Report: New England Webcomics Weekend

Mike Peterson spent the weekend at the New England Webcomics Weekend. He’s posted his impressions and observations on his blog.

To begin with, I really didn’t know how big a deal the New England Webcomics Weekend was until Saturday morning, when I discovered that the place was sold out for that day and I’d have to scramble to get in on Sunday. Fortunately, I discovered this on-line and not at the door, so I dropped Christopher Baldwin an email and a text (the electronic equivalent of belt-and-suspenders) and he set aside a Sunday ticket for me so I wouldn’t drive two hours and find myself on the outside looking in.

NEWW is a pretty big deal. The place was full but not crowded and the majority of cartoonists had a steady stream of fans, to the point where I felt sorry for the newcomers who weren’t well-known enough to draw a constant crowd. But people did wander by their tables to have a look and a bit of conversation, and I think they made some good new contacts over the course of the two days.

As someone who is somewhat knowledgable about the web form but more oriented towards syndicated strips, I found the conversations interesting.

Mike goes on to talk about how Howard Tayler, Dave Kellett and others approached selling books and interacting with fans.

6 thoughts on “Report: New England Webcomics Weekend

  1. NEWW was a great event, and it was good to see Mike there. I just wish I’d had time to sit down and talk to him for an hour or ten. If the event taught me anything it’s that I still have a lot to learn about this business.

  2. Y’know If Mike really tried, he probably could’ve gotten in on Saturday. Since it was being held in a public building, it wasn’t exactly being guarded like Buckingham Palace. Which is one of the main issues I had, as it just felt like I was in another building with established businesses, and they decided to put on a convention in the hallyway.

    I know its only the second year, but they would benefit themselves by moving to a more expanded location. I only went Saturday, but I felt the show could be so much more than what it was. It just felt like a “con” to me, which for the Webcomics community seems a bit boring.

  3. Part of the charm of the event was this particular venue. I didn’t mind the low security, especially not since the attendance cost was so low.

    There’s a large exhibitor space that they originally planned to use, but it was being renovated so they couldn’t.

  4. They could have rented a bigger, more tricked-out place instead of using their own building — and then charged people $30 instead of $6, but, for instance, the brownies were really very good and there was a McDonald’s just down the road, so there was no real need for a full-blown concessions stand.

    I also liked the fact that I could go out to the car and drop off my swag and come back in without a hassle. The honor system works for me (which is why I was willing to wait until Sunday rather than try to crash the gate on Saturday).

  5. What a great report. Mike I hope you don’t mind… I’m going to link Webcomics Community to these reports. They really are very well done. Thanks.

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