“The resurgence of major cons was marked by the return to the Javits Center of ReedPop’s New York Comic Con in October. The event evinced a number of changes from past events, some of which are likely temporary while others may mark a permanent change to the con landscape.”

“Comic-Con International: San Diego also went online with more than 350 sessions of online programming. Unlike the on-site event, where each year the demand for access far exceeds the number of available tickets, the online content was free and open to all.”

“This year Comic-Con International: San Diego celebrated the pop culture convention’s 50th anniversary. To observe the anniversary, many of this year’s programming sessions looked back on the history of the event. It was a year to review the past and marvel at the future.”

“Perhaps this type of virtual experience will engender excitement for space exploration in a new generation and our nation — our planet — will once again come together around a common goal to explore new frontiers and look forward to an optimistic future.”

“The highly successful business of popular culture is based, in part, on a medium that was denigrated and despised throughout much of its history — comic books. Knowledge@Wharton technology and media editor Kendall Whitehouse reflects on how the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, seeks to rectify that history.”

“Rogers jokingly identified himself as the ‘president of the 503(c) non-profit that runs this controlled chaos that is Comic-Con.’ Through the dedicated efforts of Rogers, the chaos of the annual fan fest did, indeed, remain well-controlled and filled with joy and adventure for attendees.”

“Stan Lee was the most famous individual in the history of comic books — a testament to his talent as a writer and editor, his longevity and his skills at self-promotion. His writing and editorial approach to the superhero genre created a universe of enduring fictional characters, elevated comic books from children’s entertainment to adult fare, and helped to establish Marvel Comics as a publishing powerhouse.”

“Wizard World Comic Con returned to the Pennsylvania Convention Center this past weekend for the company’s 19th annual Philadelphia pop culture convention. Despite the show’s comic con moniker, the focus of the event is largely on celebrity autographs and panel sessions.”

“Since taking the helm of the company three years ago, Maatta has sought to reduce expenses while bolstering revenues from the company’s live events.”

“From its modest origins as a small, single-day show in Asbury Park in 2012, East Coast Comic Con has expanded to a three-day festival held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ.”

“While San Diego Comic-Con takes the spotlight for featuring top-flight Hollywood talent, particularly in support of major motion pictures, in recent years New York Comic Con has excelled in panels for popular television series.”

“ReedPop Moves into Wizard World’s Turf in Philadelphia.”

“Comic-Con International: San Diego is a massive enterprise, and everyone’s experience is unique, making an overall assessment difficult. Nevertheless, the consensus seemed to be that this year felt different from recent years — that it was, in some sense, weird (but mostly in a good way).”

“If you have a television show filled with intense violence and gore, how do you construct an immersive, participatory fan experience based on the world of the show?”

“In the mammoth Hall H, during the Q&A for the forthcoming film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, a young fan asked the on-stage cast, ‘If you could use your magic in the real world for good, what would you do?’ Over in some of the smaller rooms at Comic-Con, it was apparent that change would come not through magic spells, but by remembering the lessons of the past and applying them to the future.”

沃顿知识在线的肯德尔·怀特豪斯（Kendall Whitehouse）在这篇专栏中为您详解今年的圣迭戈国际动漫展，剖析展会上一些关注真实世界的艺术会议

“Given these varied approaches to creating a buzz-worthy experience, what should a marketer do to stand out from the crowd? For Amazon the answer is apparently ‘everything’.”

“Comic-Con International: San Diego is many things — a pop culture convention, an opportunity to purchase action figures and rare comic books, a place to don your favorite superhero costume, and a scene to spot celebrities. It’s also a major marketing event for movie, television and publishing companies.”

“Every comic con is different. While last month’s independently-run East Coast Comic Con focused on comics creators and 1960s popular culture, this past weekend’s Philadelphia Wizard World Comic Con spotlighted celebrity appearances and musical entertainment.”

“CEO John D. Maatta discussed the company’s approach to reducing costs while sustaining revenue and how he intends to diversify the company by supplementing Wizard’s live event business with media production.”

“This year’s show offered a particularly strong lineup of comics creators, including several storied writers and artists whose careers reach back to comic books’ Silver Age.”

“By any measure, New York Comic Con is an enormous enterprise. The event outgrew the confines of the Javits Center several years ago and now holds sessions at a number of additional venues around the city.”

“It was a massively coordinated immersive marketing experience and alternate reality game that blended the TV show’s fictional narrative with the real world and let everyone play a role.”

“The attention to detail of the entire Westworld Experience is a prime example of how to recruit brand advocates by delighting fans.”

