Phoenix Comic "Fest" 2018

At the end of last year, Sad Diego Comic Con won the (arguably ridiculous) right to the exclusive use of the term "Comic Con" for comic conventions (see article). This meant that all other conventions must cease using the term, or pay SDCC to use it...

Phoenix Comic Con decided the latter, and this year was known instead as "Phoenix Comic Fest". This has clearly become a slippery slope, as we learned as PCC(/F) wrapped this year that NEXT year it will instead be called "Phoenix Fan Fusion".

I'm personally torn on the significance of this change in both principal AND practice.

On the one hand, the fact that they've not only dropped "Con" (which, fair enough...) but are now dropping "Comic" altogether as well, really sums up what these mainstream cons have become in general. Honestly, virtually NOBODY buys COMICS at "comic cons"; so for PCC to fully embrace this bodes strangely for those of us that make comics, and have *tried* to sell them there (oddly enough, we actually MOSTLY sold comics this year, but a small fraction of a small fraction is just a really really small fraction).

On the other hand, it's also kind of a SIGN of sorts, that maybe we SHOULD forget about these cons that have forgotten about us, and try some new scenes...

AND THAT WE ARE!

We're doing SPX in Bethesda, Maryland this fall, and looking into OTHER "alternative" and zine fest for the future.

I DID just renew for... well, I guess "PFF" it will be called for 2019 (who knows what it'll be in 2020), so we're gonna give that at least one more shot with this bizarre change and see what pans out.

OTHERWISE, PCF '18 was... okay.

Not bad, not great.

BUT, as you can see from the photo, BETAMAN friggin' made a personal appearance, so THAT's pretty friggin' RAD!!! :D

'Till next time,

Matt