‘Re-imagining the Comic Con Experience’
Wednesday 20 April, Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow
On Wednesday I ran a workshop on ‘re-imagining the comic con experience’. The event was designed to help experienced cartoonists and beginners share tips and new ideas on the topic of exhibiting at conventions. We explored issues around promoting and selling our books as well as comfort and socialising with other creators.
We generated ideas using ‘design improv’, a new method I’ve been developing as part of a research project on design creativity and humour. Working as a team, we used techniques from improvised comedy to create a whole range of concepts, from dream scenarios to practical solutions. Here are some of the highlights:
We began the session by generating ideas around promoting your books before, during and after the convention. Small pressers can be reluctant to give too much away for free when budgets are already stretched, but promotions such as loyalty cards, lucky dips, free books for the 100th customer and competitions could be low cost ways to attract customers, especially if creators banded together. Or, another option could be to dance with our customers to a personalised theme song (with prizes for the best dancers obviously). This wasn’t my idea, but now seems like a good time to remind everyone that Team Girl Comic does in fact have its own theme song thanks to Papa Razzi and the Photogs.
We talked about other ways exhibitors could work together, and how organisers could help foster communication between tables. Food and networking are important parts of any convention, so let’s combine the two with exhibitor snack-sharing, pot-luck style. We also talked about how exhibitors and convention staff/ volunteers can work together, and one of the most popular ideas of the evening was the convention buddy system, where exhibitors are teamed up with a staff buddy who (within reason) could be on call to help out with comfort breaks and stall set-up. Socialising with staff before and after the event could help build these relationships and enhance the overall con experience.
Many of us have had to deal with the awkward question ‘can I buy this for my child?’ It’s not always an easy question to answer, and perhaps a universal age-labelling system could make this interaction simpler for both exhibitors and parents.
The subject of themed conventions was also raised- who wouldn’t want to attend a Halloween Comic Con?
And what to do with those pesky back issues that won’t sell? We could cut them up to create new merchandise or stall décor, or use them to create new, collaborative works of art for display at the convention.
Towards the end of the workshop, what started as an exploration of cosplay rubbish collectors ended in an imagining of the ‘Small Press College’, a magical place where people can access publishing resources, learn new skills, work collaboratively and contribute to the wider community. This led to an idea for guest blog posts where more experienced exhibitors can share their top 5 tips for promoting, selling and surviving at comic conventions.
A big thank you to Glasgow Comic Con for hosting. The con runs from 2 – 3 July in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall and you can buy tickets here: https://gccon.wordpress.com/
