The weekend is almost here and New York Comic Con is in full swing. We’ll be Tweeting live from the show Friday night and all day Saturday @graphicpolicy.
ICv2 has announced the final speaker list for the ICv2 Conference: The New Comics Customer, its annual conference held in conjunction with New York Comic Con, and it includes comics, graphic novel, and digital thought leaders, who are gathering to discuss the exciting transformation of the comics audience.
The discussions will range from data-heavy presentations to thoughtful panel discussions, with audience participation encouraged. Here are the sessions at the ICv2 Conference: The New Comics Customer:
ICv2 White Paper
A highlight of the Conference each year, the 2014 ICv2 White Paper will concentrate on the New Comics Customer, and break down the data available from all sources on this growing segment of the market.
Presented by Milton Griepp, CEO, ICv2
The Con Explosion
The rapidly expanding con scene is an important part of the changing audience for comics, a place where potential new customers are mingling with more committed fans, and the opportunities are great. Who are these new attendees, and what does it mean for the medium? Our speakers have data and personal experience to help us find the answers to these questions.
Patrick Bradley, EVP Digital Media & Entertainment, Wizard World, Inc.
Shelton Drum, CEO, Heroes Convention
Lance Fensterman, Senior Vice President ReedPOP
Meg Lemke, Chair, Comics & Graphic Novel Committee at the Brooklyn Book Festival, and Contributing Editor at MUTHA Magazine
Rob Salkowitz, author, writer of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture
Moderated by Heidi MacDonald, comic editor and commentator from The Beat
The New Customer Connection
The new customers get comics and graphic novels in a variety of ways, including digital, e-commerce, and brick and mortar stores. We discuss who these new readers are, where they’re coming form, and what kinds of books they like.
Jim Crocker, General Manager, Modern Myths
Terence Irvins, Graphic Novels and Comics Buyer, Kinokuniya Bookstore, NY
Andrew McIntire, Vice President, Things from Another world
David Steinberger, CEO, comiXology
Tucker Stone, Director, U.S. Sales and Marketing, Nobrow and Flying Eye Books; Managing Partner, Bergen St. Books
Moderated by Milton Griepp, CEO, ICv2
The New Comics and Graphic Novels
The new comics customer wants a different kind of comic, and the creators and publishers that can give it to them are being rewarded. Our panelists share their insights.
Moderated by Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor of Publishers Weekly
For more information on the speakers at the ICv2 Conference, click here.
Time and Place
The ICv2 Conference: The New Comics Customer will take place at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, from 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, October 8th.
The comic convention scene is exploding, both in number of shows and attendance. Who are these hundreds of thousands of new attendees, and what does it mean for show organizers, for exhibitors, and for the audience for the products they sell?
The growth has been exponential, but that’s come with a rapid change in the composition of attendees at some shows. There are a lot more “civilians,” leading at least one con veteran to call going to a con “like going to the mall” for a lot of the people there. Exhibitors are finding the dynamic new environment a difficult one to navigate at times, and that the new audiences require new strategies to be successful.
There’s now a full range of events, from smaller festivals to multi-city tours to new pop-up shows to longtime regionals to the mega-shows in New York and San Diego.
What’s driving the growth, what kinds of people do the different strategies attract, and what does it mean for exhibitors and others who want to sell to these hundreds of thousands of new potential customers?
Try to find the answer at the ICv2 Conference at New York Comic Con in the panel on “The Con Explosion” with this great panel of show organizers and experts:
Patrick Bradley, EVP Digital Media & Entertainment, Wizard World, Inc.
Shelton Drum, CEO, Heroes Convention
Lance Fensterman, Senior Vice President ReedPOP
Meg Lemke, Chair, Comics & Graphic Novel Committee at the Brooklyn Book Festival, and Contributing Editor at MUTHA Magazine
Rob Salkowitz, author, writer of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture
Moderated by Heidi MacDonald, comic editor and commentator from The Beat
The ICv2 Conference: The New Comics Customer will take place at the Jacob Javits Convention Center from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, October 8th.
For more information, including recently added speakers, click here.
