Promoters - do the right thing ... cancel the con! 3 3

[Golden Memories]

 

 That is a hard beat for sure

      Thankfully ace boston And east Coast had the foresight to cancel early 

      I have 2 coming up that I am sure will be cancelled, but  the promoters are holding on ….

     What you just posted made me nervous and I may just cancel on my own 

     my thoughts are early June before we begin to return to normal 

[Robot Man]

7 hours ago, mysterio said:

We were scheduled to do a show this past weekend that the promoter was stubbornly not canceling despite everything else going on. We were pretty sure it would be canceled, but since it wasn’t as of Friday morning we made our way out there against our better judgement. We got fully loaded in and set up, and then 90 minutes before the doors were supposed to open it got canceled. 

That would be the last time I would ever do that show unless I had no other alternative. No excuse for that. There is a show next weekend here in LA. Their website is not noting it canceled or postponed. Weather they want to or not it will be. The state (CA) has closed down all events of this size until end of April. Heck, they even closed down churches and today all bars and wineries. To tell the truth, I was going to set up there but no way I would even go now. Probably NO buyers will show up anyway...

[aardvark88]

"Probably no buyers would show up anyway."

In downtown Vancouver, BC on what should be the busiest commercial street on a weekend, it was quite sparse. Fewer folks on all the buses and monorail line, as people all want to stay 6 feet away from each other. Much fewer tourists, empty hotels, closed restaurants, fewer foreign students so noticeable drop in comic book retail sales downtown. Apple store and hiking clothing chain store with signs in front door windows that say 'closed for 2 weeks due to Covid-19' and protecting own staff.

[lighthouse]

On 3/13/2020 at 1:55 PM, lighthouse said:

Got a call from my Diamond rep yesterday wanting to confirm shipping method on my FCBD books. She was completely caught off guard when I asked her why they weren't already postponing the event. I've already told my customers that we won't be doing FCBD in May. Most likely it will be until July or August.

But I got nothing but confusion when I asked the Diamond rep whether she thought it might be a PR disaster for the comic industry to be going ahead with plans to have 3,000 shops around the country each with 1,000+ people streaming in and out of it all in the same day. As though they'd not had a single internal discussion about "maybe FCBD shouldn't be in May this year".

And two days later the CDC recommends all gatherings of 50 persons or more be canceled for the next 8 weeks. 

*does the math*

Yup. There goes Free Comic Book Day.

[gcstomp]

Very concerning that people arent understanding this is a pandemic, at the very earliest stages in the U.S.  Recall President like 3 weeks ago was saying there were 15 cases in country and soon it would be 0, it would blow away with april warm weather.  CDC projections are this is between 10x and 34x as deadly as flu, with a recent CDC projection model of 160 mill to 214 mill just in U.S. getting infected. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/cdcs-worst-case-coronavirus-model-210m-infected-1-7m-dead.html

[gcstomp]

BTW, Vietnam War was considered a big deal, back in the day. Streets filled daily with war protesters. Entire decade long conflict was 58k american people killed, or 5.8k a year. This virus is going to infect millions of people worldwide with an infection rate vastly higher than flu before a vaccine is ready in a year to a year and a half at the earliest.   This is legit a big deal.  Say wash your hands another 100 times, but this isnt some creation fabricated to tilt a political argument.

Edited March 16, 2020 by gcstomp

[Golden Memories]

China has greatly curtailed the pandemic by literally locking down vast areas of the country, it took 4 months and that's with thousands of deaths and extreme measures 

  Italy and Spain are in almost total shutdown 

The uk expects this to last until spring 2021 

The shutdowns in the USA are to SLOW  the pandemic, not end it 

The chance of anything other then a small local show going on until summer are near 0

What scares me most is what happened to an earlier poster, The dealer s came in set up only to to

have the show shut down

[AndyFish]

While I do think the media is fueling panic, which is why you can't find toilet paper or ammunition on store shelves, I've changed my opinion that we should take serious steps to stop this based on the observation that many people out there are complete and utter apes when it comes to behavior.   Yesterday picking up some items at the market I watched an otherwise well dressed older woman walk in the door pushing her cart and do a full tongue cough-- this is a real performance piece-- your tongue leaves your mouth creating a circular shape and actual flem ejects, and she did absolutely NOTHING to curtail it-- not even a hand up.   

Now take this to conventions where I often see attendees LYING on the filthy con floor with their lunch spread out in front of them and I can see why postponing these shows is the right thing to do.   If people could be responsible we wouldn't have to go to extremes, but they aren't.    People still going to bars is not defiant it's irresponsible.   You might not be in the demographic that gets sick, but you could be a carrier and unintentionally sicken a neighbor or relative who is simply by being a carrier.

[Robot Man]

We now live in a society full of selfish people. Clueless and not caring about anyone but them selves. It is the way it is. 

I have noticed that crisis seems to bring out the best in people. Even our leaders seem to have for the most part put their differences aside. 

Bars, restraunts and all public gatherings have shut down where I am. A lot of my neighbors have reached out to folks who are stuck in their homes. 

Keeps my faith in humanity alive. 

