Convention: Con Alt Delete

Location: Chicago (Rosemont), IL

Date: Dec 17-19 (Fri-Sun)

Table cost: $125

Table size: 6

Table placement: front side of last row from entrance

Items for sale: 11x17" posters (fanart and original), tutorial artbook, coloring book, original comic (sons of fire), zines (fanart and original; sfw and nsfw), postcards (4.25x5.5", fanart and original), pins (original), resin coasters and jewelry (including primogem charms)

New items/display: Added bows for holiday decoration

Application: First Come First Served

Mask policy: required except when eating/drinking, though it did not seem to be enforced.

Previously attended? No

Pros: inexpensive table, well-known convention, made new friends and saw old friends!

Cons: Convention family is run by an accused rapist; lots of empty tables, had to pay for parking, cold weather

Most popular item(s): Posters (95)

Least popular item(s): coloring book (3)

Con Alt Delete was my last show of the year, and the weekend before Christmas. I spiced up my table with holiday decorations for this, and a lot of people were definitely holiday shopping (and holiday cosplaying!) I recognized a lot of the artists from C2E2 the previous weekend, but was actually able to go see them here and did some buying & trading

Unfortunately, there were a good deal of empty tables scattered throughout the show, though people started moving from the furthest back row forward to fill in these tables on Saturday and Sunday. (I had an empty table next to me for Friday and Saturday, but the artist behind me turned around and grabbed it on Sunday)

There was a vendor who monopolized the airwaves/music with a playlist of inoffensive & upbeat music (a mix of classic 80's jams, modern hit songs, and disney/anime songs), but I'm not sure anyone minded.

Regardless of the cold weather and the show being the weekend before Christmas, there were a lot of attendees (especially Saturday and Sunday) including families and even grandparents, and people were in a generally good mood and spending money. Even though my gross sales were about $200 less than C2E2, I still wound up with more profit due to the table, hotel, and parking all being much cheaper. The biggest downside was knowing our table cost was supporting a scumbag of a human.

(police reports and victim's stories https://keepoutkopf.tumblr.com/ https://twitter.com/boycottkopf

even his own conventions have banned him https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2019-06-26/convention-runner-ryan-kopf-banned-from-anime-milwaukee-following-alleged-sexual-assault/.145329

he's also involved in some very shady and outright illegal business practiceshttps://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/qknde3/psa_if_youve_attended_or_sold_at_animinneapolis/ )

Gross sales: >$2500

Recommend/will attend again? I want to, but I'm really hoping the show will ditch their rapist president.

Other 2021 convention reviews:

Anime Ohio

Inconjunction

Gem City

AnimaticCon

Westwood Art Show/second saturdays

Cincinnati Comic Expo

New York Comic Con

Voltcon

Anime Weekend Atlanta

Art on Vine

Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2)

Anime Zap (2022)

These reviews take a lot of time and effort, but I think they are something the artist alley community needs! If you would like to support me so I can keep doing these, please consider donating or buying from my shops!

https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=JBTBC5WRMRTJ2

Storenvy

Convention: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2)

Location: Chicago, IL

Date: Dec 10-12 (Fri-Sun)

Table cost: $462

Table size: 8'

Table placement: F-03; the artist alley was in the back corner from the entrance, the only thing further were the autograph booths

Items for sale: 11x17" posters (fanart and original), tutorial artbook, coloring book, original comic (sons of fire), zines (fanart and original; sfw and nsfw), postcards (4.25x5.5", fanart and original), pins (original), resin coasters and jewelry

New items/display: Primogem charm necklaces/keychains, black backdrop with posters mounted via magnet, raised poster prices from $15 to $20

Mask policy: All attendees/vendors required to show proof of vaccination, which was checked multiple times, masks required at all times, staff was great about enforcing mask policies.

Previously attended? No

Application: Juried

Pros: 8' table, well known convention which usually has huge draw

Cons: artists are in the far back, huge artist alley can be difficult for attendees to get the whole way through, very expensive table, the whole hall is kind of dark and unwelcoming, expensive parking in downtown Chicago

Most popular item(s): Posters (70), pins (35)

Least popular item(s): coloring book (1), commissions (0)

One of the biggest changes I've noticed in the convention scene over the last 10 years is the inclusion of all kinds of fandoms at comic conventions, and not just the mainstream (dc, marvel, dark horse, etc) American comics and entertainment (star wars). Now, video games, anime, horror, and all kinds of other subcultures are widely represented at conventions. Big name anime, like Kimetsu No Yaiba (Demon Slayer), and video games like Genshin make up a huge group of cosplayers and attendees. Thinking back to HeroesCon in 2011, where I made about $200, all while being snubbed by the comic crowd, today's conventions are a significantly more inclusive group.

C2E2 is run by the same group (ReedPop) as New York Comic Con, and similarly has fairly good organization. However, the McCormic Center in chicago where this is held is a complete maze (I even looked at the maps of the center before going and still got lost several times), and I wound up walking a literal mile, including up 3 flights of stairs, to and from my car to my table each day (I google mapped it, it is in fact a mile). Likewise, the load in/out procedures are very unclear, and while they have staff helping, it was difficult to find that staff, and I wound up having to walk almost 2 miles around the show floor to get a load out slip. Then, I had to wait in line for almost 2 hours to load my 2 suitcases (a little bit too much to wheel to my car on uneven parking lots and in very cold/windy weather) as giant vans for huge displays went in front of me (it literally took me 10 minutes to get everything in my car AND use the bathroom!)

Most of the crowd was really good about wearing masks, but one of the "artists" across from me (was he an artist? I'm not sure) not only kept taking off his mask, he decided to stand in the middle of the aisle handing out flyers SANS MASK. The show had given us paperwork with a phone number to contact if we noticed issues, but the number connected to the general building security, who weren't sure what to do about someone not masking. Some staff eventually walked by and I was able to talk to them about the person not masking.

(Like NYCC, I did notice a lot of people who just seemed to be straight up pinup/poster artists in the alley - including one of my neighbors who had nothing but tits&ass art - and while I know not everyone does comics, I did wonder why some of these people were in the alley. However, there were also a ton of amazing artists who I'm sad I didn't get a chance to buy from!)

C2E2 is another convention that "you can't help but make money at," according to others who have done it before. All conventions have waves of traffic, but the waves at C2E2 were fairly extreme, with times that were completely dead (usually the last hour of each day) to the point I could get up and go walk around. Covid, of course, made this a weird year, but I'm finding that my profits don't scale with the size of a convention; rather, the artist alley size scales and the price increases making my totals about the same as other conventions.

TL;DR: C2E2, like NYCC, is a very expensive convention, but if you're good enough to get in you're probably going to make at least a little money. Be prepared to walk a lot - though at least next year it won't be in the freezing cold, instead in the August heat and the same weekend as Gencon.

Gross sales: >$2500

Recommend/will attend again? Unsure. My sister/friends have expressed interest in going as they are big cosplayers which would certainly help cut costs, and I would be interested if I could carpool/hotel share with other artists or attendees.

Other 2021 convention reviews:

Anime Ohio

Inconjunction

Gem City

AnimaticCon

Westwood Art Show/second saturdays

Cincinnati Comic Expo

New York Comic Con

Voltcon

Anime Weekend Atlanta

Art on Vine Con+Alt+Delete Anime Zap (2022)

These reviews take a lot of time and effort, but I think they are something the artist alley community needs! If you would like to support me so I can keep doing these, please consider donating or buying from my shops!

https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=JBTBC5WRMRTJ2

Storenvy