Power and profit at Comic Con
The phenomenon as a carnival
Story at Inc.com
I have attended New York Comic Con (NYCC) since it launched in 2006, and one thing has become clear: Fandom is more than entertainment, it’s a business opportunity... NYCC lasts four days, but the relationships established there can extend well beyond the convention floor... Entrepreneurs can follow up with prospective customers, develop partnerships, share convention content on social media...the... key is to establish a clear follow-up strategy before the event begins..."
Marketplace and Freak Show
There's a lot to what makes up a comic book convention, whether its a mountain of white long boxes laid out under the lights full of back issues, or lines of fans waiting to get some sort of contact with celebrities, which may be world famous personalities or just a guy who was the inker on a well known comic from a decade ago.
But the concentration of fans at a comic convention accomplishes something that marketing strains to achieve, which is efficiency in reaching the interested. A comic book convention has nearly accomplished this goal just by throwing open its doors.
By contrast to the people at a convention, the industry's problem of engagement becomes considerably more difficult when it turns its attention to the general population of entertainment consumers "in the wild." The industry struggles to connect with the uninitiated, and the reality is that the medium often turns away the marginally interested (or, to put it less politely, these would-be customers reject the product once exposed to it).
Like any other industry, the effort to ramp up interest, or, as they say in business, "conversion," is a necessary focus. A convention not only draws the already "converted," but it also creates an environment for enthusiasm and that precious marketing commodity, good word-of-mouth. With comic cons, it is partly a revival tent event (or, in the case of panels, a Town Hall gathering) combined with a much larger slice of the tradition of carnival, which is the theme which truly dominates the proceedings. It is meant both to solidify the fan as a fan and to provide a market where the fan can exercise (through sales!) their devotion.
Mainstream media has a multi-pronged way of covering comic book conventions, sometimes with old-fashioned "Bam! Zap! Pow!" headlines, followed by a more sober overview of the event as a gathering of fans and celebrities "in celebration" of well-known franchises. But there's also the "freak show" aspect of coverage, which can lean heavily into photos of cosplayers... in effect, "free content" that could not easily be presented in just about any other circumstance, except perhaps a circus. Though public, a "comic con" is an inside-the-faith celebration, but mainstream news likes to peek in at it when it can associate it with something the general public can recognize, like famous movies and TV shows, celebrity names, the visually exotic, and even, sometimes, actual comic books.
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You will see Amazon links on this web site because I am an Amazon affiliate. I earn from qualifying purchases.
Original Page October 11, 2021 | Updated June 14, 2025