The Inaugural Melbourne Oz Comic Con was plagued with issues, mainly
stemming from the overselling of tickets, creating an overcrowded
Exhibition Centre with many ticket holders locked out while entry was
temporarily closed on both days to ease congestion.
The OZ Comic Con facebook page was rife with negative feedback over the weekend from many disappointed punters. Negative comments were going up faster than Oz Comic Con could delete them with threads reaching at some points 400-500 comments.
The news wasn't all bad though. Many punters enjoyed the show and appreciated the rare opportunity to meet pop culture icons and made their thoughts known online. Also every guest and creator in artist alley I've heard from have reported positively about their Oz Comic Con experience with the general impression being this convention attracted more comic readers in contrast to other pop culture events. Perth publisher Gestalt Comics sold out of three of their titles, with James Brouwer and Tom Taylor's The Deep: Here Be Dragons marking three weeks of sellouts after the Sydney and Perth Supanovas. There was also a substantial turn out of comic dealers and stores hosting booths with several out of state appearances and swarms of people actively digging through long-boxes.
Hopefully the negative publicity of this convention will not effect future Oz-cons. I'm certain the organisers have taken these teething problems on-board and will be better prepared in future. In the last few years the amount of good local comics being produced has vastly increased and conventions like this are the perfect place for them to find an audience.
David Holloway writes about the Oz-comic con here.
The OZ Comic Con facebook page was rife with negative feedback over the weekend from many disappointed punters. Negative comments were going up faster than Oz Comic Con could delete them with threads reaching at some points 400-500 comments.
The news wasn't all bad though. Many punters enjoyed the show and appreciated the rare opportunity to meet pop culture icons and made their thoughts known online. Also every guest and creator in artist alley I've heard from have reported positively about their Oz Comic Con experience with the general impression being this convention attracted more comic readers in contrast to other pop culture events. Perth publisher Gestalt Comics sold out of three of their titles, with James Brouwer and Tom Taylor's The Deep: Here Be Dragons marking three weeks of sellouts after the Sydney and Perth Supanovas. There was also a substantial turn out of comic dealers and stores hosting booths with several out of state appearances and swarms of people actively digging through long-boxes.
Hopefully the negative publicity of this convention will not effect future Oz-cons. I'm certain the organisers have taken these teething problems on-board and will be better prepared in future. In the last few years the amount of good local comics being produced has vastly increased and conventions like this are the perfect place for them to find an audience.
David Holloway writes about the Oz-comic con here.
ABC footage here.
Sky news video here.
Herald Sun story.
Gary Lau and Jason Franks
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