SWCBCS Returns With a Vengeance for Year Four in Albuquerque
This Saturday, the Southwest Comic Book and Creator Showcase returns to Albuquerque to celebrate its fourth year. The showcase is a comic book convention actually focused on comic books rather than celebrity guests. It highlights the graphic medium by bringing together industry professionals and local creators. Attendees will have opportunities to connect with writers and artists, collect comics and memorabilia, and network. Admission is $6 at the door.
Why the alarmingly low price?
Four years ago, this was a scrappy two-man show thrown together in 60 days to fit the needs of a small venue. It’s still a two-man operation, but the showcase has exploded over the past four years, drawing big names and more would-be participants than it can accommodate.
Despite that growth, the ticket price remains almost shockingly low because Albuquerque isn’t always an easy city in which to launch a con — and it’s an even harder one in which to keep one alive. Plenty have gone big and gone bust over the years, but co-founders Don Baker and Mark Fenton have found a way to make it work for four years: smaller, low-priced, and squarely centered on comics and creators.
“We’re trying to make it kind of a community-based show, which is why I think we’re getting some of the response from creators. They see it’s not a big, commercial-based show. It’s really about the industry,” Don Baker said.
He and his partner, Mark Fenton, described this approach as having garnered a great deal of goodwill in the comic community. Creators are willing to go the extra mile, help where they can, and support the show in its early years as it finds its footing.
“They’re not asking for all the same fees they might at another show because they’re pitching in to help make this successful. I think they like the idea of it,” Baker said.
And it’s that goodwill that has carried the showcase into its most ambitious year yet. Expanding from its early origins as a small tabling event hosted by the Shriners, the convention has now settled into a new home at the Ramada Plaza Midtown in Albuquerque.
“If you look at the history of conventions, a lot of the true comic shows started in hotels — you were in the ballrooms,” Mark Fenton said.
The showcase not only has the look of a full-sized convention and room for exhibitors, but, for the first time, it also features a full schedule of panels.
THE CON BREAKDOWN
PANELS
“We’ve got them both days, pretty much from the hour after opening to the hour before closing,” Baker said.
There will be panels for the first time at SWCBS. Most notably, a Spawn panel on Saturday and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel on Sunday. Big names like Andy Kuhn and Thomas Healy will speak, but there will also be multiple panels on indie and small press comics, along with discussions on breaking into the industry and the creative resources available in New Mexico.
EXHIBITORS
Floor space is sold out, the ballrooms are full, and anyone looking for comics, collectibles, original art, and a chance to interact one-on-one with creators is in luck. “Basically, you could shop anywhere in Albuquerque in one spot,” Baker said. Multiple retailers will be represented, making this a chance to walk away with a pretty big haul.
One challenge with the smaller venue was that people tended to cluster around the biggest names.
“So you may get everybody flocking to one artist’s table if he’s the hot artist of the month or whatever, and not necessarily checking out the other stuff,” Mark Fenton said, describing how the larger venue spreads things out and creates a more balanced experience. “Now, we’ve got these amazing professional creators in each room, so you really have to go and check things out.”
FREE PORTFOLIO REVIEWS
“You’ve got four opportunities to show your portfolio to professionals in the industry,” Mark Fenton said.
Anyone attending the showcase with ambitions of building a career in the comic industry will not only have panels to learn from, but also the chance to pitch their work to industry leaders and receive real feedback. Thomas Healy, editor-in-chief of Spawn at Image Comics, and Matt Gagnon, former editor-in-chief at BOOM! Studios, are both offering free portfolio reviews to aspiring creators.
In addition, representatives from two small-press publishers — 1First Comics and the recently launched AMP Comics — will be present and open to offering feedback. The stage is set for New Mexico’s budding creators to share their work, receive serious critiques, and make the connections that could carry them to the next step.
GIVAWAYS
SWCBS will have some freebies. The first 100 people through the door each day will receive not only random grab bags, but also copies of ArcBound No. 1, the new comic from Dark Horse.
DRINK AND DRAW
On Saturday, following the show, Mark Fenton and Don Baker have organized a way to give back to the community of industry creators who have shown up for them over the past four years. Duke’s Bar, located on Menaul, will host a “Drink and Draw,” a benefit for the Hero Initiative.
Industry artists will provide sketches in exchange for $30 donations, and a CGC representative will be on hand for encapsulation. The Hero Initiative works to create a safety net for comic creators who, because of the nature of the industry, can find themselves in dire circumstances when medical or financial emergencies upend their lives.
All proceeds from the Drink and Draw event will go to help creators in need. You can also donate below.