Comments on: A little Friday afternoon gossip

by: Unpopular

Mon, 26 May 2008 02:21:19 +0000

Anybody considering train or bus tickets? It doesn’t help with cross-country travel, but for short trips it’s not too bad. If you’re going to be spending $20 on gas and that’s what’s keeping you from attending a convention, that means you were only going to spend at most $20 on comics. Why go to a convention with only $20 to spend? You’d be better off shopping online.

Rent hybrids and car pool?

by: Joe Williams

Sun, 25 May 2008 16:14:44 +0000

I declined to go to Motor City, the only real con of any size that I know of in Michigan, due to gas prices. I figured between a $20 admission, $5 for parking and $20+ for gas, I’d be in for $50 before I even got through the door, meaning I’d have about $0 to buy comics with.

by: Lea Hernandez

Sat, 24 May 2008 19:10:22 +0000

Roadtrips with a rental split are looking better and better. We just rented a car that cost us about $120/day in rental, insurance, and gas. Over five days, for four people, that’s $150. each.
WAY cheaper than flying. Time to travel is the tricky part.
That, and finding four people who won’t be enemies by the end of the trip.

Investigated train fares, just for fun. About the same as plane tickets.

BTW, I checked Jet Blue. They charge for the second checked bag, starting with tickets purchased after May 1. They “only” charge $20.

Man, I miss Northwest circa 1988.

by: Torsten Adair

Sat, 24 May 2008 17:44:11 +0000

I became a fan of Southwest because they were affordable, on time, and they met my expectations. I take LIRR out to Islip even though it adds two hours to my schedule. Fewer delays.
Next week I fly to LA via Virgin, nonstop. For $50, I can ship my swag directly from the convention center to my office via UPS.
heh. Might be cheaper to FedEx ones luggage than deal with the airport security! Just walk through with a carryon that fits under the seat for easy access.

Given the cost of flying, it might make more sense to grab four people, a van, and roadtrip nonstop.

by: Lea Hernandez

Sat, 24 May 2008 09:26:46 +0000

I’m still working to sort out airfare to SD to be there for the premiere of Tori Amos Comic Book Tattoo. If I can’t, there’s going to be an officially unofficial comickers’ gathering in San Antonio or Austin.

by: Patrick McEvoy

Sat, 24 May 2008 05:22:59 +0000

Due to a mix-up between Dave Rodriguez and myself, our names were not included in the ASP press release. But our series “Starkweather: Immortal” will be remaining with Archaia and we’re still very enthusiastic about Mark and the company. I think once they get the restructuring straightened out everything will be good.

by: Russell Lissau

Sat, 24 May 2008 03:21:12 +0000

I’ve already canceled plans for two out-of-state cons because of the economy and airline prices, as well as one that was a three-hour drive away because of the economy and gas prices.

I’m blessed that two huge shows (last week’s Anime Central and next month’s Wizard World Chicago) are in my backyard.

by: Alan Coil

Sat, 24 May 2008 01:30:25 +0000

Norton Lamp is being a jerk. The cartoonist was invited as a guest, and probably featured in advertisements.

by: Tom S.

Fri, 23 May 2008 23:55:19 +0000

I think conventions are going to have to do with fewer guests in the longer term. This is true if the airlines are going to keep raising fares and add fees.

by: Norton Lamp

Fri, 23 May 2008 23:00:55 +0000

Poor baby! Cartoon boy no get perky-perky! Do what the rest of us do…pay for a ticket and fly over there him/herself!

by: Kevin Huxford

Fri, 23 May 2008 21:42:02 +0000

My take on Brandon’s reaction is that he feels he would be doing himself a disservice if he wasn’t proactive immediately. If he places faith in ASP rebounding in a decent amount of time and they hit further roadblocks or just give up the ghost at some point, then he’s squandered an opportunity. I think he feels that, as much as he likes working with ASP, he can’t let his fondness for them negatively impact his chances at success.

by: Pedro Tejeda

Fri, 23 May 2008 20:52:14 +0000

Kyle Baker just confirmed he won’t make it to florida….

Could he be the dude you are talking about?

As for ASP, I had a fantastic time at their table and so did all my friends. We been reading the material we gotten and have bugged our local retailer to get books from Arcadia. I feel for Brandon Thomas, Miranda was getting nice buzz and hopefully was going to lead to a lot of other work for everyone on that book.

by: Dustin Harbin

Fri, 23 May 2008 19:10:22 +0000

“Or maybe, as Lea pointed out, the rising cost of airfares is going to radically alter our convention going experiences.”

As someone who is currently in the middle of securing a gajillion flights for different guests for a big convention (HeroesCon), our eyebrows are rising higher and higher already at some of the fares. Besides gas prices, the several bankruptcies of some regional carriers has cut way back on competition, meaning there are far fewer affordable direct or 1-stop flights.

I would suggest to anyone traveling this summer that they try and book fares early, or harness all of the online ticket site hoodoo they can, as the landscape look pretty expensive.