By Eden Miller
MoCCA‘s going through growing pains.
Last year, it switched venues from the complicated but charming Puck Building to the open but, well, it’s an armory, 69th Regiment Armory Building. Then this year, it switched from the usual early June date to April.
I think this all of this has thrown a few people off.
It felt different this year. I’m never one to say “Oh, it’s not like it was back in the day” or anything of that nature, but I think MoCCA’s figuring out what kind of show it wants to be. There was still the usual assortment of mini-comics creators and various collectives, though perhaps a bit fewer of them. There was a large space in the back that was taken up by round tables with all sorts of giveaways and fliers rather than exhibitors. This show was the same weekend as the Boston Comic Con, which probably drew some people away. I also think that the show fell so close to Stumptown that some people on the West Coast couldn’t manage to attend, but the bigger publishers like Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, and First Second seemed to be doing the brisker business.
Space remains an issue; though the Armory is larger than the Puck, it’s possible that MoCCA’s already outgrowing it. One of my friends tried to attend the panel featuring Frank Miller and Paul Pope, among others, and couldn’t get in because the room was too small. Obviously, the creators on that panel are a big draw, and I know that the Armory is probably somewhat limited in the spaces it can offer, but I do think it’s unfortunate that this room wasn’t big enough for everyone. Like I said, though, growing pains.
But it still seemed well-attended — there was a line around the block, even when I got there an hour or so after it had opened — and the crowd seemed enthusiastic about it. I’m always happy to see new and old comic-book fans enjoying themselves.
But for me, what I’ve always liked about MoCCA is seeing what new folded-and-stapled-together mini-comics are out there, as well as creators who I haven’t discovered before. I feel like there was much less of that this year, and there were almost no artists just selling prints like there have been in other years (one of my faves, Tara McPherson, who has done the show a number of times, wasn’t there this year, for instance). I understand the reasons for this — I think a lot of creators just hadn’t caught up to the new time frame — but it’s still disappointing.
A couple of my friends — MoCCA veterans — mentioned how much they loved Brooklyn’s KingCon from late last year; it had great programming and the set-up was good. It was how they remembered MoCCA in the early days.
I’m not trying to complain too much about MoCCA. I still think it’s a great show and a good ambassador for the “literary” side of comics. I think there’s absolutely room for a con to be just about that. In fact, I’d welcome it and gladly attend. If MoCCA becomes that, that’s awesome.
But as for this year, it just sort of felt like it didn’t know what it was trying to be. Certainly, MoCCA’s allowed to have an off year. I’m just going to keep my fingers crossed that it gets back on track for next year.
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