More TikiCon forum drama...

[obliviousally_lj]

I think I have seriously reached the end of my patience with these two douchebags on the Tikicon forums.

Here's the gist of it, for those who don't feel like visiting the forums (though there's no registration needed for the current threads I'm bitching about):

epicFailcon

Wow! I just saw Aaron Smolinski on the TMZ's 'Memba Them' feature on aol!!!!~ This shows that Pete knows what he is doing. One of his guests for the aborted Niles Con was just featured on two of the most popular websites in the world!

People do care about him, people remember him (otherwise, why would they put him in the 'Remember them' feature???) and people would have churned out in droves, paying 15 + autograph fee to meet him.

I'm sure PEte will never get told he was right by certain people in town, but he is on the front lines of pop culture.

God Bless.

obliviousally

Do you not understand what a 'remember them' feature is about? They're mocking him. It's not 'OH GUYS, REMEMBER THIS DUDE WHO PLAYED BABY SUPERMAN IN THE 70S??? WASN'T HE KEEN??', they're going 'dude, who the heck remembers this guy and what has he been in that's been relevant in the last ten years, oh right, nothing lolol'.

People aren't going to 'churn out in droves' (I think you mean 'turn out in droves') to see this dude and pay even $10 for an autograph that he should probably be giving out for free because the only thing he's been in that was ever popular was Superman. ON TOP OF THAT, he was only 3 years old when he was in the film. I really don't think it's like he's going to bring along some great Superman set stories.

This is not the front lines of pop culture. Can you even name five actors/actresses who are BIG NEWS in the comic circles these days?

Yes, I know not all 'remember them' features are put-downs. But TMZ sure seems like the sort of program that would do a put-down one.

epicFailcon

Wow. First you were out to get TJChurch, now you seem to be hunting me down.

Are you sure you're really as busy as you claim you are? Don't you have school, work, a hot stud to date or more volunteering to do?

Five actors and actresses who are big? Well, you don't have to go much farther than the Cleveland tiki line up from a few weeks ago? Sam Worthington! General Adama! Michael Rossenbaum? There's three red hot people who help made TikiCleveland2009 a huggge success. There's three! Would have been batter if the stuff that Ingenuity had promised pete had come through. Some folks just get no luck at all.

I've read through plenty of 'Member Them's and I'm not seeing the mocking. They're just reminding people that these people are not dead. Nothing wrong with that. And nothing wrong with hiring these hot people to show up at Pop culture Cons!

I...wait...what?

And then, of course, TJChurch needs to get a word in...

TJChurch

Ally's not out to get anyone; Only out to get attention.

---

Then, there's this lulz... Which I'll cut because it's long...

hammer31

I think the focus should be on more COMIC related guests and not B list celebrities. Pete told me he could have had Stan Lee for the show last year but he had already booked Adam West and the rest of the '66 Batman crew. It does not take a genius to realize that Stan Lee is the BIGGEST name in comics and always will be. He told me Stan was around $20,000 to book. It sounds like a lot of money but he was at Pittsburgh this year. And yes, they sold out of the 1000 autograph tickets at $40 each. PLUS, everyone had to pay the $18 admission just to get in. Without anyone else showing up that's $40,000 in autograph money plus $18,000 in admission money for total of $58,000. Not bad for a $20,000 investment. You would then not have to book guests like Margot Kidder, Peter Mayhew etc. etc. etc. If Stan Lee would have been in Niles there would have been 3000-5000 attendees, easily. One big guest is better then a lot of little guests who draw little to nobody. Tikicon should have been slanted more towards the comic/toy aspect for attendees with guests who they want to see. No 12 year old kid who collect toys/comics wants to see Adam West or Malachi Throne. Nobody cares about seeing Jeremy Bulloch unless he is in a Boba Fett costume for the most part.

