MegaCon once again was held early this year, so I have already attended my first comic convention of the year in February of 2025!
MEGACON 2025
I go to MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, each year because it’s very near where I live these days! It’s a four-day convention that draws a LOT of fan favorites when it comes to guests and pros. This year I managed to talk with writer James Tynion IV, writer Garrett Gunn, artist Scott Hanna, artist Ryan Kincaid, writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson, writer Jim Zub, writer David A. Byrne, artist Jorge Jimenez, writer Charles Soule, and a few others along the way! I even bumped into comics friends in the aisles who also were just there to enjoy the experience!
I still find it odd to be still on the other side of the table. In past years, I’d been helping friends from the selling side. That meant early mornings and late nights from Wednesday to late Sunday, and that also included lugging boxes of stuff there, setting up, talking with people who attended, then tearing down and removing what we had left so we could do it again at the next con.
This year, just like the last three years, I ended up walking the floor, often in Artist Alley. I always eat before we go, which helps me make it through the day. I say “day” because once again we only attended on Friday, which is one of the “quieter” days during MegaCon. I actually got to accomplish what I wanted to do in a few hours, again very similar to previous years.
I always have to warn fans, but if you go on Saturday, get ready for tremendously crowded aisles and such! I heard from friends who went every day that Saturday was once again completely packed, with everyone stopping at various booths, which of course slowed down the foot traffic. That’s to be expected, naturally, because people want to interact with the creators and stars and such!
If you go to buy action figures and comics, you should always be sure to get there as early as you can on Thursday! The later you go, the more picked-through these items will be. The best selection is available as soon as the doors open. Oh, and if you can’t do that, go at the end when vendors are anxious to unload as much as they can so they don’t have to carry it all back home! That’s true of pretty much every convention, not just MegaCon!
One thing that worried me some was that I knew fewer and fewer of the “name” artists in that half-circle that runs around Artist Alley. Am I losing touch with the people best known for creating comics? I have to do a better job of keeping up with the books!
ARTIST ALLEY IN 2025
I often fuss with conventions when they call an area “artist alley” because in many cons, that’s a name for the area that includes not only artists, but writers, publishers, and really anyone who has anything to do with the making of comics.
Unlike last year, though, MegaCon didn’t do a good job of organizing creators into pretty specific locations. Last year, the sign that had Artist Alley above it pretty much exclusively had artists in it. Not so this time. Things were mostly jumbled up, with jewelers next to comics creators and poster artists up and down several aisles. Since I have often made sure I get to Artist Alley in the past, I went to Artist Alley after I traversed the outer rim of that space, which usually has the biggest names in comics there. However, I began to quickly notice that there were really only a few comics creators in that area. Most of it was full of artists who were selling their paintings and other wares that simply were NOT comics! You know, I saw stickers and all kinds of posters and such, but I was very disappointed not to see many comics for sale!
Last year, I noticed that down a nearby aisle was a booth that specifically mentioned IDW Comics. However, the only comics company that I saw this time was Zenescope, which admittedly has a very devoted, although small, fan base. Sigh. No sign of IDW this year. I understand since they are having their financial troubles, but I hoped that other publishers would rise up to fill the space. Nope. It was back to business as usual prior to 2024.
MORE CROWDED THIS YEAR
I’ve read a lot of social media posts about how much busier MegaCon was in 2025. Thursday was noticeably more hectic than 2024, and Friday, the day I always go, was the same. I was constantly having to wait for people to move so I could get where I wanted to go. I commented to several people that there were many parades marching through the aisles, and that meant a long, long wait to move forward, sadly.
I heard Saturday and Sunday were busier than years past as well.
I mean, I don’t begrudge MegaCon for bringing in more fans, which likely meant more ticket sales and more business for the vendors in various areas on the floor. I’d request wider aisles next year, if at all possible.
I do wish people would be more considerate of other fans, but I get it—people have places they want to get to and only a limited time to do it! Other than larger aisles, I don’t have any suggestions for the cons to consider.
What frustrated me most was that I saw only a few booths selling their own comic creations, but the traffic in the aisles was such that I didn’t get to even stop and talk with those people! Next time, I’m going to slam on the brakes so I can at least find out who those creators are!
I always appreciate that MegaCon doesn’t have “comics” in their name like, say, San Diego Comic Con, which I figure someday will simply be called “SDCC” instead. I consider it deceptive advertising if you call it a “comic con” if you only expect 25 percent of your income to come from comic books! If it is media guests that bring in the most money for you, don’t call it a “comic con,” okay?
WHY GO TO A CON?
I still highly recommend attending a comic convention, though. Since this is the first time I’m talking about cons in 2025, I’d like to focus on comic conventions and why they are important on several levels. If you have made your own comic and want to get the word out, a booth at a con can be a very helpful way to let people know about it. Also, if you sell comic-related wares, you have an audience that is very likely interested in the books and such, so a booth can also be a good way to sell your stuff!
The most important reason for going to a con is to make those oh-so-valuable connections. Granted, it’s not NEARLY as much fun attending alone—I’ve done that several times, and it just doesn’t work for me. When it’s just me, I zoom through all the offerings in an hour or so, regardless of the size of the con. Having someone to go with just makes it a more social event.
It’s also fun to interact with creators you admire. It makes it a more personal experience when you buy and read that person’s books later on. You also learn a lot from them when it comes to why they made the choices they did. If you are interested in making your own comic, ask good questions that will save you a lot of time and money as you move forward!
The friends in the industry that I talked with found our conversations turned to the future of the books, of this industry we love. There are several interesting ideas out there, and while we aren’t at a consensus, at least we are talking about what is going on!
It’s also a chance to browse what others have been busy making. I’ve discovered many excellent comics at conventions, and that makes me a better fan!
Moving forward in 2025, I’m once again aiming at attending some local cons as well as Free Comic Book Day on the first Saturday in the month of May. I still hope to get to a bigger con later in the year (as always, hopefully NYCC), but we’ll see! Real life has been getting in the way of comics more and more these days for me!
By the way, in 2026, MegaCon will be held in mid-March, something of a change from the past few years when it was conducted in February. Will that make a difference? We’ll see!
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