Boston Comic Con

My biggest gripe is I spent over $300 to be stuck in the very back of the room, in a nook where almost all the traffic to it was blocked off by autograph lines. When all was said and done, I barely paid for my table and hotel room costs. There were points where the nook I was in was so slow you might wait an hour just for someone to look at your table. No one in my area did well, though if you were closer to the dealers and premium artists... in a area where the traffic is not blocked, people seemed to have done fine.


Needless to say, the room layout was atrocious. The autographs should have been where they threw us, where the lines couldn’t block traffic to people who paid to sell there. not the other way around. I see people talking about how this con values creators over guests, and my experience this past weekend left me with a bad taste in my mouth. It is very clear that this con values creators selectively; valuing big names in the industry over smaller, independent artists.

The prices for next year are very high. They went up by about $100.


Overall, there is room for improvement when it comes to organization; you were given a paper bracelet that you cannot take off and need to somehow keep on and in good condition the entire weekend or risk paying $75 to replace it. They did not check IDs when we went to pick up these bracelets, and their food court was nothing more than a buffet style “hot food” line with what was probably school cafeteria grade choosings. 

 I did not have much in the way of interaction with the staff.

While not really BCC’s fault, the location is terrible too— its still being developed and there is construction everywhere. Driving in the area is a nightmare. Additionally, the convention center in general isn’t really ideal to house a comic convention. Parking is also extremely pricey and food options are extremely sparse.

I would advise others to be weary of this convention. This convention will not be my first choice next year; I will be applying to other summer conventions and try to avoid coming back.

LAYOUT: I spent the weekend on the wall of the convention near the 'E' section cove. Those I spoke to in this section did not have a great weekend as this section was dead compared to the rest of the room. On one side of this section was a door leading to the bathrooms - and though it was unlocked, it remained closed and unmarked so no one knew they could use it/where it went. On the other side of the room, the section was blocked by the spotlight artists area which was blocked in with barricades, as well as by the autograph lines. This GREATLY affected traffic. Also, for some reason, it was also noticeably hotter/more humid in this little corner of hell than in the rest of the room.

I know a few artists that had better placement (in the middle of the room) who said they did well. Still, it was $350 for a table this year and it is once again going up. The discounted previous vendor rate is $415. It's literally cheaper to get a table at /SAN DIEGO/ Comic Con.

VENUE: The venue seemed nice enough though I didn't explore it much. There were some cute mini garden/parks, places outside to sit. The silver bus line runs very near to the convention center. If you park, the nearest lot is $34-38 a day for the length of time you're vending.

STAFF: I only had a few interactions with staff, mostly on Thursday night set up. We had to circle the block a few times before they would let us in because it was full. We weren't asked for our name or table number, just let right in, which isn't great security. When we finally got in, the guy at the front kept telling us to wait though the man further down was waving us forward. At check in, we provided IDs though they once again didn't seem to check/care. It was the end of the night so most of the staffers were just hanging out eating pizza. I didn't have a map on hand/didn't know which part of the room we were in and when we asked a staff member they didn't have any maps but told us our spot was in the far left corner. W stands for wall. Walls go around the whole room. It was instead on the far right. We were told we had to be out at 9:45. At 9:30 it was announced that everyone needed to be out in five minutes or that they had tow trucks on standby. Shortly after (and still before 9:45) another of the same announcement threat was made. When we went to leave a man walked next to our car the whole way giving needlessly detailed instructions and talking us through it slowly. It seemed like he wasn't confident that a woman could maneuver a car.

OVERALL: I made enough to cover expenses and then some, but if I can help it, I won't be here again - and if I am it definitely will not be with a full table of my own.