“When a convention reports attendance figures, it’s often not clear which method is being used. All these approaches are valid, but they’re different, making comparisons fraught with uncertainty.”

“While many people were blithely enjoying lunch at the Red Wheelbarrow BBQ, observant fans noticed clues to something deeper behind the Mr. Robot activation.”

“San Diego Comic-Con is a massive event. Each year presents attendees with a challenging exercise to determine which of the many simultaneous activities they can afford to miss. Here is an overview of San Diego Comic-Con 2017 from my perspective.”

“Beyond the fictional trips to a galaxy far, far away, however, Comic-Con also offered a number of panel sessions focusing on science in the real world.”

“This year’s most talked about offsite marketing “experiences” depended in whole or in part on physically constructed environments populated by actors rather than computer-generated simulations.”

“Wizard World Comic Con returned to Philadelphia with a show geared to expanding the audience beyond the usual comic book and superhero crowd.”

“As VR plays an expanding role in marketing, expect to see more of this layered approach to reach a broadest possible audience for these rich, interactive experiences.”

“In recent years, New York Comic Con has become a major event for television programming including broadcast, cable, and streaming platforms.”

“Reports on San Diego Comic-Con always read like the story of the blind men describing an elephant. The scope of the event is so broad, its scale so large, that each attendee can only experience a small sliver of the long weekend’s activities. This was Comic-Con International: San Diego 2016 from my perspective.”

“This year VR was back in a big way and evinced a number of emerging trends in the field: blending virtual experiences with real-world environments, exploring the alternatives of interactive versus cinematic virtual experiences, and broadcasting these virtual experiences beyond the scope of the con.”

“Whatever it may indicate about the possibilities of VR for media marketing, the Mr. Robot Virtual Reality Experience may also point to the future of rich, multi-threaded storytelling across different media.”

“Rather than camping out for hours in hopes of entering Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con, check out some of the events in the smaller rooms. You might gain an early glimpse of the future.”

“Due to the enormous popularity of San Diego Comic-Con, acquiring a ticket to the annual pop culture event is difficult. If you are lucky enough to snag a ticket, however, getting a hotel room may be even more challenging.”

“Newly appointed chief executive Maatta appears more focused on doubling down than retrenching. Maatta rejected the idea that the business required a course correction, stating he intends to ‘amp it up’ with ‘better marketing and more content creation.’ ”

“Beyond the scale of the event, the range and the quality of programming at ReedPop’s New York Comic Con continue to secure the event’s position as the premiere East Coast pop culture event.”

“You hear some people complaining that Comic-Con…has become too ‘Hollywoodized’… If you do a little thought experiment and take away all the Hollywood stuff — all the movies, all the television — I think you’d still be left with more comic book events — panels, speakers, signings — than almost anywhere else. In some ways [San Diego Comic-Con] is like three or four different conferences, they’re just all happening at the same time in the same place.”

“Knowledge@Wharton’s technology and media editor, Kendall Whitehouse, recently returned from San Diego Comic-Con, where he took a look at some of the marketing campaigns that take place not only during the annual fan festival, but also in the weeks leading up to it.”

“This year’s Comic-Con International: San Diego was a mix of the new and the familiar, the wonderful and the weird, the carefully planned and the unexpectedly serendipitous. Here are highlights of Comic-Con 2015 from my perspective.”

“But Kendall Whitehouse says virtual reality is the latest thing — he’s the technology and media editor for Knowledge@Wharton, the business school’s online journal. “One of the things that’s characteristic of Comic-Con is the people that come here want something they’re not going to get elsewhere.”

“While there is no corner Comic-Con that isn’t crammed with people, there are benefits to be gained from being a contrarian. Going against the flow can lead to wonderful moments and a less stressful con experience.”

“If the current mania for pop culture is poised to plateau, there was no sign of it at this past weekend’s Special Edition: NYC.”

“As pop culture becomes increasingly mainstream and comic book characters appear in everything from movies and TV shows to graphic novels, events like BookCon offer much for those who love both books and comics.”

“Wizard World, which hosts more than two dozen comic cons around the U.S. each year, returned to the Philadelphia Convention Center this past weekend with Philadelphia’s largest pop culture convention.”

“The fact that production companies now see New York Comic Con as a platform for major announcements and cast appearances may be more significant than the attendance numbers. These are the hallmarks of an influential pop culture event.”

“Tables where fans could have works signed by writers and artists extended well beyond the Artist Alley section to throughout the show floor, making Baltimore Comic-Con an ideal setting for interacting with comics creators.”

