Last weekend was the debut of the Phoenix Comicon in its new downtown digs, the Phoenix Convention Center, and its new time slot, Memorial Day Weekend. Attendance nearly doubled from the 2009 show in Mesa/January, to the tune of 13,988 unique attendees for Phoenix/May. Rapid growth like that is bound to leave stretch marks; but for the most part, they were well hidden... and my complaints are relatively minor. Excepting, of course, the 18.3% decrease in profits vs. 2009. Still, it outperformed my WonderCon 2010.
Overall, I don't have too much to say one way or another. It was a safe con, family-friendly to the point of being bland, and at times, alarmingly anime. Despite its growth, the show doesn't warrant a 'Preview Night' and frankly, Saturday crapped out around 4:00 pm — perhaps due to the Suns/Lakers playoff game?
My neighbors — Project 4 Studios — were a hydra out of El Paso, Texas that collectively has the talent and the attitude (students, not superstars) to stay in the game for awhile. 7000 BC — hailing from Albuquerque, New Mexico — also made an impression with their unique energy and intellectual inventory, stretching POD well beyond the standardized norms of ComiXpress or Ka-Blam fares. Rob Osborne had his catalog available again via CreateSpace, while exclusive new wares were offered by Ryan Cody, Scott Godlewski, and Matt Bennett.
Independents, however, are not my entire comics focus, and I found plenty of cheap Bronze Age reads — including my Holy Grail, THE SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS #13 from 1978. I also dabbled ever-so-slightly with some Silver Age heroes, purchasing a GD copy of Neal Adams' THE SPECTRE #3 from 1968.
Unfortunately, I think that's all I have to say about Phoenix Comicon 2010. Again, it was a profitable endeavor and generally positive experience, but... it felt like something was missing. Other than it being the first show in downtown Phoenix, what will I remember about this particular show — in 2020? Robin Lopez' unscheduled appearance? Who? Tony Harris' cancellation? Yawn. Completing my Atlas run of TIGER-MAN? Probably not. There just wasn't that singular defining moment where I smiled and said, "THAT was my Phoenix 2010."
Picture Guide:
PHOENIX COMICON 2010 LOGO
THE JOKER #9 (DC, 1976, $2.00)
1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #9 (DC, 1975, $1.00)
SECRET SOCIETY #13 (DC, 1978, $2.50)
THE SPECTRE #3 (DC, 1968, $4.00)
TIGER-MAN #2 (Atlas, 1975, $1.00)
RICHARD DRAGON #18 (DC, 1977, $2.50)
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