FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention

One would think that after ten plus years of putting on this convention, they'd have at least quasi-competent managers to handle entrance logistics. You prepay for the tickets, wait months to attend, and then get treated like diseased cattle waiting in the hot sun for nearly three hours even after arriving early only to find out that lack of staff direction led fans to an unnecessary half hour loop while a dozen on break staff simply watched without a word to confused attendees. Even inside, the process is understaffed and frustrating.

That was bad enough, but now, authors, who once were treated well, are now offered very few specialized panels and those few that are offered were stuffed away in dinky rooms unable to accommodate more than 20% of those who stood in line. After missing four panels because I attended the previous panel on the other side of the building, I spent a lot of time at the awesome vendor floor.

I have no desire to attend again. It's too poorly organized to make it worth the money.

Coming off the heels of 2024, this was my second year in a row selling in FanX Salt Lake's artist alley. This convention is unique for its Thursday-Saturday weekend, but it's still quite comparable to regular Friday-Sunday weekends. I purchased a corner table both times, and I made a decent enough profit to possibly return a third year, but these premium prices are becoming increasingly questionable. After fees, the corner table costed $505, and they don't provide a second table to actually turn the space into a corner booth. This wouldn't be the end of the world, but they didn't provide pipe and drapes this year (which has its pros and cons of course), yet they still offered end cap tables... which was an awful choice.

The layout was actually insane; corner artists had their back right up against the edge of the end cap tables, and the end cap artists were flanked by the corner artists' backdrop displays - effectively boxing them in anyway and becoming completely invisible to customers walking by. Sales were drastically affected for some individuals, so almost the entire artist alley was playing musical chairs to get into a more manageable spot. If an island's corners and end caps both needed extra display space or table extension, displays were at risk of getting knocked down (and becoming a fire hazard since the end caps were also the exit spots). Corner tables were also completely exposed to the aisles on the side, which was uncomfortable and made theft a big concern.

Although the pipe and drapes made end caps even more pitiful in 2023, this year's terrible layout affected everyone this year. This convention absolutely needs to stop offering end cap tables. Prospective artists NEED to ignore the allure of a "premium table" and just go for an inline table.

And overall, the sales were down across the board compared to last year. I'm not sure if the sudden change in FanX leadership is a factor. Just consider keeping your costs as low as possible if you're not local - and maybe pass on this convention if you can go to another event on the same weekend.

This is the second best convention I have ever gone to. I ended up with a "dealers alley" table which seemed to be a mix of dealers and artists but that was all fine. Check in was really easy but it was a little tricky finding the load in area. This is definitely one of those conventions where you just need to circle the building until you find it.

My main merch is shot glasses and although people were apologizing for the Utah drinking laws (I still haven't looked them up lol) I did really well. People loved my items and again this was my second best convention of the year. I will absolutely be coming again.

My only complaint would be that there was a stage where they were doing shows here and there which made it sometimes impossible to talk to anyone so you'd have to pause your conversation until the volume dropped. I'd also be sure you bring food for yourself or have a helper who can get you some. I'm stuck solo usually.

But I digress! I will absolutely be returning to this convention!

Late review. I personally made great sales compared to the average amount I make at conventions. It was double my average profit. Some artists were not making the best money because of where they were placed in the artist alley, and some of those artists were those who paid extra for a larger table or booth. The crowds were thick with many attendees. I'd recommend it based on my positive experience, but be aware it could be a hit or miss depending on your table placement.