I’ve been to a handful of big shows this year, all with their own quirks and my own thoughts. I have a ton of posts drafted, but never posted them because it’s a bit exhausting to think about putting my opinions out in the wild! I’ve been sitting in my own comics hole for a while now, I think a rather relatable pit where comic artists go to hide in while working on a big project. I’m getting closer and closer to finishing my newest GN, which means I’m crawling out more and more.
All to say, my art bubble is super small, so when I attend events it’s always difficult for me to consider what I do as important or impressionable to anyone. Just a guy, making artwork, and hoping someone responds kindly to it.
PAX West 2026 Arthub emphasized that community matters.
Photo of all of the Arthub tables facing one direction with backs exposed to attendees, no curtain or anything to keep attendees from being right up behind the artists/vendors.
The Incident
I was really anxious the entire time when I realized that there were hiccups in the initial floor plan laid out at the show. It felt like a burden of responsibility to relay what I knew, and having a big target on my head for causing any kind of disruption made me not sleep well for the few days prior to the expo. I still feel guilty for alarming so many people because things did get sorted out in the end. I’m not sure what made them decide to help us out, but I presume Arthub artists outside my circles heard my cry to email our rep and together expressed the need for change.
Here are some thoughts on why this happened to begin with:
Many artists decided to drop out or not even accept the terms and conditions of a 960 dollar table because we were only told the cost after we were accepted to the show. It’s an outrageous price to be blindsided by. There was an allotted space for a bit over 70 artists but it seemed that only 58 accepted, and maybe a little less than that showed up.
So it’s hard to point a finger at who was responsible for this. The amount of artists did not match the floor plan, so to fill the space, I presume Reedpop and the Venue decided to have a single strip of artists per row. AND I assume, because there were no plans to have curtains or barriers at all, because artists WERE supposed to be back to back, it just wasn’t implemented by the venue. Makes sense! But no one decided to check in on the space and see it as a problem, only until it was escalated. There’s a lot that goes into organizing a show, especially with artists being added so last minute for reasons unknown (there are speculated reasons not listed here), it would make sense that no one is really checking on the space or, if they are, they do not understand the problems from a vendors POV and how it’s not really safe.
I’m glad that Tin was there to run around to the PAX Staff, although they apparently had no ability to contact Reedpop who controls the exhibitor portion of PAX, and make it clear to the enforcers that this new layout was unacceptable after the string of thefts from ANYC and GAMESCOM. Grand Larceny even! (Sorry, link leads to official police announcement. No photos, just text.) I’m glad that people, I assume, reached out to our Reedpop reps and got the issue resolved a few hours into the first day.
General Thoughts
The other issues I had from the show was primarily what I would consider… perhaps neglect from being added so last minute to the show. Arthub treated you like an exhibitor, which comes with all the problems I expected going in (and then some):
Did not warn folks that the show was dark.
Although it wasn’t dim as it was in other sectors of the show, it WAS dim. Having lights really elevated your booth, and those who didn’t bring any were basically SOL. Folks ultimately could still see the artwork in the Arthub, but there was a stark difference from those who had lights and those who didn’t. I personally just mentioned to people to bring lights in my own back channels. I was given a heads up by a volunteer that there would still be overhead lighting, but luckily having been to PAX as an attendee before… I knew it wouldn’t be nearly enough.Did not provide free Internet.
Most Comic-con shows I go to under the Reedpop name offer complimentary wi-fi. Even Sakuracon this year offered free wi-fi to artists (one connection per booth). So it felt particularly bad when I had to spend another 300+ dollars to make sure I could do card transactions when I’ve already paid over 1000 dollars to be there. I also use T-Mobile, which the Arch building loves to eat our signal, so there was no way out for me. Perhaps I should consider a pocket-wifi in the future, but was difficult to plan for when we were only given about two months (or less) to prepare for the show.No Rebooking.
So I’m very used to not being given the option to rebook, it’s very mythical in my opinion. Though I received an email stating we would be sent a rebooking email after the show. Only to be told that… well, that was not true. I think I wouldn’t have included this bulletpoint had it not been for the quick rescinding of their offer. Would have been nice to give the option to us year-one folk who were smoothing out all the wrinkles. I’ll rescind this section if something ends up happening, but for now… I simply laugh.
Edited photo of my booth
The kind of more accurate lighting of my booth.
