Late last night, an e-mail arrived from one “Fredric Wertham” detailing the negative situation brewing from Wizard to host a convention in Minneapolis. It’d normally be just another e-mail in an inbox, but what the press release posited was that Wizard, a company with a history of taking down smaller cons (which we’ll get to), was out to do it again against the Midwest Comic Book Association, a completely volunteer-run local organization that has been running conventions in their area for 25 years, and their upcoming Spring Con 2014.
I’d also note before going further that “Fredric Wertham” is the worst pseudonym to pick perhaps in the world when trying to do justice on behalf of the comic community, but c’est la vie.
So as the press release claims, Wizard World will be holding a new convention two weeks ahead of Minneapolis’ regular bi-annual convention, held by the MCBA:
Every year for the past 25 years the MCBA has sponsored two public events. One is the SpringCon show, a two day show traditionally held in May and a one day show called FallCon in October. So out of all of the dates available to Wizard, they choose to schedule their premier event in the Twin Cities on May 3 & 4, 2014. Just two weeks ahead of the weekend SpringCon which is held May 17 & 18, 2014). Seems like the “new Wizard” is just like the old Wizard.
The press release goes on to have further quotes from MCBA spokes person Nick Postiglione supporting these claims and discussing dialogue between the MCBA and Wizard World. To that end, we reached out to Postiglione to verify these claims — and as such, Nick has been kind enough to state that while he does not know who “Fredric Wertham” is or where this e-mail is coming from, all of this is indeed true.
From Postiglione:
Kind of a surprising e-mail. I wasn’t aware it had been put out. Although unsure of the author, I can confirm the content is in fact true. I’m sure the news will break further when Wizard finally goes public with their announcement regarding their Minneapolis event in the near future (they have already spoken to several dealers about this event).
Comics Beat’s Heidi MacDonald did a good deal of legwork already on this, and according to Wizard spokesperson John Macaluso who spoke to Heidi, “Wertham” states a few things incorrectly — including but not limited to that Wizard did not know about the MCBA show (which seems a bit disingenuous given Postiglione’s claim to us) and that Wizard had no choice on their dates. From Heidi’s article:
Whatever the origin on the conflict, Macaluso repeated that he has no axes to grind with any other shows. “Scheduling conflicts do no one any good,” he told the Beat. “We’re trying to go into more cities, and we do everything in our power not to compete with anybody. Why would we want conflict? It would reduce the amount the attendees going to both shows.”
Not to be snippy, but Macaluso’s statement is kind of boilerplate press release stuff, exactly what you’d expect to hear from them. They may not want conflict, but conflict is what has been created — expressly around the issue of attendees having to pick between which show they’d go to: hometown hero or big corporation.
As such, Pastiglione addresses this:
Continued belowI think the most compelling notion in the release you sent me is about the community and competition elements. In fact, there was much positive anticipation amongst our staff of volunteers that Wizard was coming to town. We thought we could do what we do best and help them broaden the reach of comic books into the greater community and to be sure it was a bitter pill to discover that not only would there be no cooperation, but in fact they were going to come right after us. Minneapolis/St. Paul is a big sand box and it’s too bad that one of the kids has decided to be a bully. More than anything else it’s about missed opportunity.
Sadly, given my last direct discussion with Peter Katz at Wizard, I’m not entirely sure there exists an easy way out of this unfortunate situation. Their public platitudes include statements such as “we do everything in our power not to compete with anybody” and “We’re not looking to cause chaos,” Meanwhile Wizards historical methodologies are well known and speak for themselves. Ultimately the differences in our respective operating procedures are profound. One, based on years of predatory practice, is about self serving and revenue generation and ours is about building a healthy comic book community. It’s been said that talk is cheap and it takes cash money to buy comic books!
After shutting down their magazine line and moving to a digital subscription and convention outlet only in 2011, Wizard World has become notoriously difficult to get in touch with. That is, beyond just the aforementioned platitudes. Wizard Entertainment and Wizard World is pretty huge, and their magazine is responsible for a lot of good will in comics and created fans. So it seems strange that the company would act this way to another organization whose only goal is to promote comics, especially to their local area.
However, this isn’t surprising as earlier this year, Wizard went to Con War against Emerald City Comic Con, which from my memory caused a lot of issues, especially for Joe Parrington, ECCC’s PR Representative. Luckily ECCC went off without a hitch (I was there; it was a fantastic show), but that initial issue and antagonism did cause feathers to be aggressively ruffled.
It’s a shame that Wizard World ostensibly offers such passive aggressive action against local cons to the point that as an entity they come off as bullies. It’s especially a shame since, as Postiglione notes, there is more room to be done as a community together than against one another. I guess that’s just not part of Wizard World’s mission statements.
