August
30
Comic-Con Attendance
Tom Spurgeon talks to Comic-Con Intl. spokesman David Glanzer over at the Comics Reporter about attendance at this year’s show. Glanzer says the final numbers are still being tallied but they had 9,000 exhibitors and 114,000 fans and other attendees, for a rough total of 123,000.
Glanzer explains why the show no longer issues press releases for attendance figures:
“This was done, in part, because different events count their numbers differently and sometimes it really is like comparing apples to oranges. And while attendance figures are obviously an indicator of how many people attended an event, it isn't necessarily the only barometer by which a determination should be made about the success of a show.”
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Without benefit of a calculator and not wanting to do the real math, isn't that roughly a 10-to-1 ratio of exhibitors to fans? OK, I know it's more like 12-to-1 but that doesn't detract from making the point that I've always wondered how the hell the exhibitors at comic cons break even? Anyone who has priced a table in Artist's Alley or an exhibitor booth knows that you need to sell a TON of comics to break even or make a profit- fine if you've got a name and quite a backstock to sell but for people just starting out I wonder how much money is lost at these shows.
And, is it even fair to include exhitors in the attendance totals? That is like counting the football players, refs and coaches when tallying attendance at a sports event.
Posted by: Joe Williams | September 04, 2006 at 05:23 PM