physically comfortable. "It's been a good, bright open, airy show," said Brower, who also cited the carpeting in the dealers and publishers areas and the wide aisles as making the space very comfortable to be in.

Good feelings were felt over at the Moonstone Comics booth as well, where publishers and editor in chief Joe Gentile remarked that the con showed a lot of growth potential. Gentile noted that the space accommodated a smaller retailer space than at some conventions, but that for the fans looking to visit artist's alley and the publisher booths, there was plenty to experience. "We hope this is going to continue every year."

In addition to the convention mainstays of artist's alley, C2E2 saw a fairly massive webcomics presence, from Abandon: First Vampire to Zuda Comics. Girls with Slingshots creator Danielle Corsetto saw a good and consistent flow of traffic over the event weekend, as well as a lot of referrals from other creators. "I was impressed that C2E2 wanted a whole pavilion for online comics," said Corsetto, who also remarked on the strong ties in the webcomics community both among readers and creators.

If there is one thing that really hung in the air over this weekend at C2E2, it's that very community. The whole event felt much less like an expensive marketing pitch event than a massive gathering of people interested in stories and creativity. Yes, there was still a lot of marketing push from the big two, and to do a con this size that's a necessity. But it never felt like anyone here was marginalized for their demographic, there honestly was something here for everyone, if not in terms of product then in terms of experience. In short, it was fun, and that's what comic conventions are supposed to be.

Special thanks to the C2E2 volunteer staff, Roger and Jackie with Reed Exhibition, Charles Brownstein and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, William Christensen and the whole Avatar crew, the massive number of creators who took time out to speak with me, all of the amazing fans who shared their experiences, Julie B. Davis at ComiXology, Lorelei Bunjes with IDW, the near-superhuman staff at Challengers Comics + Conversation, and Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool.

This was C2E2. I am Greg Baldino for Bleeding Cool and I am bloody tired. Have a good night.

Greg Baldino lives and writes in Chicago, where he watches over the local comics scene like a posthuman autocrat. His fiction and journalism has appeared in many publications internationally. He can be contacted at greg.baldino@gmail.com.

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