Con Report: ACEN 2012 (Part 3)
Previously, at ACEN….
Trevor set up his table and started selling stuff, then had two stellar panels! Then he went to go hang out with the other guests in the Green Room.
All caught up? Great. Let’s see what happens next!
SATURDAY:
Being able to sleep in a little is great, and even though I was still getting up before I normally do for work, that was okay because I was just going downstairs to the VIP lounge to partake of some more breakfast buffet – including that all you can eat bacon!
The floor awaited me soon after breakfast, and we headed out just as the attendees were being let into the place. A day of selling and joking around at the table followed, with Beth joining our merry little band and artist Gabriell Bautista working on some commission pieces for me and others.
I met a lot of awesome people from the panels the night before, several stopping by to buy the books. We always like to see purchases.
Gabe and Mallory posing at the booth
After the floor closed, I decided to make a surprise appearance at my friend Alan Evan’s Making Webcomics part 2 panel. Alan and I have done several of these panels in the past, and the last two years I was a guest at ACEN I put this panel on with Steve Horton. Last year we included Alan, since it was his first year attending ACEN, and we all had a blast.
This year was no different, and Alan was doing a series of Making Webcomics panels throughout the weekend, so he had specific topics for us to discuss. The questions from the audience were really in-depth, which was really refreshing and kept us on our toes.
As the panel let out and we were taking up, I had about 5 minutes to get to my next panel (Self-Publishing 101) and all of a sudden – FIRE ALARM.
The entire building was evacuated, so Beth, Alan, and I walked across the street to the restaurant to hang out until they started letting people back in. I later found out that the reason the fire alarm went off is because some punk was spraying people with a fire extinguisher, and hit the CO2 detector. He was arrested and charged with assault, among other things.
Because of the fire alarm debacle, I was 15 minutes late to my last panel of the weekend – and surprisingly had people waiting for me in the room. I waited a bit for Steve Horton, my partner in crime on this panel, to show up, and eventually just decided to solo the thing.
About 30 minutes into the panel, this woman came into the back of the room and pointed at her wrist (as if a watch were there), and then left. I thought this was strange, since I still had 20 minutes left in the panel and the room staff usually give you a 10 or 5 minute warning. After about 5 minutes more, she came back in and waved her hands to get my attention, and then pointed at her wrist again. I interrupted the panel briefly to ask for more time.
“Since the panel started late, would it be possible to go over a bit and give these fine people the full hour?” I asked.
“Actually, the next panel needs 10 minutes to set up so we need you to stop soon,” she replied.
Now, I’m a guest of the show and I know another guest isn’t coming in after me – and even if they were, they wouldn’t cut my panel short. So I ask the question: “What time does my panel end?”
“9pm,” she responds.
“Well, then I’ll run for the full panel time and the next panel can set up when I’m done,” I replied. Which is a very professional response – give people the amount of time they’ve been allotted.
“But the next panel needs 10 minutes to set up,” she shot back.
“Then I’ll end my panel at 9pm on time, and they can start their panel at 9:10 after they’ve set up. Thanks.” And I continued with the panel.
The girl left in a huff, and about 5 minutes later one of the room staffers poked their head in. They saw me giving my panel, and left the room again. About 5 minutes after that, the re-entered the room and walked right up to the table where I was talking. Anticipating a fight, I stopped the panel again and said, “May I help you?”
“I just wanted to let you know that your panel’s been extended, and you can go until 9:10pm,” he said, and walked back out of the room.
The crowd applauded at this. I wasn’t going to demand any kind of extension for the late start, but it wasn’t professional to ask anyone to shorten their panel so someone else could start their panel earlier. Guest status or not.
I’m a reasonable guy, and I’m willing to make accommodations when necessary. But there were people who wanted to learn something in that panel and it wouldn’t have been fair to them to cut it short so the next panel could set up sooner. That said, it was very generous of the room staff to grant us an extension on the panel.
Steve showed up to help finish off the panel and talked about funding sources, kickstarter, and we both answered questions before ending the panel.
After the panel ended, it was time for some much needed dinner in the VIP lounge. I only had 40 minutes before they closed for the night, and I hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. Suffice it to say, I was FAMISHED.
A fantastic meal later, we all headed up to the room to drop off books and whatnot before heading up to the Green Room to hang out with the guests.
I spent most of the night with Eyeshine, a rock band with Johnny Young Bosch (Power Rangers) as their front man. I’ve exhibited at several shows with them throughout last year, but hadn’t had a chance to really hang out with them. We drank, chatted, told jokes and funny stories about past con experiences, and had a grand old time.
Around 3am I headed back to the room, having stayed up much later than I anticipated. Sunday would be the final day of the show, and the cap to a perfect convention weekend experience.
