Wizard World: Texas
by Vihn-Luan Luu
Wizard Entertainment once again ended their national convention tour with a stop in the DFW Metroplex. As the main source for mainstream comic news in America, Wizard brought some pretty big names to the convention this year. However, with no large-scale competition in the convention circuit here in Texas, Wizard seemed to have kept the convention at a mediocre status quo. The Texas show seemed to be an afterthought to their convention tour.
The guest list this year was a good mix of familiar faces as well as new ones to the Texas show. Most of the artists could be found in the artist alley in some capacity, as oppose to years previous where the artists were at their company booth or at Wizard's booth. A good number media guests were pretty much centered at the Las Vegas Autographs booth while some of the independent media guests were scattered around the exhibit hall at their own booths. But I feel that the biggest draw in the terms of guests this year were the people in the artist alley. One of the plus notes on being the last leg of the convention tour is that the artists in the artist alley are pretty laid back and chill. People like Mitch Breitweiser, Kristian Donaldson, and the folks over at Stumblebum Studios were willing to chat with anyone and just interact with the fans. Billy Tan was hanging out at his table drawing for most of the weekend; and James O'Barr could be found talking with other local artist about his upcoming project and his paintings.
The guest list was pretty impressive with new names to the Texas convention scene (J. Scott Campbell, Bill Sienkiewicz) but overall it doesn't have the same impact of say Chicago or San Diego. The convention does boast some really good people and great artists for the more laid back fan, but for those on the autograph hunt, it's weak in comparison to other conventions.
The events and programs this year were pretty standard fair for Wizard World. There were a few more art and portfolio related panels this year, a welcome addition to the convention. Signings and panels were clearly marked and easily understandable. And this year the web PDF of the program was up to date and complete, so planning a convention schedule ahead of time was possible. Oddly absent this year were regular announcements over the PA about upcoming events. Granted, the Space-Gun and Amalgam Kru were fairly busy with interviews so we may have missed them.
The major complaint from a lot of people is still the lack of a major event for the Texas show. The film competition that they started this year is a good start, but even then the major screening of the winners and awards are not going to happen until the Los Angeles show next year. Maybe Wizard will turn this fan film competition into something bigger next year; but this year the announcement for the competition didn't even happen until about September. Even then there wasn't much hoopla made about it. With a national tour and huge backing, Wizard World Texas can easily be made a major part of their tour and not the afterthought that it seems to have become.
The exhibitors' and dealers' layout worked well this year again. There were no real choke points; aisles were wide and easy to navigate. Layout issues this year were not how things were laid out, but where they were laid out. Show spaces for the bigger names like SpikeTV, Top Cow, Aspen, and Wizard monopolized the front of the exhibit hall, right inside of the entrance. Granted, these are the big names and should get preferred treatment. On the flip side though, these are the big names and they will get attention no matter where they are in the exhibit hall. This is especially true for SpikeTV who brought a massive, two-story booth for their space. Placing them right inside of the entrance was pretty daunting and cause a few traffic jams with their signings and t-shirt tosses. This year the amount of dead space and forgotten corners were really apparent. One or two dealers who were in the back didn't even show up on Sunday.
A big difference this year was moving the artist alley into the exhibit hall. This was a great move as its previous location was really tucked away. This gives the artist alley a better local to be in, but at the same time it really tucks the artist alley tight spot. The aisles are nowhere near as wide at the rest of the convention, thus creating horrible traffic jams. There are a few accounts of fans not even going into the artist alley due to the amount of traffic. Plus few of Wizard's big artist guests were in the alley (J. Scott Campbell, Bill Sienkiewicz, David Finch), thus creating massive lines that blocked a few aisles. Though it must be stated that these lines were handled in the best manner possible be given the local. Honestly, the aisles that the dealers get probably do not have to be as wide. Many of the dealers use racks and walls to create little cubbies for themselves, so people can go in and about. Artist alley is just straight tables, so all the traffic is in the aisle. By compressing the dealer's by a small amount per aisle (say one foot), the artist alley aisles can be expanded by that much as well. Overall, it seemed to be a bang-buster weekend or a total flop for those who venture behind the artist alley table this year.
As for the Wizard staff, from what interaction the Space-Gun and Amalgam crew had with them, everyone seemed very pleasant and informative. Thanks to the clear and concise information in the online and print pieces, we needed little information from the staff. The security personal were clearly identifiable, friendly, and overall very unobtrusive to everyone's convention experience. And Kate out press liaison was really on the ball and helpful.
The convention itself seemed really laid back and open. Everyone seemed to be just hanging out and enjoying the convention as they can. Though one-on-one conversations were limited with the main guests, those who were in the artist alley were happy to just chat with anyone if they weren't busy with a commission. From what we got from the artists, though the convention was pretty slow paced, the pace was steady for most of the weekend. After the few anime conventions we've attended, Wizard World Texas was a breath of fresh air in comparison. Not once did we hear a high-pitched squeal of a fangirl or the mention of the word "glomp". Sadly, with the close quarters that artist alley created, one could not avoid the fanboy funk in some areas.
Though it is great that the convention is pretty laid back and relaxed, for a nationally touring convention and part of a large corporation, this small convention atmosphere really doesn't live up to its advertisements. Texas is advertised the exact same way as Chicago or Philly, which will lead to disappointments if your expecting the same big show atmosphere that is inherit in the other conventions.
So all in all, Wizard World Texas 2006 can be considered a success from a purely technical standpoint. They probably did turn a profit on this convention, but I would imagine only by a small margin. Wizard seems to have the Texas show is this sort of medium status quo. For those of us trying to get into the industry, this convention is great to meet and greet with a lot of local people as well as people from out of the state. It's also a good place to get some pretty cool stuff not readily available in the local specialty shops. Plus there seemed to be a large amount of sales going on; a good number of dealers were discounting their books heavily from twenty to fifty percent off. Though for true hardcore comic fan, the convention can be a disappointment if you're expecting a big show. The show sort of turns into the show for those who can't get out to Chicago or San Diego and are willing to settle for Wizard's last stop of their national tour.
As for our personal experience, one of the best things that happened over the weekend was Kristian Donaldson's art show at Zeus Comics in Dallas. It had the exact same feel of any art opening I've ever been to, except way better because people there were there to enjoy the art, hang out, and chill. We were there as art fans, not art critics, which is, sadly, the attitude at most art gallery openings in Dallas. Plus Zeus Comics is one of the best comic shops I've been to; it's like a comic shop straight out of the movies: lots of cool stuff, clean, friendly, and downright badass. Check them out if you're ever in the area. Though the address on the site is a bit wrong: it's Oak Lawn, not Oaklawn.
The other big highlight of the weekend is the surprising number of outright cuties wandering around. They were everywhere this year. Whether they were actual comic geeks or just there with their boyfriends, I really don't care. As for the previously mentioned in redhead in Tuesday's comic, all I have to say is this: Talent Cadwell, we salute you.