Attendees, enforcers, and the show overall was awesome though. Having an assistant helped me get time to walk around and chat with devs! To play games and honestly… it’s really cool to be in the same room as everyone else. I felt like I was never missing any sort of event, and could get in early to play games that would require me to wait a LONG time to play. If you’re looking for an excuse to connect to other people interested in games, to showcase your artwork, and just generally have a good vibes time… it might be worth it? Might. I’m local, so costs were much lower for me because I didn’t have to get a hotel room. So for me? Worth it.
I had so much fun. I was so excited to meet everyone who was there. I was surprised at the reception to my work and the amount of people who were so interested in Yaoi (thank you gay people). So many folks from all over visit this show and it’s great to find a new audience of people who are just as excited about the same things you are. Every artist I got the chance to chat with and who graciously gave me their time seemed to do fairly alright and had a decent time! At least I hope!
Great seeing Double Fine being independent again, loved playing the little indie games (which I’m looking forward to Abyssal Merge and Among Us: On Guard), seeing the elaborate booth set ups, taking silly photos with my pals, and seeing folks who are in game dev that I don’t ever get to see often.
NUMBERS
I’m not sure how PAX West looks like for regulars, and I certainly got an idea that things were much slower this year than ever before (with only 2 AAA booths there this year). But for me, my numbers were quite high. x6-7 the cost of table (you can do the math). If not for the exorbitant expenses, I would have probably matched Sakuracon.
Also the biggest note, I was in one of the “front” rows, which is sort of at the “entrance” of Arthub, and my art is primarily original designs. Very few fanart at my table. So take that into consideration when doing your own speculation on my numbers.
To my surprise, my top sellers were (in order):
Zines / Books
Yaoi Doorhanger
Bookmarks
Enamel pins
Thoughts on my merch:
Books and Zines
Was not expecting the reception to my books. But perhaps people who play games are really interested in the lore and stories. Much to think about.Yaoi Doorhanger
It speaks for itself. I sold all 50+ of them and didn’t have ANY for SPX. Sorry to all the comic book people, but the gamers were SO HUNGRY?Bookmarks
One of my lowest cost items with all the bells and whistles. I definitely love to keep it as low as possible for the people out there who want a usable trinket from me but can’t afford any of my other weird things.Enamel pins
Only surprised me because my pins don’t move this fast normally, but I forgot they have a pin culture at PAX! Happy to see people receptive to my WHA fanart and my giant snake pin.
Special mention to my “Keychain that looks like a Ram Card” and “Physical Media Forever Ribbon”. They sold out day 2. I made it specifically for the show to target all of us with the largest woes on the planet, and it worked. Targeted marketing works, unfortunately.
End thoughts
Overall it was a good show for me, especially as a local. Would I recommend it? I don’t know. I think it would depend on your purpose for coming to the show and how far you’re from the Seattle area. But then again, your mileage may vary with how things will progress with the show in general. I feel like PAX West, based on what others have told me, are in a weird transition area with games and audience. Games are as big as ever imho and devs are becoming jobless day after day, and it’s so exhausting that the demands for just fair wages and healthcare seems to be such a tall order. I would be remiss to not mention the constant neglect that these companies put their workers through, and it’s hard to see where the industry will move from here. Why are indies having to be the ones to uplift each other when there’s clearly money being passed around by the corporate heads. All to say, not sure what the stability of PAX West will be once more AAA studios don’t come back? Nintendo wasn’t here this year leaving a very noticeable gap.
When applying, I always go into a show with the lowest of expectations and goals that aren’t necessarily about making the most money. So perhaps those are questions to ask yourself while applying.
Or maybe keep an eye out for the perhaps rumored Arthub for PAX East.
My hopes for the show are that: The tables will get Cheaper. Free Wifi. Maybe an 8ft table would be nice. (Gabe, think of us cartoonists! Remember your roots! JKJK)
I’ll probably blog about my experience at SPX, and some more general feelings about zines/indie/doujin. I’ve been sitting with those thoughts for some time, since I feel my work has intersected with all of those areas for what feels like forever now.
Thanks to those who continue to support me on my Member’s Only space. I appreciate it. Ever since opening up my blog to the public, its been hard to motivate myself to post there. I knew going in that it would be a tip jar, so it’s amazing to see people utilizing it. I’ll be updating the space with a lot more downloadables soon, and maybe some more Member’s Only store stuff.