I used to attend Comic-Con each year, trying my best not to skip any as every year brought something new and fresh. The last two years however I have been unable to come anywhere near getting tickets.
Now we are approaching 2012’s comic-con and they haven’t even opened online registration yet. I’m going to assume that 2011 on-site registration probably filled them up mostly. So maybe they are waiting until the last second to determine what they have free.
What I don’t understand, is how expensive it has gotten. A little $5 jump here and there….sure, but it started taking $20 jumps, and then *poof*, this year took a massive jump and they are asking $150-175 to attend. At this rate, if they keep that up, you will be able to buy the next generation Xbox for less than it will cost to attend comic-con. Comic-con is supposed to be a down-to-earth event for fans of all types to attend. Instead I think they are beginning to lose their focus.
I prefer the $50-60 price for a 4-day pass. Beyond that I only started to feel as though I am not getting anything from my money as crowds grew too big and I wasn’t able to access any panels, or breath for that matter. The last couple of years I attended, I skipped going the 4th day because I could’t take it any longer. Now they continue to pack the same/small convention center (don’t get me wrong…i LOVE San Diego….it’s just too small for it now), and jack the price all the way up to $150-175…..what? It’s as if they are trying to drive the hard-core fans that made comic-con what it is….away. Are they wanting to replace everyone in the crowd with solely press and spoiled rich kids?
They need to bring comic-con back to it’s roots, bring it to a larger venue if needed, drop the price…else another convention is going to wind up claiming the glory it once had and comic-con can be renamed to “Expensive Cluster***k Con” 🙂
I agree with you. Have been going for the last 10-15 years and it just keeps getting more and more crowded every year. Its way too Hollywood now. They ruin everything they touch.
Actually they didn’t sell too many pre-reg badges on site last summer – only about ten thousand and those were a mix of four day and single day badges. There are plenty left.
I agree that it needs to move to a larger venue. It’s out of control. I went to a very small comic con last weekend and had a surprisingly good time because there were lots of small vendors selling the kind of weird, offbeat stuff that you just don’t see at Comic Con much these days – those vendors have been priced out of exhibiting.
So true. I went to one here in town a few months ago. It was being held at a local library. Some of the local comic shops were there wheeling and dealing at absurd prices, but there were also a handful of artists both well known (i.e. Deryl Skelton) as well as amateur artists, both displaying very impressive sketches, prints and other various works (and at reasonable prices/donations). It was fun.