Boy howdy. Since you’re reading this, it means that I’m still alive. For a while, it didn’t feel like I would be. See, I recently put together a mini comic con. You might think to yourself, “A mini comic con? That’s easy.” But you would be wrong! It kept me up at night!
Anyway, I’m not here to talk about the anxiety. Putting together the con was a great and terrible experience all at once somehow. See, my boss at the library wanted to put on a con, and after my experience at SPACE, I felt like I could do it. But I didn’t do it alone. The biggest part of putting on a con is getting the talent. And luckily, because I’ve started running in the comic book and artist circuit, I know some people. So, when I initially reached out to the people who tabled at my con, I was very nervous. I wasn’t sure that they would want to take a chance at such a small, and first time, con. But I had an ace up my sleeve: free tables. Usually people charge for vendors to set up, but since this was our first, there was no cost. And since all of these people pretty much knew me, it was easy to open that door.
Of course, I do need to stop and give extra special thanks to the Marysville Public Library. Every con needs a place to be held, and the Library was the place for me. Granted, I do work there, but that doesn’t mean that they had to let me set up a mini circus in their valuable space. But having that space was invaluable. I also have to thank all the other staff at the library for putting up with that madness. It got pretty crowded!
Anyway, so what do you do when you have the space, and the vendors? Well, then you panic! Or at least, I did. See, Marysville, Ohio, has never had a comic con before. They didn’t know what to expect. I tried my best to explain it to people. I put out advertisement everywhere, I even did an interview with the local newspaper. But you never know if people will show up to something new. Especially when a town like this doesn’t know much about con culture. If there was no turn out, I was worried about the future, and about wasting the vendors’ time. So I spent several weeks panicing about that.
But look how it turned out! A lot of people showed up! To be honest, I’m surprised I pulled it all together. It really felt like blowing up the Death Star. The vendors had a good time, and I think Marysville did too. And it certainly warrants another con next year. This con exceeded all of my hopes, and it really gave me faith in the community. Plus it showed that we have a community of artists and fellow nerds willing to put their stuff out there.
Sure, there were lots of little things I worried about: door prizes, food, program guides, and a number of other things that would have killed a normal sized person, but it all came together. I mean, we had successful panels (my friend ran a talk about WWE that was very successful) and activities, including a costume contest where about 20 people dressed up! That’s great for the first time!
So, I want to thank the Marysville Public Library, it’s staff, all my vendors (Vanessa Prentice, Unhinged Twins, Married Math Toys and Comics, Ohio Legends, Addie J. King, Canada Keck, and Packrat Comics), and I want to say thank you Marysville for making this happen, and we’ll see you next year!
Hot Cakes Comics 