Bitching first:
* Why on earth would the MoCCA organizers book a venue with not just inadequate air conditioning, but no air conditioning? The number-one complaint (certainly my number-one complaint) about the old venue was that it was too hot, until they added the seventh floor, at which point the number-one complaint became how long the elevator took to get you up to the seventh floor, which was too hot. So they go through the trouble of moving the festival to a building with no air conditioning in New York City in June? So weird. It was seriously beastly in there, and I spoke with one big exhibitor who thought reports and/or experience of the heat on Saturday kept Sunday customers away. And as The Missus just put it to me, it could easily have been 100 degrees instead of 80 degrees this weekend, which would have made it probably literally unbearable for many potential customers. Why pay money to come and be uncomfortable when you can shop online? The word of mouth is going to be murder on this issue, so I really hope MoCCA does something different next year.
* Meanwhile Saturday morning was a big mess. It’s not just that MoCCA brought over a bunch of publishers’ books too late and had to postpone opening by an hour, leaving people on line in the hot sun (I had to wait on the line and I got there at 12:15!), it’s also that communication about this was so poor that people on the line barely had any idea why it was opening late, and I spoke with at least one exhibitor who didn’t even know the opening was delayed in the first place–he just thought it was really slow for that first hour! Then it screwed up all the panel times and the signage was inadequate about that. So yeah, overall, not a good year for MoCCA as an organization.
* That said, in theory I like the new place. It was a nice walk over from Penn Station, it’s still in a weird old building rather than a bland convention center or hotel, and having everything in one room improved navigability in much the same way that SPX’s similar move did.
* All the big publishers I spoke with said that sales on Saturday were phenomenal. Webcomics Row was always absurdly crowded too, and lines for guys like Adrian Tomine and David Mazzucchelli and the Humbug legends were of rock-star length. (Randall Munroe of xkcd fame didn’t have a line per se–he was simply constantly mobbed.)
* For the little guys, minicomics folks, self-publishers, that sort of thing, though, the folks I talked to said it was just alright. I think when you had big expensive books like You Shall Die By Your Own Evil Creation, Tales Designed to Thrizzle, Asterios Polyp, George Sprott and so on debuting, that’s where people’s money went and there was less to spread around.
* My spending was a little different than normal this year: I kind of knew going in I’d be buying a lot of things, and I pretty much walked right in and tracked all that stuff down immediately. The Hanks and Kupperman books from Fantagraphics, Mat Brinkman’s Multiforce and the new Frank Santoro/Lane Milburn Cold Heat Special from Picturebox, Tom Gauld’s The Gigantic Robot from Buenaventura, etc. This was probably stupid because I then had to lug those mothers around all day yesterday, but I wasn’t going to risk not getting them.
* On the other hand, there were a lot of books I was pleasantly surprised to see. Kaz Strzepek’s Mourning Star Vol. 2 from Bodega, Chrome Fetus #7 from Hans Rickheit, a bunch of new minis from Partyka, a five, five dollar, five dollar hardcover of abstract comics from Henrik Rehr called Reykjavik…plenty of happy discoveries along those lines.
* The European contingents could really eat your wallet right up, and there were more of them this year than ever before. Between Nora Krug’s cool-looking suite of Red Riding Hood Redux books and a thick black book of Lorenzo Mattotti sketches of couples in bed, for instance, I plunked down a lot of cash at the Bries table. I think the international flavor helps set MoCCA apart from the other indie/alt/small-press shows.
* Overall I spent more money here than I had at any MoCCA since that insane year when Blankets, Kramers Ergot 4, and The Frank Book debuted. Got more Bowie sketches than ever before, too, I think–more on those to come, of course!
* Somewhere there exists a photograph, taken by Tim Hodler, of me, Jog, and NeilAlien.
* MoCCA is always a highlight of my comics year, probably THE highlight of my comics year. I love it. Make sure to come next year!
That is EXTREMELY confusing to hear about the air conditioning situation, which was definitely my biggest complaint of my previous experiences at the old building, too.
Can’t wait to see some of those Bowie sketches!!
House of Twelve did decent financially; better then last year, not as good as the year before. Kinda average, which is fine.
Obviously, the lack of any AC is my biggest gripe (also maybe more then 1 garbage can for the entire hall would have been a good idea), but a close second is the announcement of next year’s table prices; $400 a table. And that’s the early bird price, making the regular price, what? $500?
For many of MoCCA’s most ardent, core audience it’s the self-published comic, or mini or zine or hand crafted silk-screened one-off that makes the show special. How are those people supposed to make the table cost back? Or even close? For much of the room ‘making table’ is considered a success. At $300 it’s doable only if you huckster your ass off for 2 days, but $400-500? There’s no way. No one is ever going to make 400 beans selling a $.50 mini. They are cutting out the very people who made the show what it is. And that’s a shame.
If I’m not mistaken, MoCCA 2010 is now the most expensive ‘small press’ show in the country… during the greatest economic nightmare in three generations… with print comics sales losing ground to web comics day by day… with no AC… and one garbage can…
Way to go MoCCA, stay classy.
Cheese
That’s equally disturbing to hear about the rising table costs and one garbage can.
I only make table costs at the best of shows, but then I impulse price my book at ten bucks for shows, which accounts for a number of my show sales, I’m sure.
4-500? I don’t pay that much at APE. More like half that, and I can split a table if I’m industrious.
I only make table costs at the best of shows, but then I impulse price my book at ten bucks for shows, which accounts for a number of my show sales, I’m sure.
4-500? I don’t pay that much at APE. More like half that, and I can split a table if I’m industrious.
Just remembered something… that one garbage can was brought into the room by wife who went looking for one Saturday AM.
Personal to Evan Dorkin
Okay, fine, “churlish” is a funny word. But if you take another look at my post both before and I dropped the c-bomb, you’ll see that your beef with the Armory’s appearance was the only place where I disagreed with…