Panels & Parties with Phoenix Comicon & Comikaze Expo
While most of the “Left Coast” is busy refreshing www.comic-con.org in anticipation of WonderCon updates, I find myself glued to www.phoenixcomicon.com where there seems to be frequent activity. In addition to my addition to the flood of activity in Phoenix, more locally Comikaze Expo (whose show is still 7 months away) is keeping its name prominent with themed parties and hints at a relationship with Stan Lee (fingers-crossed!). Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait for WonderCon. Although WonderCon is practically in my backyard, I have a room booked at the Anaheim Hilton and have already begun putting together my “wish list”. So, if WonderCon is so close and Phoenix Comicon and Comikaze Expo are both still months away, why am I obsessed with the trek to Phoenix and booking a room near the Los Angeles Convention Center? It’s simple: Comikaze Expo and Phoenix Comicon have a lot going on and they both communicate the excitement well.
If you want to see what I mean (and you should!), stop by their sites and take a look. First, if you go by www.phoenixcomicon.com you’ll notice a ton of programming has already been announced three months prior to their show. While details are still being fleshed out, the fact that I am already developing a list of “must attend” panels three months in advance says a great deal. While I have no idea which panels will interest me at the very near WonderCon, I already know my Memorial Day panel list is growing with options:
- A Sonic What?
- Ask A Droid
- Comic Culture Talk
- Hanging Out with John Layman
- Nerd Ink: The Story Behind Geeky Tattoos
- Star Wars Fashion Show
- Star Trek: The J.J. Abrams Discussion
- Star Wars: Episodes 7, 8 and 9
- Women of Comics
And this list is just the start. Because I know what to expect from Phoenix Comicon, I know that there will be more great announcements of panels, guests, exclusives and more all the way up until I arrive at the show.
Meanwhile, if you stop by www.comikazeexpo.com you’ll notice that the site is undergoing some construction. Although this on its own isn’t exciting, the speculation of what will be revealed behind the curtain when all is revealed is. The Comikaze Team does an excellent job of interacting with fans via Facebook and Twitter and anyone that is paying attention knows that there is excitement brewing. A recent photo put out by Comikaze of Stan Lee at Wizard’s New Orleans Comic-Con has led to much speculation on what will be revealed for the 2012 show. Regardless of what occurs, a certainty is that Comikaze Expo is relevant and building excitement with their fans over seven months before they re-open their doors for this year’s show.
As many of you have heard me say before, keep your eye on Phoenix Comicon and Comikaze Expo. These two shows are working harder than anyone in the business to make their cons a 12 month experience. As soon as they conclude a show, they start planning and communicating elements for their next event. In the flooded con market of today, this is absolutely essential to growing a show. In the old days, it was fine to roll out announcements a few weeks before the event and let things fall where they might, but today there are too many shows battling for limited dollars. Quite simply, if a con is not promoting the fan experience 24/7, they will eventually become extinct. Thankfully, Comikaze Expo and Phoenix Comicon understand that the most essential facets of con business are promotion and delivery. If you don’t properly hype your show, attendees will stop showing up. That being said, if you hype the show, but don’t deliver a stellar product, that to can be the end of an otherwise promising con. The two biggest surprises of my 2011 con tour were the delivery of these two shows. They both hyped big shows…and they both delivered beyond my very high expectations.
So, keep your eye on Phoenix Comicon and Comikaze Expo for the upcoming months AND follow my updates (Twitter: @The_Con_Fluence), because I’ll be watching and reporting on them closely.
