Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Dec 25, 2014 14:27:48 GMT -6
Connecticut’s ComiCONN is moving from Bridgeport, Connecticut, to the Mohegan Sun casino next year.
www.ctpost.com/local/article/ComiCONN-to-leave-Bridgeport-for-Mohegan-Sun-5964023.php
BRIDGEPORT -- As he grew from a Superboy to an adult of steel, DC Comics' Superman upgraded his headquarters from rural Smallville to a massive retreat within an arctic mountain.
Mohegan Sun's three-story crystal mountain is not Superman's Fortress of Solitude. The casino in Uncasville, however, has the space to beat out Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena to host the ever-expanding ComiCONN next August.
"I was just looking for a bigger convention center, and all we have is really Hartford and Mohegan Sun," said Mitch Hallock, a Trumbull-based promoter who co-founded the Connecticut comic book convention with Erik Yacko, who runs the Alternate Universe comic store in Milford.
Entering its sixth year, ComiCONN hosts dealers, artists and actors involved in comics, fantasy and science fiction. It is intended as a fan-friendly alternative to the massive, more impersonal and expensive Comic Cons held annually in Los Angeles and New York City.
ComiCONN began as a one-day event and has already outgrown previous venues in North Haven, Stamford and Trumbull. It expanded to Webster Bank Arena last August for a successful three days, with tickets costing about $55 for a three-day pass.
Hallock said attendance was around 15,000. While arena management "bent over backwards" to make the event a success, he said, it was again time to move on.
"Everybody had fun, but I did get emails saying some aisles were cramped, it was a little tight, a little crowded," Hallock said. "As a promoter, I've got to take all that into consideration."
Hallock said even if there are crowded conditions at Mohegan Sun -- over an hour's drive from Bridgeport -- the casino offers plenty of added amenities for ComiCONN fans.
"I kept talking to Bridgeport all along and kept saying in my head, `We had 15,000 and were tight. What if we got 20,000 next year?" Hallock said.
Charlie Dowd, Webster Bank Arena's general manager, said he hoped to host ComiCONN again and is now talking to another promoter about mounting a similarly large comic book gathering next summer.
"We thought it was an event that had legs," Dowd said, adding the city reaped the benefits in hotel bookings and busy restaurants.
Dowd declined to provide details of who might put on the Bridgeport comic convention.
"The fellow I'm talking to is not in that business yet," Dowd said. "He does cons, but not comics -- yet. He's very respected and has a lot of success in doing events."
Hallock's decision disappointed Mike Fuller, a Bridgeport native who for five years has operated the Rogue Comics store in Black Rock. Fuller had helped organize a ComiCONN-themed pub crawl last August.
Fuller said he initially dismissed the rumor that ComiCONN was heading to Mohegan Sun.
"I'm like, `They wouldn't do that. That's ridiculous,' " he said. "It (Bridgeport) was just perfect. It was centrally located as far as both Massachusetts and New York. Some of the (guest) artists live in New York."
Fuller wished organizers had tried to work out the kinks at the arena.
"You can have a basic, general plan, but you don't know how everything's going to work until it's actually working," Fuller said. "So there were expected growing pains."
As for the prospect of an unidentified convention promoter filling the void in Bridgeport, Fuller was skeptical.
"It's like a comic store," he said. "People think it's easy -- open up and order whatever's hot. But it's not. There's a lot of work in it."
Robert Nelson, a comic book fan and assistant English professor at Bridgeport's Housatonic Community College, said he would likely travel to Mohegan Sun, but worried Hallock's move could put other local fans at a disadvantage.
The arena is a couple of blocks from the train station. There is no direct rail access to Mohegan Sun.
"I just think it's a shame," Nelson said. "It's an intergenerational experience that kids in Fairfield County and around here can have. There's people who are not going to make the trip to Manhattan (for New York Comic Con) and not to Uncasville."
Hallock acknowledged the distance, but said he hoped fans would stick with the show.
"Where there's a will, there's a way," he said. "Where there's a con, there's a way to get there. As much as I like driving 10 minutes to the Bridgeport arena, if I have a quality show, fans will get in the car and drive to Mohegan Sun."
But, Hallock added, he would never rule out the possibility of a return to Bridgeport.