Stan Lee = $$$$$$$ Comic/Toy shows are huge if done correctly. That is why there are so many more shows of that type then has been autograph shows or Sci Fi shows. Everyone knows Star Wars Celebration is huge but what is the 2nd biggest sci fi con? Give up? Exactly. Everyone knows about San Diego Comic Con, Wizard World Chicago, Philly, Dallas, Dragon Con, Wonder Con, Pittsburgh, Heroes Con, Detroit, etc etc etc.

If you are going to spend thousands of dollars on a guest/guests then get a BIG celebrity. The only comic type people you should get who rival Stan Lee are Jim Lee, Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis or Neil Gaiman. McFarlane never does shows and Alex Ross is another quasi recluse who NEVER does a show. These are people who draw attendees, not Noel Neill(she was at Dark Xmas 2 years ago and had no one even talk to her more then 30 minutes) or Sarah Douglas or Margot Kidder. If more the a few hundred dollars were spent on bringing in these guests then a lot of money was LOST. These are not headliners, but filler guests.

I wonder what entailed the $40,000 that was allegedly needed to run this years show? Mr. Prowse has been at Detroit Comic con and the Pittsburgh Toy show in the last 5 years at least once or twice. If his "fee" was over $1000 plus travel/lodging costs then it was a lost venture business wise. Let's say his total fees come to $5,000 which sound crazy high if you are going to use him as the focal point of a show. The other 2 guests will not draw anyone on their own, they would be filler for the guest list. Again, if anyone spends more then $1,000 total and either then you are asking for failure. The EXPO center is $4000 for the 3 days. Since no real advertising was done yet, you are looking at maybe $10,000-$12,000 being spent. Hopefully no $1500 cake was going to be bought again for 25 people like last years Niles show. Or renting of the Chop House Gazebo for a party that not many people showed up for. Money has to be spent smartly and not frivolously. Where the other $25-30,000 in expenditures would have come from seems nonsensical. Maybe there was an all out advertising blitz that was coming in the next 3 weeks. I don't know. I never got a flyer at either of my 2 comic stores and the show was a month away! Who goes to Hot Topix and/or Buybacks and is interested in that kind of show? 10? 20? 30? Does that pay for a show that was going to cost $40,000?? The Eastwood mall is dead and using that as the focal part of promoting a show is useless. Getting the show on the side of the Expo center and out on the marquee on RT 46 is the spots where you want the word to get out at and the earlier on the better.

More help is needed, both on the advising and planning end. If this show is going to go as planned AND be profitable, then more people need to put in their input and they have to actually know how/what is needed for a con to make money and run smoothly.

hammer31 is Greg, who owns All-American Cards & Comics, downtown (and another shop elsewhere). Greg knows his shit.

Of course...

epicFailcon

I think hammer's ideas are silly and are not in line with the big con, big guest, non-profit thrust of Mr. Smith's thinking.

If you are so scary smart I think you should put on some little, sad, cheap show.

God Bless.

Another staffer calls him out on it...

sabresedge

Hammer has two of the last brick and mortar collectable shops in the area and KNOWS what he's talking about. There has been plenty of little sad, cheap shows around in the past 20 years and he has NOT been any part of them. He's got a great head for business and this is why he's still around. Silly? Quite the opposite.

But that's not enough for epicFailcon!

epicFailcon

Well, if this Hammer guy is so smart, how is it that Mr. Smith went his own way didn't consult a genius like hammer?

I mean, if this guy has solid advice, and Pete knew him, how is it that hammer's ideas or opinions weren't considered for either tiki con?

The proof is in the puddings there. Not good ideas because they weren't acted upon. Who's the greater fool? The fool or the fool who follows? That's from the Bible. Look it up.

God bless

Now, see, I think either Pete didn't ask anyone for advice and just ran the whole thing off the top of his head or he asked for advice and completely disregarded it. Either one wouldn't surprise me.

Part of me has this feeling epicFailcon is actually Josh from the comic store doing some FINE ASS TROLLING and I hope to god it's hime because if it's not...goddamn.

Goddamn.