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Re: Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo - April 26th - 28th, 2013
So, I went for all 3 days. They certainly managed lines and volume much better than last year. No entry issues like last, we could enter and re-enter as we pleased. Crowding wasn't a big a problem, thanks to the increased space allotted. Sunday took a bit of a turn for the worst though, supposedly there were a limited number of tickets on sale for the day (online only). Which increased the wait times to get in, and added to the congestion to the panels (the best ones were on Sunday: X-Files, Game of Thrones, Nathan Fillion, Walking Dead...).
Ian McDiarmid, he's looks pretty good. But $90-95 for a signature, and similar price for a photo op. Yea, too much.
Out of all the celebrities there Norman Reedus consistently had the longest line-ups. Supposedly he was late for everything he was scheduled in (photo ops, panels), and couldn't even make it for the Walking Dead panel. We left at closing on Sunday, and he was still there signing autographs with the line as ridiculously long as it was at the start of the day. Insane, this guy is committed to his fans.
David Finch, I couldn't believe how long it took for me to get anything signed by him. It seemed like every other person in line was buying a sketch from him, which in turn meant I had to wait an additional 20 minutes or so before my turn came. It was ridiculous. Though I understand he's drawing big bucks for doing them, it's just annoying for guys in the line-up who just want his autograph. I think I must line-up for about 2+ hours, and there only about 5-8 people in front of me.
Arthur Suydam, haha, this was smart of him. In order to get him to sign your stuff you had to buy a print ($20 each). But hey, he said he would signed as many items as you wanted (good thing I brought a stack of my marvel zombies, probably the only chance I get).
Let's see, also got some signatures from Omar Dogan, Jim Zubavich, Adam Warren, Camilla d'Errico, Joe Benitz, Adam Hughes, and Mark Brooks.
Bulk of my money went to the photo op and signature with Stan Lee again (hey, this may be his last year!). Plus some t-shirts from stylinonline (boy, those were expensive).
Just curious, but does anyone else find the vendors for this sort of thing overprice like crazy? I saw one vendor asking $55 for an MU Nova. Some were selling older ML's for $30-50. Another had Play Arts Kai Batman Arkham City stuff for $90 (ridiculous, as there was another vendor selling the same thing for about half that). It's funny, we made a pass-by on the last day at the last hour and you still see their overpriced merchandise there with no reductions. I mean what was the point of bringing them, and having priced that high, if you couldn't sell the thing?
Overall, pretty good show this year. I'm interested in seeing what guests they'll be able to draw in for next year.
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