This is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down - I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there, I’ll tell you how I had to go to MCM London Comic Con for dissertation purposes…
But before we get down to it, a quick note:
This is the first part of my Comic Con story, it’s probably going to have 3 separate posts because there is SO MUCH to talk about. This one is going to discuss publishers (or lack thereof…) at the convention. Please excuse the picture quality - they were taken on my phone and sometimes I was too excited to focus properly…
But before we get down to it, a quick note:
This is the first part of my Comic Con story, it’s probably going to have 3 separate posts because there is SO MUCH to talk about. This one is going to discuss publishers (or lack thereof…) at the convention. Please excuse the picture quality - they were taken on my phone and sometimes I was too excited to focus properly…
Comic Con is the perfect haven for convergence, the floor is a mash-up of games producers, indie comic vendors and creators, merchants and hardware developers. There was however, a distinct lack of publishers.
Bloomsbury, Quarto and Dorling Kindersley had a presence as well as the relatively new imprint of Penguin Random House - Del Rey, who were pushing The Martian.
I beg your pardon but this is going to derail a bit into a Cosmopolitan-esque competition of best/worst dressed publishers at the convention...
Bloomsbury, Quarto and Dorling Kindersley had a presence as well as the relatively new imprint of Penguin Random House - Del Rey, who were pushing The Martian.
I beg your pardon but this is going to derail a bit into a Cosmopolitan-esque competition of best/worst dressed publishers at the convention...
So first - best dressed would be DK. The big display centred around Star Wars, the current focus of all nerds, everywhere (The Force Awakens release date is December 18 2015 in the UK). They had set up a photo booth with a green screen which allowed you to place yourself in the movie and get a free picture, as well as allowing you to share the picture on a choice of social media with their hashtag attached. |
The fabulous hashtag is #RebelsRead, which is part of their campaign tagline ‘Be a rebel. Read a book.’ - the campaign aims to get you ready for the release of the new film by becoming an expert in the Star Wars universe: ‘With trivia, videos, blog posts, and suggested reading, we will help make sure you are up-to-date on the complete Star Wars saga.’ (DK website, 2015).
They nailed their marketing techniques here, involve some tech and put people IN the movie, discounts and promos galore AND a free t-shirt when you purchase a Star Wars book (there isn't much I wouldn't do for a free tee).
They nailed their marketing techniques here, involve some tech and put people IN the movie, discounts and promos galore AND a free t-shirt when you purchase a Star Wars book (there isn't much I wouldn't do for a free tee).
Second in line would be Bloomsbury.
Their stall was focused on their Teen and YA list with the table displaying a select number of SFF (Sci-Fi/Fantasy) authors such as Sarah Maas, Jim Carrington and Neil Gaiman.
The best part of the Bloomsbury booth however, was their interactive activities. Advertising the release of the illustrated print of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was a giant colouring wall of Diagon Alley which scores of people added to all day, and at 3pm there was a meet and greet with YA author (and cosplayer) Lucy Saxon - which was well attended.
Bloomsbury also offered deals on their wares - £10 was knocked from the price of the illustrated Harry Potter - with the first 10 lucky buyers also getting an exclusive tote bag (another item which we will pretty much sell our souls for), paperbacks were all 3 for 2 and a set price of £5 with the hardbacks also being put down to just £10.
Their stall was focused on their Teen and YA list with the table displaying a select number of SFF (Sci-Fi/Fantasy) authors such as Sarah Maas, Jim Carrington and Neil Gaiman.
The best part of the Bloomsbury booth however, was their interactive activities. Advertising the release of the illustrated print of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was a giant colouring wall of Diagon Alley which scores of people added to all day, and at 3pm there was a meet and greet with YA author (and cosplayer) Lucy Saxon - which was well attended.
Bloomsbury also offered deals on their wares - £10 was knocked from the price of the illustrated Harry Potter - with the first 10 lucky buyers also getting an exclusive tote bag (another item which we will pretty much sell our souls for), paperbacks were all 3 for 2 and a set price of £5 with the hardbacks also being put down to just £10.
Worst dressed would have to be Quarto, I mean this akin to the time Lizzy Gardiner turned up to the 1995 Oscars in a dress made from American Express Gold cards.
They have some fabulous books which would work well in the Comic Con environment, but I only knew that after I went into the booth and flicked through the piles on display - all the while thinking to myself, okay these are cool - but where’s the fanfare? Where are the deals/promotions? Where is your buzz? All the while a bored looking guy, who I assume is minding shop, is hovering nearby. Quarto’s stall was empty of people whenever I managed to clap eyes on it, yes okay they don’t have Star Wars and Harry Potter to trade on, but neither do the tiny indie comic creators on the other side of the hall and they’re all doing fantastically well drawing people in.
The indies were drawing people in with humour and by offering something different - you can’t tell me Quarto doesn’t employ someone with creativity? Books on display included a variety of interesting graphic novels, H.P Lovecraft and JAMES BOND GODDAMMIT.
They have some fabulous books which would work well in the Comic Con environment, but I only knew that after I went into the booth and flicked through the piles on display - all the while thinking to myself, okay these are cool - but where’s the fanfare? Where are the deals/promotions? Where is your buzz? All the while a bored looking guy, who I assume is minding shop, is hovering nearby. Quarto’s stall was empty of people whenever I managed to clap eyes on it, yes okay they don’t have Star Wars and Harry Potter to trade on, but neither do the tiny indie comic creators on the other side of the hall and they’re all doing fantastically well drawing people in.
The indies were drawing people in with humour and by offering something different - you can’t tell me Quarto doesn’t employ someone with creativity? Books on display included a variety of interesting graphic novels, H.P Lovecraft and JAMES BOND GODDAMMIT.
So I think the point I’m trying to make in all this waffle is that more publishers need to be active at conventions like this. In the next part I’m going to discuss the pure monies that people spend at conventions, but needless to say - a lot. Why not take your graphic novel/ SFF list, make a big deal out of it and grab a booth?
The stalls that attracted the most attention were those that involved participation, that’s what we’re involved in - a participation culture. We want to be involved in the worlds, we want to contribute. The convergence of media is important in this - it allows us further depth into the stories we love, a game can let us independently roam a book’s storyworld, a comic can add another layer to a character’s back story and conventions like Comic Con allow us to group together to talk and celebrate this.
Fans and fandom are the core structure to many brands (be that a publisher, author or character/s), the interconnectedness of places like Comic Con mean that if you’re a fan of something within that genre, odds are you will be on the lookout for similar.
I believe that publishers (especially those involved with SFF lists) are missing a trick when they fail to involve themselves in something as potentially lucrative as Comic Con.
The stalls that attracted the most attention were those that involved participation, that’s what we’re involved in - a participation culture. We want to be involved in the worlds, we want to contribute. The convergence of media is important in this - it allows us further depth into the stories we love, a game can let us independently roam a book’s storyworld, a comic can add another layer to a character’s back story and conventions like Comic Con allow us to group together to talk and celebrate this.
Fans and fandom are the core structure to many brands (be that a publisher, author or character/s), the interconnectedness of places like Comic Con mean that if you’re a fan of something within that genre, odds are you will be on the lookout for similar.
I believe that publishers (especially those involved with SFF lists) are missing a trick when they fail to involve themselves in something as potentially lucrative as Comic Con.
This picture isn't wholly relevant to this post but it certainly is fantastic, so I thought I'd share it with you.
TOOTHLESS!
TOOTHLESS!