14 Days Until HeroesCon 2010

HeroesCon 2010 begins two weeks from today. With fourteen days to go:

• A Google search for HeroesCon still takes you to the old location on the web site. I mentioned this in September, and there's still no redirect.
  
  
• A list of exhibitors for this year's convention has not been published. In fact, only late last night was it announced that this would be coming, "pretty soon."
  
  
• On the "promotional" page of the convention site, there's a note that reads, "Coming soon--we'll be building a number of 2010 banners! Stay tuned!" All you'll find on the page are 2009 banners, though. So if you're a creator, independent artist, or exhibitor who wanted to promote the fact that you'll be at HeroesCon this year on your own site, I hope you were able to make your own banner. I don't know how long you're supposed to, "stay tuned."

I know that it takes a lot of work to put on an event like this. I realize everyone involved is busy. This stuff comes across as amateurish, though, and they've done a better job in years past. Admission prices were increased last year, and vendors are charged $700-$850 for a booth on the convention floor. A small press table is $300. These are not insignificant sums of money. In addition to the $30 for a weekend pass, you also want attendees to spend plenty of loot while they're inside. Looking at all of this, though, one is left with the impression that the organizers aren't doing everything they could in the way of promotion. Whipping up a few banners isn't exactly tantamount to moving mountains.

Considering the state of our economy, shouldn't there be an emphasis on extra promotion? One of every ten people here in Charlotte is out of work, and lots of people are cutting back what they spend on luxury items. Not only should the organizers have created and uploaded more promotional material, but they should be sending it to every writer, artist, publisher, and vendor who's coming to the show, asking them to plug it on their sites. All they have is the banner on their sidebar, which I've added to the right here on the blog. It doesn't exactly grab your attention, though, does it?

Update: On second thought, I just decided to make a banner myself, using the Mike Mignola art for the incentive print. Since it's gone now, this is the one I mentioned earlier.