With the area-rock pandemonium of San Diego Comicon silenced, and the Wizard World Tour winding down, it would appear convention season is just about passed. But it's not going down without a fight. For those not fortunate enough to make the trip to one of comicdom's favored metropoli, or for those who might prefer a star-studded show without the multimedia theatrics, there is another show coming up: the Phoenix Cactus Comicon, running September 23-24 at the Mesa Convention Center. We caught up with show organizer Matt Solberg for a quick Q&A.;
Shaun Manning: With the recent expansion of the Wizard conventions across the country, what would you say is the value of independents like the Phoenix Cactus Comicon?
Matt Solberg: We are much more responsive to the needs and desires of our attendees as well as our local partners, including the neighborhood comic book store. We are bringing out guests that haven’t been to Phoenix in years or ever before and in many cases – the guests were requested by our attendees – in emails to us and on our forum.
I also look at some of the conventions across the country – and the ones I’ve had the most fun at include Heroes Con in Charlotte and Wondercon in San Francisco. And while Wondercon is now under the auspices of Comic-Con International, both it and Heroes have been very strong independent conventions. There is a different energy at those conventions among the guests and especially the attendees. Almost like it is a convention that can grow and be want it wants and ensure a great time for its attendees and not be forced to be like anything else. If we can achieve half the coolness and respect factor of those conventions we will be doing something truly worthwhile.
SM: I see you've got a "convention exclusive" of Wolverine Origins #5, a con staple that should lend you a bit of prestige. How did you work that out? Will this be a ticket incentive for preorders, or one of the "higher end" variants only available for sale at a booth?
MS: We’re very fortunate to have individuals outside of our convention staff that want to see this convention succeed. This convention exclusive came about through a brainstorm by Samurai Comics owner Mike Banks. Samurai Comics has two stores in Phoenix and has been one of our supporters since our first show.
Mike Banks came to me back in March and said, “I have something super cool and super secret to share that I’m working on” and it happened to be this exclusive. Through his contacts within the industry, he was able to get permission from Marvel to obtain this comic. Wanting to know if he could offer it at our convention we jumped at the chance to be a part of it.
It is very much in line with the exclusives offered at MegaCon and New York Comicon earlier this year. And the cover by Joe Quesada is gorgeous.
It’s available at Samurai Comics’ booth at our convention for ten bucks. I believe they’ll have some copies signed by Quesada available as well. Hopefully our attendees will think ten bucks is affordable and that this is a cool memento of our convention.
SM: A lot of your programming focuses on the skills necessary to work in comics—creating a portfolio, writing with a team, etc.—which should appeal to a lot of up-and-coming artists and writers. Do you see this sort of new creator networking to be an aim of this con?
MS: This is indeed an aim and it really ties in with what I was talking about earlier – how a convention can grow and discover its own identity. We have always had success with our “How To” workshops we have offered. Whether it was How to Draw or Write or Color attendance has been solid, and the feedback overwhelmingly positive. We’ve had creators who have set up in our artist alley subsequent years who said it was these workshops that motivated them to finally go out and create and publish their own work.
As we began this con, it was a present thought, and the pieces really fell into place. Our guests have the knowledge and the willingess to share it. From Bret Blevins and Mike Manley to Amanda Conner and Billy Tan doing workshops on how to draw, to Josh Blaylock talking about how to self publish, we have workshops and panels that cover most aspects of the creation, publishing, and promotion of comic books.
We of course have the prerequisite How to Draw and Write workshops, plus we are offering Copywriting Your Work, Self Promotion, Launching your Story, Building your Portfolio, and Scripting for Screen and Print.
These workshops are great for our attendees – what better way to learn how to do it than from those who have done it before. And for our guest creators – these workshops are much more interactive with a much more responsive audience.
SM: You've put together an impressive guest list, including Joshua Middleton, Steve Niles, Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. Is it a challenge attracting high-profile creators to a smaller show?
MS: Absolutely. Attracting any creators, much less high-profile ones, is one of the biggest challenges we face. And I’m sure it’s true of any convention. Previously we were a one-day show, and one days shows are numerous across the country. There is almost no way to distinguish them from each other. As we have made that leap to a two-day convention, it has become much easier to get guests and dealers.
We’ve also done a lot of legwork this year in raising our own profile. I alone have gone to many of the largest conventions this past year meeting and talking with creators, and we’ve had volunteers at other conventions distributing literature about our event.
But the axiom “success breeds success” is very true. As we’ve landed these high-profile creators, it becomes easier for us to confirm additional greats. And the party continues to grow and will only get better for September and as we plan our 2007 show.
SM: You mention that, in past years, the Phoenix con has only been a one day affair. What are the origins of this con? And how would you like to see it grow in the next few years?
MS: In the fall of 2001 I moved to Arizona and after taking a look around, saw there hadn’t been a comic convention in the area for the greater part of seven years. I had been working on political campaigns since graduating college in 1997. The knowledge and experience those campaigns provided runs parallel to the skills required to put on a convention. Promotion. Event Management. Talent organization. So I put my money where my mouth was and formed the Phoenix Cactus Comicon. This September will be our fifth year and is unlike any other year we have done.
And it really leads into where we want to go in future years. We’re already planning our 2007 show that will be a three-day event. We are beginning to talk with creators and guests about attending and receiving strong interest from them.
I’m in awe of conventions like Heroes Con in Charlotte and Dragon*Con in Atlanta, with their excellent guests lists and very organized operation. Those are the qualities we want to bring to Phoenix and Arizona.
The goal is to be the signature pop culture event in the southwest for comic books and anime and gaming. Really all genres. Our focus has been and always will be on comic books, and we’d like to see higher profile guests attend, more programming, and that coolness factor that says, “This is a convention I can’t miss.”