For posterity, here is the press release styled thing that “Fredric Wertham” sent out in its unedited entirety, which spurred our initial discussion with the MCBA:
Press Release
WIZARD STRIKES AGAIN
Seems the “New Wizard” is Same as the old Wizard
Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Saint Paul, MN (August 12, 2013) – The New York based Wizard World convention organization has once again decided to reach out and attempt to bully a long standing regional convention group. This time it’s the Twin Cities based (Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN) all volunteer, not for profit Midwest Comic Book Association that is Wizards target.
Oddly enough the MCBA, an all volunteer, not for profit group was initially excited to hear the rumors that Wizard was coming to town. For 25 years they’ve been dedicated to providing promotions, service and support to the comic book industry and the creators/retailers who make their living in it. They viewed Wizards arrival and high industry profile as an opportunity to grow the community and looked forward to working with them in a support capacity as well. The more the merrier. Unbeknownst to the MCBA, Wizard evidently has other plans.
Every year for the past 25 years the MCBA has sponsored two public events. One is the SpringCon show, a two day show traditionally held in May and a one day show called FallCon in October. So out of all of the dates available to Wizard, they choose to schedule their premier event in the Twin Cities on May 3 & 4, 2014. Just two weeks ahead of the weekend SpringCon which is heldMay 17 & 18, 2014). Seems like the “new Wizard” is just like the old Wizard.
Recently, Nick Postiglione, one of the lead MCBA volunteers recently spoke with Peter Katz, Senior VP of Business Affairs& Development for Wizard who informed him “we had no idea that we were scheduling so close to the MCBAs event” and further continued that the proposed space (the Minneapolis Convention Center) “Only had the first weekend in May available to us”. The MCBA SpringCon dates for 2014 have been posted for quite some time on numerous industry websites and the MCBA website as well. In addition, one quick phone call inquiry to a space rental employee about space availability at the Minneapolis Convention Center put the lie to his availability statement. Evidently, the first week in May was specifically and strategically chosen.
Another interesting tidbit casually mentioned by Postiglione “About a year ago, we were approached by Wizard to see if we were for sale or absorption” he continued “I told them that given the fundamental structural differences in our respective organizations, that probably wouldn’t be possible. But we’d be happy to help their efforts in establishing a presence here. I just had no idea that they actually intended to land right on top of us. It’s an unfortunate situation, a huge disappointment for many of our volunteers, and ultimately a missed opportunity for the various communities we serve as well.”
There you have it. A group that has donated over 30 tons of food to the food shelves, over $100,000.00 to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the MN Lupus Foundation and the MN Literacy council, as well as promoting retailer and creator events and other regional events is about to be bullied about by the corporate Wizard World convention machine. Again, seems like the “new Wizard” is just like the old Wizard.
Continued belowMost people in the comic book world are acutely aware of Wizards history of predatory convention and comic book industry practices. Wizards will claim it is not so and that the “new Wizard” is a “much different organization” than that of years past. This is simply not true. This situation perpetrated by Wizard is a willful and purposeful attempt to corner a market and squash the local competition regardless of the negative effects it would have on the regional community and highlights, once again, Wizards self serving, predatory instincts.
To be sure, we live and work in a free market system based on competitive principles. Competition generally serves us well. But, given the unique nature of the comic book industry, the situation is definitely unique and traditionally acts as such. It’s a multi layered community composed of many different, and ever evolving, wildly diverse creative and financial elements. Minneapolis St. Paul is the 15th largest media market in the United States and should easily be able to handle two events of this type. However, that’s not in question here. What is in question is Wizards ethics.
It’s all about timing and making a proactive choice to help build a community or deciding to simply show up, bully the locals and pillage what others have built. The question is obvious “Is there a difference between having the right to do something as opposed to doing what’s right?” Evidently everyone, except Wizard, knows the answer to that question is “Yes!”
While this issue may or may not be concerned with your specific geographical area or affect the way your participate in the world of comic books right now, make no mistake, it is your community here that is under assault and this is your call to action! Vote with your dollars and your heart when choosing what events to support and attend. Please e-mail or call Peter Katz at Wizard and let him know where you stand regarding this type of predatory market behavior. Your community needs you to be heard!
Based on what the MCBA has stated in public, if Wizard did the right thing regarding their event dates, they would welcome them with open supportive arms and continue to help build a bigger, better, healthier comic book community for all of us.
FW – The Super Anti Wizard Guy
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Special thanks to the peacemakers at the MCBA who provided the information used in this press release.
Peter Katz – Wizard World – peter@wizardworld.com– (646) 801-5572
