It all started when I read about how some webcomic artists decided to throw a little get-together for other folks of their ilk. The New England Webcomics Weekend, as it had come to be known, started off small and became a monster of an event, attracting many creators of popular webcomics and hundreds of their fans. Other people were commenting on how they wished they could have made it over there, and were envious of those who did. I certainly wished I could have made it... but this was put together on very short notice - about a month or two from concept to completion - so that didn't leave me much time to plan for a trip to Massachusetts. I was out of a job at that moment in time, anyway (not to mention I had another local convention I was getting ready for).
But a webcomic-specific meetup was a good idea... and one of the New England thing's organizers did make a statement saying they hoped that this would spawn similar events across the country. So I figured, why not do a Dallas Webcomics Weekend? I brought this up with a webcomicking friend of mine, Michael Moreno. He was all gung-ho about the idea, so we decided to seriously go through with it.
It's not often that I get to organize a large-scale event such as this. I had always wanted to do some kind of entertainment-related event... ever since I was a kid, even. Not many people know this, but back when I was 10 or 11, I put together a little event for the kids on my street on the 4th of July, and called it the Independence Day Festival. It wasn't much of a festival, just some makeshift games, a couple of puppet shows, some play areas and a wagon ride. But I liked entertaining people and giving them a good time in whatever form I could conjure up. And this was a good opportunity to start organizing stuff like that again.
First off: what to call our webcomic convention type thing. At first we were gonna call it just that: Dallas Webcomics Weekend. We were already publicizing it as that, and were busy putting together the website, when I got a message from Meredith Gran, one of the New England organizers... she had secured the rights to "Webcomics Weekend" as a brand name, and she would prefer we didn't use that in our event name. And I wouldn't blame her... the "Webcomics Weekend" was a hot commodity, and that was a smart move on her part to trademark it. So after a little brainstorming, I came up with: Dallas Webcomics Expo, or "DWEX" for short.
Next came where to hold this expo. This is where I got sticker shock... the hotels, convention centers and civic centers we started with were averaging $3,000-$4,000 per day. I was just about to settle on a site by DFW Airport that seemed reasonable... when in stepped my good friend Jonathan Caustrita,
Tiki Coladas author AND sales manager for the Southfork Hotel in Plano. He said he could offer his hotel's largest event space for half the cost of where I was gonna go. I jumped at that offer... and made him part of the management for DWEX as well.
Then there was the matter of getting the word out to artists, comic book dealers and other exhibitors. I fired off dozens of e-mails to the creators of all the webcomics I read on a daily basis, as well as some of the most popular webcomics on the internet. If I knew of any comic creators that lived in or near the Dallas-Fort Worth area, I sent them e-mails as well. I knew I wouldn’t get many takers, given the fact that I was looking for table dwellers only a few months in advance of the event, but I was still motivated by how fast the New England event was put together. Eventually we sold out of all our artist tables; there were only a couple of takers for merchant spaces, though.
I knew one thing we wanted to have for the expo was panel discussions. I put the word out about coming up with ideas for panels, and we had a few good ideas come in. I didn't know how we would manage these panels... but I soon got a message from a guy named Phil Vecchio, saying he was interested in organizing or helping out with the panels. I told him if he wanted to take over panel management, we would give his website
Webcomics Advocates full sponsorship of the panels, including a mention of it in the program and on the website.
I knew some folks would bring their kids, so I decided to give them something to do while at DWEX. I put together a kids' area complete with markers, pencils and specially designed flyers for them to draw their own comics on and take home with them. There were other things I wanted to do for the expo - such as an "art jam", a costume contest, an art auction or other giveaways - but we honestly didn't have the time or money to put them together. But we had the kids' area and the panels, and that was a good start.
Finally the day arrived for DWEX. Once the doors opened, there were a couple of people eager to get in, but it would be maybe half an hour before others showed up. I had a panic attack... what if it was like this all day? How would we pay back the hotel if we didn't make enough? What would I tell Kristi? What would everyone think of us? But as more people entered the ballroom, I gradually calmed down. And eventually I enjoyed myself the rest of the day, talking with the other webcomickers, managing the door money, sitting in on a couple of panels and tending to other urgent business.
When all was said and done, we were able to pay the hotel in full and even have a good chunk of change left over (just over $100 in fact). About 140 people paid for admission... while that would seem like light attendance, most everyone there said that this was a pretty good turnout for an inaugural event. So that was quite reassuring to me. Also, some well-known cartoonists - syndicated cartoonists no less - happened to drop by: Hector Cantu and Carlos Castellanos, makers of "Baldo", said they were in town for the day, so I gave them a table to sell and sign stuff at. And Bill Hinds, maker of "Tank McNamara" and "Cleats", showed up as well, just to walk around and talk with some of the other artists.
Overall, I'm pleased with how DWEX turned out. And everyone (well, ALMOST everyone) had a good time while they were there. One thing's for sure... we're gonna be better organized (not to mention better publicized) for the next DWEX in 2010. In fact, we'll start planning for it in a couple of weeks. I hope everyone who took part in the first DWEX returns for the next one. And I hope we can add new faces to the roster too.
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thomasoverbeck's journal