“With two-dozen simultaneous panel sessions, a large exhibition hall, movie screenings, and acres of media advertising — plus the myriad of independently-run offsite events — any attendee can only experience a small slice of array the pop culture festivities that take place over the extended weekend. Here’s how Comic-Con International: San Diego 2014 looked from my perspective.”

“To give you an idea of the impact on the local San Diego Economy, the next biggest conference the Convention Center holds is about one-eight the size of San Diego Comic Con.”

“This year, several high-profile marketing efforts went virtual, using state-of-the-art virtual reality hardware to place viewers in the middle of the action, with four major marketing events featuring the Oculus Rift ‘4D’ technology from Oculus VR.”

“It’s a common occurrence: I tell a friend I’m going to San Diego Comic-Con and receive the reply, ‘Oh, yeah. I went to the one in Philly….’ It’s awkward explaining that yes, you went to a comic con, but not what is generally considered the comic con: Comic-Con International: San Diego.”

“As you’re jostling through the crowd on the show floor at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, be gracious to the next costumed character you run into. It just might be your favorite celebrity.”

“With the planned expansion of the San Diego Convention Center still a distant hope, perhaps one option for the future of San Diego and other large Cons is to ‘go long’ — that is, spread the event over more days.”

“CCI hopes this scheme will reduce the panic and confusion caused by thousands of prospective attendees feverishly clicking in hopes of landing at the front of the line to purchase tickets. The announcement was met with the expected range of responses, from relief to outrage.”

“At some point, the current pop culture craze will hit saturation and the growth of fan conventions will slow or begin to decline. The current trend, however, is still markedly upward. Wizard World alone increased their footprint in the U.S. by expanding from eight shows last year to 16 this year with more to be announced.”

“In contrast to the New York Comic Con ReedPop hosts each fall — which includes the full range of pop culture topics including movies and television programs — Special Edition: NYC is focused on comic books.”

“It was an overabundance of options for pop culture aficionados in the greater New York City region this past weekend, with three shows competing for attention. Despite the competition, New York Comic Fest assembled an impressive line-up of comic book creators.”

“Asbury Park Comic Con returned to the New Jersey shore in a new venue with expanded offerings.”

“This year’s New York Con evidenced two trends — one disheartening, one encouraging — at the opposite poles of Con culture.”

“For comic book fans who bemoan the encroaching influence of Hollywood on the major comic cons, there are a number of small, local events that carry on the spirit of the original comic book conventions.”

“While digital distribution has roiled the newspaper, book publishing and music industries, a number of companies involved with comic books — from traditional publishers to new start-ups — have embraced digital distribution.”

“Each person who attends Comic-Con International: San Diego has a unique experience. With the large number of simultaneous activities from which to choose, everyone finds their own path through the festivities. Here is an overview of San Diego Comic-Con 2013 from my perspective.”

“In the marketing arena that is Comic-Con International San Diego, the major Hollywood movie studios and television networks pull out all the stops to gain the attention of the 130,000-plus fans that descend on the city each July. At this year’s Comic-Con, several major companies hoped to entrance fans with immersive walkthrough environments.”

“And among the thousands of reporters here are folks like Kendall Whitehouse, the technology and media editor for an online publication of the Wharton School. Yes, that Wharton School — the graduate business program for the University of Pennsylvania…. [As] Whitehouse said, ‘[Popular culture] is a big business!’”

“With San Diego Comic-Con beginning this week, fans of comic books, video games, and science fiction and fantasy movies and TV shows are getting excited — and stressed out. Fortunately, experienced Comic-Con fans are available to help.”

“Kendall Whitehouse takes a look at the hubbub surrounding the San Diego event and considers how the show might expand in the future.”

“The trend to ride the rising wave of geek chic shows little signs of slowing. Nerd culture is no longer purely the domain of the young and socially-challenged. The crowd at the con included people of all types and ages — young and old; adults, children and families. What was once a market niche is becoming mainstream. And where audiences go, business follows — and that includes comic cons”

“Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con brought much of the razzle-dazzle of a large pop culture exhibition to the Mid-Atlantic region.”

“If Asbury Park Comic Con continues to grow, it may play a small role in helping to revive the area’s economy. After suffering from decades of decline — poignantly captured in songs by Bruce Springsteen – Asbury Park was struggling to gain its economic footing when super-storm Sandy dealt a devastating blow to the Jersey shore.”