ICv2 has announced its initial speaker list for the ICv2 Conference: The New Comics Customer, a special industry event held in conjunction with New York Comic Con. The list includes top executives from comic and graphic novel publishers, convention organizers, digital and physical comic retailers, and other experts, all coming together to discuss the dramatic changes in the comics and graphic novel audience that are transforming the business.
The new comic customers, often outside the teen and young adult male segments that dominated comics for years, are being drawn to comics and graphic novels in new ways, buying them in new formats, including digital, and choosing stories that even a few years ago would not have been able to find sufficient audiences but now are turning into big hits.
The ICv2 Conference will bring together the data and the people that can help explain this phenomenon, the sources of growth, and the prospects for the future. Speakers include Lance Fensterman, the SVP in charge of ReedPOP, which runs New York Comic Con and a host of other pop culture shows; David Steinberger, CEO of comiXology, the leading digital comics company; Ted Adams, CEO of IDW Publishing; Jon Goldwater, Co-CEO of Archie Comics, and a host of other executives and experts.
You can find a full list of speakers, panels, and sessions on the event’s website.
New speakers have been added to the list of thought leaders at Comics Ahead! – The ICv2 Conference at New York Comic Con, which includes top executives, authors, editors, and comic creators. “Each panel has been assembled to offer a variety of vantage points, differing opinions, and the kinds of successful backgrounds that show an ability to discern trends and capitalize on them,” ICv2 CEO and Conference organizer Milton Griepp said. “We’ve got a great group this year, and we expect some terrific exchanges as they discuss the profound issues affecting the future.”
The sessions at the ICV2 Conference are:
The ICv2 White Paper
This ICv2 White Paper will present a comprehensive look at the comics and graphic novel market in print and digital for 2012 and 2013, with an analysis of long and short term trends driving the market.
Presented by Milton Griepp, CEO, ICv2
From Creator to Consumer
The path from comic creators to consumer is being disrupted by technology, new business models, and changing tastes. Webcomics and digital sales, Kickstarter, and closer relationships between creators and their fans are empowering new and emerging business models. How much will these emerging trends change comics and everything based on them in the years ahead? We ask our expert panel.
Calista Brill, Senior Editor, First Second Books
Simon Fraser, artist, runs the ACT-I-VATEcomix Webcomics collective
Dan Manser, Director of Marketing, Diamond Comic Distributors
John Roberts, Co-founder, comiXology
Moderated by Heidi MacDonald, comic editor and commentator from The Beat
Graphic Novels – Growing in a Digital World
Graphic novels, the key to a larger, more diverse audience for comics, are growing again, in a new world in which both print and digital play a role. We look at how a wider range of content, the impact of digital distribution, and the rapidly changing landscape at retail and in libraries can work together to reach a broader, bigger market.
Leyla Aker, Vice President Publishing, Viz Media LLC
Dallas Middaugh, Director, Publisher Services, Random House
Barry Nalebuff, author; consultant; co-writer, Mission in a Bottle; Milton Steinbach Professor at the Yale School of Management.
Rich Johnson, Founder, Brick Road Media, overseeing Penguin’s InkLit imprint, Adjunct Professor, Drexel University
Moderated by Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor of Publishers Weekly
The Rise of Geek Culture
The emerging geek culture market is the #1 North American pop culture trend; and as these important, influential consumers flex their muscles, marketers are taking notice. What does this mean for the future of entertainment, marketing, and the stories that are weaving themselves through American life and beyond? Join our panel of experts as they look ahead.
Gerry Gladston, Co-Owner, Midtown Comics
Shawn Kirkham, Director of Business Development, Skybound (The Walking Dead)
Steve Rotterdam, co-founder, Bonfire Agency
Rob Salkowitz, author, writer of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture
Intro presentation by Ed Catto, co-founder, Bonfire Agency
Moderated by Milton Griepp, CEO, ICv2
For more information on the speakers at the ICv2 Conference, click here.
Comics Ahead! – The ICv2 Conference is a ticketed event for professionals, and will take place at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, October 9.