[aardvark88]

5 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Bars, restaurants and all public gatherings have shut down where I am. Keeps my faith in humanity alive. 

My LCS basically just shut down for next 4 weeks. He will be allowing subscribers, up to 2 at a time, enter the foyer of his shop to pick up their weekly comics after remitting payment by cr card, PayPal or e-transfer. Updates via his Facebook, Instagram or email list. Rest of time in the shop, he will be cleaning up his racks, and doing a few more renovations. 

Public libraries in my city will all be closing starting tomorrow for at least 2 weeks due to Covid-19 fears. Same time that all elementary and high schools are closed for 3 weeks extended spring break but they can't see a movie (e.g. Bloodshot), as Cineplex Canada closed until Sat. April 4/20. Stay healthy folks.

[Fan Boy]

Just out of curiosity... from February to current - how many comic book cons, shows wherever be it major to small are cancelled to be postponed all over U.S. and Canada? 

[MusterMark]

On 3/15/2020 at 7:38 PM, gcstomp said:

Very concerning that people arent understanding this is a pandemic, at the very earliest stages in the U.S.  Recall President like 3 weeks ago was saying there were 15 cases in country and soon it would be 0, it would blow away with april warm weather.  CDC projections are this is between 10x and 34x as deadly as flu, with a recent CDC projection model of 160 mill to 214 mill just in U.S. getting infected. https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/cdcs-worst-case-coronavirus-model-210m-infected-1-7m-dead.html

The regular flu kills about 0.15% of infected people in the US.

Covid19 so far around the world is killing about 3% of infected people.

So, at least with the currently available data, Covid19 is about 20 TIMES deadlier than the regular flu. 

 

Regardless of who projects what, and under what circumstances, or what the numbers will really be, etc., the point is that this Coronavirus is MUCH more deadly than the flu, no matter what.  Agree with you there.

Edited March 18, 2020 by MusterMark
Edited to fix an arithmetic error

[Golden Memories]

MusterMark  :Absolutely perfectly stated 

Fan Boy : The last 2 shows which took place  I believe were C2E2  Last week of February , And WW ohio that next week 

   All the Major shows since then which were to take Place have been Cancelled,  some have been rescheduled 

   Including WonderCon, Big Apple , South Carolina, And Kansas city 

   The problem is that the rescheduling causes conflicts , For example WonderCon rescheduled for the same week as WW Chicago .  There have been smaller shows but now the states are getting stricter, for example  NY went from from prohibiting gatherings  of 250 or more to 50 or more and the president suggests no more then 10 ! and many states and cities may even soon be ordering a full on shutdown, San Francisco HAS been the first to shut down a city with more to follow 

   Now that we have actually been testing, look for the numbers to explode and scare the &*@#^%$   out of the Public 

   As far as the future, Some promoters Have Been proactive and smart and rescheduled upcoming events . Some have been Holding a wait and see attitude even though the likelihood of any Major show  happening before June is Near Zero My advice to these promoters is RESCHEDULE NOW while you can still get later booking dates The thought that we can get from where we are now to holding events where tens of thousands people attend is not realistic 

My fear is what Robot Man posted earlier, That some promoter will attempt to hold the event and my showing up, setting up, only to have the show shut down, or to have one attendee get tested positive, only to have event closed down 

   I am HOPING that by mid June we will start to return to normalcy , However there will Be reduced attendance , Many of the Star guests  being  cautious and cancelling, and conflicts as rescheduled shows drop the same week as previous events. 

   Speaking personally I believe it will be late summer, early Fall before we see the Mass attendance shows resume Normalcy 

  On the plus side,  we are a remarkably resilient  nation , once the restrictions are lifted The comic people will come roaring back

with a vengeance I am hoping for the best and looking forward to a rip roaring, though delayed season 

   

 

[Crops068]

8 hours ago, MusterMark said:

The regular flu kills about 0.15% of infected people in the US.

Covid19 so far around the world is killing about 3% of infected people.

So, at least with the currently available data, Covid19 is about 200 TIMES deadlier than the regular flu. 
 

The article you referenced is a bit perplexing, because it says that the CDC is projecting that deaths in the US will be at a rate much less than 3% (that is, much less than the rest of the world combined so far), EVEN IF NO ACTIONS are taken by the US to minimize infections.  A bit strange.

 

Regardless of who projects what, and under what circumstances, or what the numbers will really be, etc., the point is that this Coronavirus is MUCH MUCH more deadly than the flu, no matter what.  Agree with you there.

Wouldn't a 0.15% kill rate times 200 be a 30% kill rate not 3%?  Not trying to downplay what you are so eloquently trying to convey.  While even 20 times deadlier is still terrible it is far less than 200.

Below isn't for you specifically MusterMark just in general.

Roughly 1k cases are being added per hour to the overall tally worldwide.  But do keep in mind of the 204k confirmed cases (right now) roughly 112k of those are in China (81k) and Italy (31k) with about 68% of the reported deaths being in those 2 countries as well.   While the rest of the world is quickly gaining more cases.  What did China and Italy do that everyone either did or didn't do?

