Fan Expo May Reach New Attendance Records

Comics News
Fan Expo May Reach New Attendance Records
By Hervé St-Louis
August 30, 2009 - 06:05

The second day of the Fan Expo helped the convention carve itself a spot on the map once and for all in the large comic book conventions held throughout the summer. Numbers given by insiders of the show put the attendance level at 30,000 when not counting repeated visitors. Many last minute attendees were still waiting in line to get their passes. There is no official information on what percentage of attendees were multi-day visitors versus single day ones.

More guests such as Leonard Nimoy were also at the show on Saturday drawing more crowds. Security on the grounds was well organized and there were many ushers helping the flow of attendee moving in and about the Toronto Convention Center.

There were more strollers and families, including a little Jawa, an army of stormtroopers and other Star Wars characters. Yet, unlike other shows, the mix was mostly made up of adult men which is always a concern for this writer. For the industry to be healthy, it needs a more diverse fan base.

On the positive sign, this show, like others shows that there is a sub culture that is attracting women to comic books but it is decidedly not super hero-based. Unfortunately, those types of exhibitors were not much in attendance.

The WI-FI issue is a real problem and stopped The Comic Book Bin from offering timely updates to the many panels we attended yesterday. According to show organizers, they declined the option to provide Internet access to the press and other guests for a small sum. It shows that the organizers have not transitioned the FanExpo from a regular convention with a flea market to a media event that draws news and where announcements about the comic book industry is to be expected. I'm hoping that the organizers will realize the importance of becoming a hub for media events which would attract more publishers like IDW, Dark Horse in the future. DC and Marvel Comics were in attendance, of course, but so far, they have been more interested in making Canadian jokes than providing real news about their products. If the Toronto Fan Expo does not progress into the next stage of their evolution as a media hub and place where special announcements can be made about products, their direct competitors, Wizard World's Toronto Comic-Con, could steal their thunder next year.

There were many interesting things said about Web comics which will be featured heavily in their own panels today. A Canadian collective of Web Comics artists called TX Comics will be sharing some thoughts on their projects, available for free at txcomics.com. More on that later.