Alright, so I know Comic Cons don't get as much exposure as anime ones here, and I don't think Bay Area /cgl/ers didn't really attend them (this is what Big Wow used to be and they're trying to move this a month before Fanime next year), but there's reports this con shot up to 30K, as much as Fanime's. Not bad for a first time con - way more attendance than Wizard World and Heroes and Villains Fan Fest last year.
Who went, and thoughts on the costume contest?
I was there on Sat/Sun, mostly selling in the AA. Sales were really good. I had little to no expectations for this con and sold as well as I do at Fanime, if not better. Based on the pics, looks like I missed out on a lot of the quality cosplays there.
Didn't stick around for the costume contest.
General rundown, based on my experience and word of mouth from friends:
Pros
-Panels were cool/interesting
-Dealers had a lot of variety including some obscure and hard-to-find stuff for super cheap
-"Museum" stuff was cool
-Generally a chill and fun time
-Lots of celebrity run-ins. I guess a lot of the guests were able to just mosey around the exhibit hall and stuff.
Cons
-Organization was shit, esp for reg. I don't think my friends got into a panel because they got cut off right before, but it could've been because people were weaving through the reg line (which was right next to the panel room) and cutting. Organization for getting into the panels seemed bad.
-Everyone was losing their shit. People were losing stuff. Kids were losing parents. Parents were losing kids. Someone lost a golden idol from Indiana Jones. I half expected them to say that they lost Stan Lee at one point like goddamn keep an eye on your shit (this isn't really the con's fault though haha)
Overall, it's looking like a really solid start.
Also, I love the Woz. I love him so much. He's so happy and enthusiastic about this con so I will support it 150%. Very intrigued to see how it goes in Japan, since I guess they're hosting a sister con there in December.
>>8922142
They kinda rushed through the costume contest, but it was way better handled than Fanime's Masquerade since 2012. Even though Masq in 2015 seemed to have gone to normal, it didn't drag a big crowd like it used to.
It kinda sucks most of the celebs were stuck to autograph signing instead of cool shit like panels, but Jeremy Renner and Nathan Fillion's were more than great.
I think part of the issue with on-site reg is that they weren't expecting so many on-site stuff - I got my bracelet/badge thing a week before the con. I heard stuff about the panels on ground floor being infiltrated by random street folk because they didn't have the ipads to check for badges like they do topside.
Line control sucked ass at the primary panels, too - we had WAY too many people who'd beg for autographs, and they only started enforcing this during closing ceremony - and then a handicapped Robin cosplayer broke the rules, anyway.
I really wonder how the Japanese - especially the hardcore NORMALFAGS OUT REEE otaku trash a lot of anime panders to - will react to a foreign comic-con, especially in a culture that's usually hostile to foreign newcomers. I still remember Japan Expo's US failure.
I get it was a first year, but this con was incredibly poorly run. There was so much money poured into it yet no planning
>>8922167
How so? It had none of the bullshit in-fighting Fanime gets plagued with and aside from, like, one or two asshole staff on ground floor who were stuck with line duty, the volunteers and staff seemed aright.
>>8922171
People paid hundreds of dollars for VIP tickets and got fucked out of them because the con couldn't get their shit together
>>8922174
As in, didn't get them delivered, had to wait on-site, or?
>>8922142
Best thing about Comic-Cons is that celebs are generally allowed to wander. Wizard World had Michael Rooker fucking with everyone on the floor and messing with cosplayers, and Heroes and Villains had John Barrowman crashing panels and getting on the rides they had to mess with panels.
>>8922186
>Best thing about Comic-Cons is that celebs are generally allowed to wander.
This! I hate how anime cons treat celebs and guests as precious Nipponese snowflakes that should not be seen by evil westerners outside of their designated time slots lest our gaze cause their beautiful blossoming souls to shrivel.
That's the reason why I continually attend comic cons even though I'm way more into weeb shit than comics. I love mingling with people and the celebs I've met are always open and friendly with cosplayers and fans.
>>8922179
The con changed the ticket packages AFTER people had paid, issued no refunds, and people spent all day in line with their VIP tickets only to have staff go "well sorry we ran out of time" and tell them they're shit out of luck
>>8922199
To be fair, this may be a culture thing. I was at AOD2016 and they were talking about one of the Arizona cons fucked this up hard - Vocaloid Luka, Rider's VA apparently got bothered a lot in the VIP lounge.
Quoting:
> The green room of the conventions are only for authorized ppl. That means all guests might talk off record topics like some contracts or our personal talk. We off our guard there Bcuz we believe the green room is secure and only responsible ppl are there.
So we would appreciate if you don’t take our picture or upload the videos you took at the green room without asking us. Even if it seems we are just chatting in a pic/videos
If we can’t be off our guard in the green rooms, where can we take a break?
If you are authorized person, that means you are responsible. We want you to behave like an authorized person.
Unfortunately, some cons give their staff passes so easily to ppl. We hardly recognize if that person is a really authorized person/guest or just a friend of staff members in the green rooms.
That never happen at the good cons.
The convention chairmen have to educate and inform their staff members. There are huge differences between professional cons and unprofessional cons.
>>8922171
>volunteers
Holy shit, they were great. Really friendly, polite, and helpful. They probably got comped with badges or w/e but they were so chill.
>>8922167
I can see two sides to this. On one hand, since it "absorbed" Big Wow, including their staff, certain things, like reg, shouldn't have gone like a first year con since they technically aren't "first year."
On the other hand, it definitely seemed like they weren't able to anticipate some things and weren't able to accommodate... much like a first year.
Still, I don't know if it was that bad. They were still able to deliver an experience so I think most people ended up pretty happy regardless
>>8922214
I've personally never had an issue with BW volunteers. Staff, one guy - done huge obese fuck with a fedora who was an asshole to people trying to get into the costume contest in 2015, he apparently never goes out on flood unless they tell him.
I think they were trying to overcompensate for last year, re: VIP badge fuck-up - they either sold so little or there wasn't much point to VIP - none of the panels were crowded and the Badgers were only good if you wanted autographs. I vaguely recall there being a lot of VIP passes available. This year, complete sellout. It was like the one year Big Wow had Stan Lee on Sunday
>>8922230
Some, not done, and floor, not flood. This phone sucks.
It was fucking great desu, i was really blown away. the only thing missing was the 24 hour programming like fanime, but i had no trouble getting a hotel, making friends and striking up conversations and then partying and getting food at night.
9/10 time, totally surprising
a lot of A-game cosplayers, holy fuck
>>8922307
I noticed a lot of the Comic Con-style, uh, cons close early - Wizard World San Jose and Heroes and Villains Fan Fest did the same thing. SVCC somewhat alleviated things by allowing panels to run after closing the marketplace/artist alley.
I wonder why they do it. Is it a cost-saving thing?
>>8922993
Probably because they're held in convention centers, not hotels.
>>8923028
Except Fanime's not held at a hotel and its programming is 24/7.
>>8923052
They got a good venue, then. I know NYCC and Otakon can't be 24 hours because of convention center union agreements.
>>8923245
OIC. Being an East Coaster, I don't know of such things.
>>8923251
To be fair, Fanime MAY be unique in this regard. The other anime cons in the area (Krakencon, AOD) shut down early, too.
>>8923847
I wouldn't really call midnight early. Both AOD and Krakencon run programming until then. SVCC pretty much shut down by 8 PM.
>>8924196
Fuck, I forgot AOD and Kraken shut down at midnight. Most of the big stuff was done by then, too - this went double for last year's AOD. This year's had a bunch of hangers on at the 18+ panels.
