The Crowded Apple
They say competition breeds excellence. In this case, competition breeds angry nerds. Wizard Entertainment has acquired Big Apple Con. Come on guys, the Big Apple really isn’t THAT big.
It’s all over the internet now but I heard it first from Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat. The press release says Michael Carbonaro, who runs Big Apple Con, will continue to be involved in the show even though Wizard will be moving it from the Pennsylvania Hotel to Pier 94. Very interesting, but it gets more interesting when you look at the date they’ve picked out. It will be held the weekend of October 16-18, 2009. The same month the New York Comic Con will be held in 2010. Coincidence? Doubtful.
Earlier this year Reed Exhibitions, the force behind NYCC, announced they were opening a show in Illinois, the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. Chicago of course, is the home of one of Wizards main conventions, Wizard World Chicago. Is Wizard fighting back by jumping on the fall date before NYCC gets there. Of course we don’t know if the Wizard date will remain the same for 2010 but something tells me it will.
CEO of Wizard Entertainment Gareb Shamus said, “I’ve been going to shows in New York City since I was a kid and I have a fondness for Big Apple Con. Today’s acquisition fulfills a dream of running a mega-show in New York City unlike anything there’s ever been.” It’s like he’s pretending NYCC doesn’t even exist.
From a reporting and fan perspective, I’m annoyed. If the date does carry over until 2010, I can’t handle OR afford two big cons in one month. One is exhausting enough. It’s a crazy move no matter which way you look at it.
The best thing about Big Apple Con is it’s the only intimate convention of its size remaining in NY. Turning it into another mega con will be a big loss for the comics community.
You’re welcome Gavin.
I agree 100% Geekboy.
Nice write-up.
But, i wish i had two comic-cons in one month as a problem.
Wizard had to cancel their Wizard World Los Angeles this year. I should have met a bunch of comic creators last month :(
GeekBoy is right, i spend a lot of $ at these things, buying stuff there & making my costume beforehand. two cons in 1 month? a mere month after burning man? this is just bad.
You know, between all of NYCC’s dumb-ass scheduling and execution moves, and now this, I’m almost ready to stop going to any cons at all. Talk about a business that rarely seems to put the best interests of its customers first.
No matter how bad the economy is, geeks like us are CASH COWS. Give us cool stuff, and we’ll continue to spend and spend, even if it means we have to eat Ramen Noodles to support our habits. So the money is there. Just do this shit right, and don’t look for ways to make it LESS convenient and LESS satisfying for the geeks, and you’ll make money hand over fist.
Or do something stupid like this, force people to choose between two shows, and guarantee that neither you nor the competition makes as much money. Yeah, that makes sense.
I agree. Granted, I live in Chicago and have not been to the Wizard Con in like 5 years (due to the very budgetary matters you bring up), but thankfully I haven’t had toworry about two cons in one month.
I couldn’t do it either.
This is sad. Competition is healthy for the market place. This will only mean the fans will loose.
nice article Thanks.
g.