[Fan Boy]

5 hours ago, Golden Memories said:

MusterMark  :Absolutely perfectly stated 

Fan Boy : The last 2 shows which took place  I believe were C2E2  Last week of February , And WW ohio that next week 

   All the Major shows since then which were to take Place have been Cancelled,  some have been rescheduled 

   Including WonderCon, Big Apple , South Carolina, And Kansas city 

   The problem is that the rescheduling causes conflicts , For example WonderCon rescheduled for the same week as WW Chicago .  There have been smaller shows but now the states are getting stricter, for example  NY went from from prohibiting gatherings  of 250 or more to 50 or more and the president suggests no more then 10 ! and many states and cities may even soon be ordering a full on shutdown, San Francisco HAS been the first to shut down a city with more to follow 

   Now that we have actually been testing, look for the numbers to explode and scare the &*@#^%$   out of the Public 

   As far as the future, Some promoters Have Been proactive and smart and rescheduled upcoming events . Some have been Holding a wait and see attitude even though the likelihood of any Major show  happening before June is Near Zero My advice to these promoters is RESCHEDULE NOW while you can still get later booking dates The thought that we can get from where we are now to holding events where tens of thousands people attend is not realistic 

My fear is what Robot Man posted earlier, That some promoter will attempt to hold the event and my showing up, setting up, only to have the show shut down, or to have one attendee get tested positive, only to have event closed down 

   I am HOPING that by mid June we will start to return to normalcy , However there will Be reduced attendance , Many of the Star guests  being  cautious and cancelling, and conflicts as rescheduled shows drop the same week as previous events. 

   Speaking personally I believe it will be late summer, early Fall before we see the Mass attendance shows resume Normalcy 

  On the plus side,  we are a remarkably resilient  nation , once the restrictions are lifted The comic people will come roaring back

with a vengeance I am hoping for the best and looking forward to a rip roaring, though delayed season 

   

 

From your post, I count 4 major comic cons to tally so far. Looks like starts from March 1st onward, and adding to my local area generally... I count 5 comic cons and shows that were cancelled to be postponed or rescheduled. This is ECCC Seattle, Bellingham comic con, Vancouver collectibles show, Victoria comic con and one show I can’t remember name. This tally up to 9 shows as far I can see. Anyone else knows any other cancellations? 

Edited March 18, 2020 by Fan Boy

[aardvark88]

49 minutes ago, Fan Boy said:

This is ECCC Seattle, Bellingham comic con, Vancouver collectibles show, Victoria comic con and one show I can’t remember name. Anyone else knows any other cancellations? 

BC Toy Expo, Cloverdale was cancelled last weekend. Craft and Comics, north Seattle cancelled. Was told the excellent alternative press VanCAF Vancouver Comic Art Fest for May 16/20 weekend was cancelled. Calgary Expo Apr/20 postponement next??

[Black_Adam]

16 hours ago, aardvark88 said:

My LCS basically just shut down for next 4 weeks. He will be allowing subscribers, up to 2 at a time, enter the foyer of his shop to pick up their weekly comics after remitting payment by cr card, PayPal or e-transfer. Updates via his Facebook, Instagram or email list. Rest of time in the shop, he will be cleaning up his racks, and doing a few more renovations. 

Public libraries in my city will all be closing starting tomorrow for at least 2 weeks due to Covid-19 fears. Same time that all elementary and high schools are closed for 3 weeks extended spring break but they can't see a movie (e.g. Bloodshot), as Cineplex Canada closed until Sat. April 4/20. Stay healthy folks.

Who is your LCS?

[MusterMark]

3 hours ago, Crops068 said:

Wouldn't a 0.15% kill rate times 200 be a 30% kill rate not 3%?  Not trying to downplay what you are so eloquently trying to convey.  While even 20 times deadlier is still terrible it is far less than 200.

Below isn't for you specifically MusterMark just in general.

Roughly 1k cases are being added per hour to the overall tally worldwide.  But do keep in mind of the 204k confirmed cases (right now) roughly 112k of those are in China (81k) and Italy (31k) with about 68% of the reported deaths being in those 2 countries as well.   While the rest of the world is quickly gaining more cases.  What did China and Italy do that everyone either did or didn't do?

You are absolutely correct!!!  (I will edit my post above.  Thanks so much!)

That makes me feel a LITTLE bit better.

Now the CGC projections make much more sense!

[aardvark88]

4 hours ago, Black_Adam said:

Who is your LCS?

1 of them is Big Pete's. He has updated his Facebook, and now, unfortunately, won't be seeing any of his subscribers for a 3-4 week lockdown of his shop. Not sure how much longer Taz Comics will be open for. Situation changing daily. All BC casinos also closed.

[Black_Adam]

16 minutes ago, aardvark88 said:

1 of them is Big Pete's. He has updated his Facebook, and now, unfortunately, won't be seeing any of his subscribers for a 3-4 week lockdown of his shop. Not sure how much longer Taz Comics will be open for. Situation changing daily. All BC casinos also closed.

Taz is where I normally shop but I also like to hit up Big Pete's when I'm back on the North Shore. Not too worried about the casinos, closest I come to gambling is buying comics off eBay.