Anyone been to any "Good" Conventions lately?

[kambreapratt]

What do you consider a "Good" con to be?

I know that a lot of some of the larger cons have a lot of pros but also a lot of cons for an artist or attendee.

Does your definition change depending on your status (attendee, guest, or artist)

I consider a "good" con to be:
as a guest- a well organized event with a lot of fun people. Great interaction opportunities. Good Panels. Overall good experience.

as an artist- Of course a well attended even where people are spending money is great. But, I also think if you have a chance to meet other great artists and network it makes it a "good" event.

as an attendee- I think "good" is a con that makes registration as easy as possible. Offers good panels or events. Is easy to get to and has good parking. Has a nice assortment of guests, dealers and artists. Not everyone is selling the same things and there is a nice variety. The other attendees are fun and easy to get along with.

We recently attended Zenkaikon, Steel City Con, and Tekkoshocon and I think they each were "good" cons. I attended each one as something different and they seemed to be all "good" for us.

[AnnaLandin]

Stockholm's International Comics Festival is a good con. It's pretty small (the Swedish comics-scene is... tiny), but it's well organised, staffed by good people, usually well-attended and with interesting and well organised panels, interviews and events. They change themes each year - feminism, free speech, the comics-scenes of various other countries, etc., etc.

Last year was Canada, and we got to have Kate Beaton, Faith Erin Hicks and Seth as guests! It was wonderful.

[aspiderjonny]

MoCCA Fest here in New York City is pretty good for the indie scene. It's realativly big (This year had 4 floors in the Center 548) and has a lot great artist. I went with my school SVA's booth and Scott McCloud stopped by and complimented our work. I also got to meet other webcomic creators, like the writer of Vacant and talked about the medium. The people are great too. No one seems too stuck up like you get sometimes in bigger cons.
It just passed, though, so you'd have to wait till next April. I don't know how much tables cost but I doubt it's super expensive. It's a big assumption but I'd say MoCCA Fest is the best convention on the east side for indie creators to show work to consumers who'd legitimately be interested.

[PotooGryphon]

What do you consider a "Good" con to be?

One that I can earn back the cost of the convention (cost of table, travel, lodging, printing). If I can break even, I consider it a success. Networking plus expenses earned back is huge for us, however, making a profit so we can do bigger and better (or even more smaller shows) is the true goal of a convention. If I don't break even then it's hard for me to justify going back to that show and losing more money on it. Networking is super important and sometimes worth the costs, however, I can only really afford one of those a year.

I've found that larger more popular shows are harder for independent artists to be successful at. The larger shows are more for nerd core fandom and cosplayers than for celebrating original work. Smaller more intimate shows, like comic book store events and small press expos, people go to those to browse for new reading material. I've also found that it's super easy to plan signing events with comic book stores, especially when you go to have fun with their costumers. Free sketch cards for kids, being open and chatting with them about art, the comic book industry, and how I've got my start, the stores I've been to love that and happily invite me back.

As an attendee at conventions, I go to scoop it out as a possible place for us to table at. I talk to the artist and ask them about how well they're doing at the show. If I hear a majority saying that it's a rough show, I cross it off my list. I'm always in business mode when it comes to comics, and I'm always looking for the most successful venues and method that I can make it my full time job.

[michaelson]

as an attendee- I think "good" is a con that makes registration as easy as possible.

This is a definite must, I remember the past two years hearing about 4+ Hours of general attendee lines for Fanime, which I think is unacceptable.

As a frequent attendee of cons, I'd say that location plays a pretty big role in whether I consider a con to be good or worth going to. I think San Diego Comic Con is a really good example of this, where there is just as much to do outside of the con as inside. I understand that smaller conventions aren't usually able to do this because of scale and operational costs, but it's something to consider.

There's a smaller convention that takes place in Sacramento, but the con closed at 6:00 PM on opening day. There was next to nothing to do in the immediate vicinity so that was a pretty big buzz kill.

[kambreapratt]

That is usually what we go by too.

[kambreapratt]

I love when they make it easy for the attendees. The easier the better. I haven't been to Fanime, but 4+ hours is nuts!
I really want to go to SDCC sometime. My husband was going to go with Keenspot a couple of years ago but then a family member was ill and he couldn't go. I hear it is something to see and HUGE!

Sometimes I really enjoy smaller cons though. I think you can get lost in a larger con.

[Spinester]

My local cons, NC Comicon and Heroes Con are both great for comics... They haven't been overrun with the extras from Deep Space Nine asking for 50 dollar autographs yet.

[TeamReGrBl]

I totally agree with all the points made about making it 'easy for the attendees,' I'm getting pretty tired of some of the larger cons we go to and there are huge long lines for everything; getting your badge, trying to sit in on a panel, participating in a workshop, trying to poop, etc.

When we attend as artist, one of the factors of a "good" convention for us is how awesome the staff is. Two standout cons in particular are AnimeUSA and Setsucon. Truly amazing people.

Not specifically for just artist, but If you're in the area and into tabletop/board/video games and geek/gamer music I would like to really suggest MAGFest.

I went to my very first MAGfest this past January, and I had such a blast. There are huge rooms just full of all sorts of video games and another floor just devoted to board games and table top and it stays open 24hours a day for as long as the con lasts!

[AkiraHikawa]

I've been to the Salon Manga de Jerez, in Spain about 3 weeks ago or so. One of the most important Comic Cons in this country, but I was very disappointed for this last edition because you could see merchandising everywhere and only three or four stands with comics/mangas/DVDs...I even wrote an article about this in Spanish (you can switch it to other languages, but you know, Google Translator...) : "Salón Manga sin manga" ('Manga Con withouth manga')

I usually try to go to the best Cons of Spain and France along the year, if some of you do so, it would be nice to meet there! By the way, this summer I will be in Colorado, any of you knows if there is a Con (Comic, manga or video-game) around Denver during July-August?