"Who knows, maybe we'll do two shows some day," he said.
brian.lockhart@scni.com; 203-414-0712; twitter.com/blockhart1
www.ctpost.com/local/article/ComiCONN-to-leave-Bridgeport-for-Mohegan-Sun-5964023.php
BRIDGEPORT -- As he grew from a Superboy to an adult of steel, DC Comics' Superman upgraded his headquarters from rural Smallville to a massive retreat within an arctic mountain.
Mohegan Sun's three-story crystal mountain is not Superman's Fortress of Solitude. The casino in Uncasville, however, has the space to beat out Bridgeport's Webster Bank Arena to host the ever-expanding ComiCONN next August.
"I was just looking for a bigger convention center, and all we have is really Hartford and Mohegan Sun," said Mitch Hallock, a Trumbull-based promoter who co-founded the Connecticut comic book convention with Erik Yacko, who runs the Alternate Universe comic store in Milford.
Entering its sixth year, ComiCONN hosts dealers, artists and actors involved in comics, fantasy and science fiction. It is intended as a fan-friendly alternative to the massive, more impersonal and expensive Comic Cons held annually in Los Angeles and New York City.
ComiCONN began as a one-day event and has already outgrown previous venues in North Haven, Stamford and Trumbull. It expanded to Webster Bank Arena last August for a successful three days, with tickets costing about $55 for a three-day pass.
Hallock said attendance was around 15,000. While arena management "bent over backwards" to make the event a success, he said, it was again time to move on.
"Everybody had fun, but I did get emails saying some aisles were cramped, it was a little tight, a little crowded," Hallock said. "As a promoter, I've got to take all that into consideration."
Hallock said even if there are crowded conditions at Mohegan Sun -- over an hour's drive from Bridgeport -- the casino offers plenty of added amenities for ComiCONN fans.
"I kept talking to Bridgeport all along and kept saying in my head, `We had 15,000 and were tight. What if we got 20,000 next year?" Hallock said.
Charlie Dowd, Webster Bank Arena's general manager, said he hoped to host ComiCONN again and is now talking to another promoter about mounting a similarly large comic book gathering next summer.
"We thought it was an event that had legs," Dowd said, adding the city reaped the benefits in hotel bookings and busy restaurants.
Dowd declined to provide details of who might put on the Bridgeport comic convention.
"The fellow I'm talking to is not in that business yet," Dowd said. "He does cons, but not comics -- yet. He's very respected and has a lot of success in doing events."
Hallock's decision disappointed Mike Fuller, a Bridgeport native who for five years has operated the Rogue Comics store in Black Rock. Fuller had helped organize a ComiCONN-themed pub crawl last August.
Fuller said he initially dismissed the rumor that ComiCONN was heading to Mohegan Sun.
"I'm like, `They wouldn't do that. That's ridiculous,' " he said. "It (Bridgeport) was just perfect. It was centrally located as far as both Massachusetts and New York. Some of the (guest) artists live in New York."
Fuller wished organizers had tried to work out the kinks at the arena.
"You can have a basic, general plan, but you don't know how everything's going to work until it's actually working," Fuller said. "So there were expected growing pains."
As for the prospect of an unidentified convention promoter filling the void in Bridgeport, Fuller was skeptical.
"It's like a comic store," he said. "People think it's easy -- open up and order whatever's hot. But it's not. There's a lot of work in it."
Robert Nelson, a comic book fan and assistant English professor at Bridgeport's Housatonic Community College, said he would likely travel to Mohegan Sun, but worried Hallock's move could put other local fans at a disadvantage.
The arena is a couple of blocks from the train station. There is no direct rail access to Mohegan Sun.
"I just think it's a shame," Nelson said. "It's an intergenerational experience that kids in Fairfield County and around here can have. There's people who are not going to make the trip to Manhattan (for New York Comic Con) and not to Uncasville."
Hallock acknowledged the distance, but said he hoped fans would stick with the show.
"Where there's a will, there's a way," he said. "Where there's a con, there's a way to get there. As much as I like driving 10 minutes to the Bridgeport arena, if I have a quality show, fans will get in the car and drive to Mohegan Sun."
But, Hallock added, he would never rule out the possibility of a return to Bridgeport.
"Who knows, maybe we'll do two shows some day," he said.
brian.lockhart@scni.com; 203-414-0712; twitter.com/blockhart1