“Unlike many of the larger comic cons, which are chiefly focused around mainstream comics and popular culture, the Locust Moon fest carries on the tradition of the former Philadelphia Alternative Comic Con in showcasing alternative/fringe/indie/art comics and zines.”

“Some of the most enjoyable moments at Comic Con are found not in the scheduled programming but, rather, in the unplanned moments.”

“As geek culture goes mainstream, mainstream vendors are striving to tap into the nerd zeitgeist.”

“Although the New York Times talked about a sense of “gloom” pervading the halls of Comic-Con this year, people I spoke with were optimistic – both in terms of the business outlook and the mood of the crowd.”

“The increasing seriousness with which popular culture is being taken is an important aspect of the evolution of an industry that is now reflecting on its history and facing challenges for its future. But seriousness is not gloom. And many fans find joy in the darkness.”

“Kendall Whitehouse is director of new media at the Wharton School. From the convention floor, he [said] the studios that are there are still packing Comic-Con’s 65-hundred seat theater with eager audiences.”

“Comic-Con’s increasing emphasis on movies and television reflects the trend in the entertainment industry at large. While comic books no longer dominate popular culture as they did in the 1940s and early 1950s, they are a major influence on Hollywood.”

“The version of the story Simon spun at New York Comic Con was long and rambling, often skipping around from point to point. But, even if his narrative did meander, his memory of the event – after close to a century – was clear and sharp. To the admiring audience, he must have seemed much like the character in his own story: aged – even a bit doddering – yet still an icon of an earlier era of heroism.”

“The full history of comic books was on display at the New York event, including a panel session with Captain America co-creator Joe Simon (just three days past his 98th birthday), a session on ‘Will Eisner’s The Spirit and Bob Kane’s The Batman,’ and an announcement of a new comic book series from famed comic book impresario Stan Lee.”

“Perhaps the geeks shall inherit the earth after all. If so, Comic-Con is the beachhead for that transformation.”

“Beyond his own work, Robinson taught and inspired other creative artists. He was an early faculty member at the School of Visual Arts in New York. There he taught, among others, artist Steve Ditko who went on to co-create with Stan Lee the characters of Spider-Man and Dr. Strange.”

“It’s impossible for any individual to capture the full experience of Comic-Con. Here are highlights of the event from my viewpoint: 345 photos taken over five days.”

“Underground movements continually evolve, exploring the edges of art to create something new and unusual. As fringe culture becomes mainstream, artists and fans seek out alternate creative avenues and give rise to a new avant-garde. At Comic-Con, in the smaller meeting rooms, away from the blockbuster panels in Hall H and the other the huge auditoriums, the next pop culture trends are likely to emerge.”

“Rather than hang out in Hall H in the San Diego Convention Center all day, venture into the smaller meeting rooms on the fringes of the conference and seek out the small, independent productions to discover what gems may be hiding there.”

“In a world where people switch the TV channel the instant a commercial appears, here was a group of individuals lined up to participate in an advertising campaign – the details of which were deliberately obscure. Welcome to the future of marketing: advertising as entertainment.”

“One of the ad campaigns at this year’s WonderCon was a transmedia event jointly promoting Marvel Studios’ upcoming film Thor and the Acura automobile. Acura is apparently the official automobile of S.H.I.E.L.D., the fictional spy agency in the Marvel universe. According to Variety, this is the first film partnership for the luxury car company, for which advertising agency RPA has crafted a multifaceted marketing campaign — one that came knocking on my hotel door the first morning of the conference.”

“Photos from WonderCon 2011 are available in my Flickr photostream — 241 photos covering all three days from the opening on Friday through the close on Sunday afternoon.”

“When he told this tale at New York Comic Con, Uslan looked out at the audience and emphasized that when he was their age, he was ‘sitting in the same chairs that you are sitting in right now.’ He concluded: ‘If you’ve got the passion, if you’ve got the drive, if you’re willing to [tolerate] a high level of frustration, you can succeed. I was no different than any of you in this room — and if I could do it, there’s no reason you can’t do it.'”

“The lesson of The Dark Knight is if you respect the integrity of the character and have a filmmaker who’s passionate about it, with a vision for it, who can execute it, then that’s what you do. Otherwise…all you will do is continue to violate the characters.”

“Sometimes you’re like, ‘Can you just make a frickin’ movie! Can it not be a franchise and a comic book and a bobblehead? Can the characters just matter?’“

“We are now in such a homogenized, globalized, monopolized entertainment system where studios are swallowing all independent producers and productions. And they’re swallowing each other. Eventually there will just be Gap films and McDonald’s films. And that will be it.”