Boston's Comic-Con a Big Disappointment

Update April 17: So I see that the main segment of this weeks column, concerning Boston Comic Con, has made some of you quite mad at me. Well I'm writing this extra segment to alleviate some of these issues.  

The final amount of people who attended Boston Comic Con was around 5000 over two days.  Good numbers, and I'm very glad that a lot came.  

There have also been other comic cons in Boston for the past four years. My apologies for not finding them, but I searced for reports of past conventions and couldn't find any information.

Just a reminder: this column is based on my OPINION. That means I'm going to write about MY views. When I attended Comic Con on Saturday, I got in right when they opened at 10 a.m. and left around 1 p.m.  I didn't see that many people, and I didn't have a counter on me to count every person I saw.  When I say a lot of people didn't attend, I'm talking about the attendance for the time period that I was there.  

Glad to clear everything up.  Thank you to Comic Book Resources for mentioning the article on yesterdays "Comics A.M./The comics Internet in two minutes."

Boston's Comic-Con a Big Disappointment

This past weekend, April 10 and 11, the Boston Comic Con came to the Westin Boston Waterfront hotel. Boston hasn't had a comic convention since the Wizard-Con back in '05, and after this past weekend, it doesn't look like another one will be coming to town anytime soon.

While Boston is one of the biggest cities in America, it has been skipped by the comic book industry year after year. For those of you who don't see the significance of this, the convention gives publishers the time and opportunity to release their big news. Writers and artists sign autographs, while local vendors get a chance to be recognized. It's a fun time for even the casual comic book fan. So what went wrong with Boston?

There were a few things that went right. The entrance price wasn't anywhere near what other conventions in San Diego and New York charge, which made a smaller one like Boston's work. There was plenty of free stuff to be had, and the unknown writers and artists got a chance to shine just as much as the big boys.

Back to the bad. The room was tiny, with over half the room dedicated to vendors. Yeah, it was only one room.

The coordinators didn't have many people taking tickets. This meant many spent longer in line then they did in the actual convention.

Plus, the event wasn't well advertised. I didn't even know about it until I randomly Googled Boston Comic-Con to see if there was one. While Jim Lee was their main attraction, he barely made an appearance, and he was the only panelist. Billy Tan, Skottie Young, and Joe Quinones were the big name artists, but couldn't they get anyone else? No offense to those guys, but to attract the nerds, they need really big names.

The one good thing about the smaller crowd was that the artists were easier to talk too. I got a few autographs while shooting the breeze with each of them. Also didn't help that no legitimate news was announced from the one panel.

And the venue was a pain to get to, as the closest T stop is on the Red Line at South Station, a two mile walk from the hotel.

It wasn't a complete failure, but it also wasn't a step in the right direction. Hopefully Boston won't have to wait three years until the next convention.

Movie Time

Yep, "Kick-Ass" comes out this week. Look for my review later in the week.

Marvel released a few new stills for "Iron Man 2." Nothing big that we haven't seen already in the trailer.

More photos have surfaced of exterior shots for "Green Lantern." Ryan Reynolds can be seen, but it's so far away it's hard to tell if he is the Green Lantern uniform or not. More and more photos of filming keep coming up, when was that security going to be tightened?

Some strange rumors have surfaced that there are some quarrels on the set of "Thor." The cast denies them all. Guess someone was bored and decided to make some stuff up.

Trade/Series For Newcomers

With the movie version coming this week, I'm recommending reading "Kick-Ass." It's a great satire of comic book stories. The violence is awesome, but the characters are what drive the story. Mark Miller, the writer and produce of the film version, really has a grasp on how kids act in high school. John Romita J.R., the artist and producer, draws some of his best work in a long time.

Highlights for 4/14

DC

• Brightest Day #0. It's going to be hard to top "Blackest Night," but DC is going to try. The first issue of their next event brings back Geoff Johns as writer, while he exchanges writing duties with others as the event goes on.

• The Flash #1. Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul bring Barry Allen back into the limelight with a new volume of "The Flash." Johns recently brought Allen back after he was resurrected during "Final Crisis" in "The Flash: Rebirth." Johns is the Bendis of DC, which means it's always a good choice to read what he writes.

Marvel

• Daredevil #506. Andy Diggle has a great hold on Daredevil, which he has made evident in only six issues. There is some big event called Shadowland coming up for Daredevil this summer, so start reading this great series now so you know what is going on.

• Iron Man Legacy #1. Just in time for the movie release, Fred Van Lente helms the second Iron Man ongoing. Van Lente has proved he is a great writer, with recent highlights being "Marvel Zombies 5 #1" and his work on "The Amazing Spider-Man." Hopefully this series is decent and not just a complement to the movie release.

• Siege: Loki #1. With "Siege" #4 being pushed to May, Marvel is releasing five one-shots to fill the gap. Kieron Gillen can write Loki better than anyone, and we haven't seen Loki sense "Siege" #1. This time away gives Gillen a lot of room to work with.