On the Carnal Comics Yahoo group, Jay Allen
Sanford (publisher of Carnal Comics) during
the 1990s) and SS Crompton (the current
publisher of Carnal Comics) have given their
opinions about whether the Comic-Con should
have an adult section. They have different
opinions on whether adult material should
be separated in to it's own section.
Jamie Gardner
SS Crompton: I'm not sure I fully embrace
the idea of an adult section for the con.
Over the years, I've sold a lot of books to
people who had never heard of or seen adult
comics, but loved the idea of such books.
I've gotten many new fans and readers this
way. So there's no doubt that it would
hurt Carnal' sales at the show.
Furthermore, if the Con wants to get rid
of us, they could put the adult section
upstairs in some hard to find niche.
Our sales would drop like rocks and none
of us would come back the following year.
We would then be gone - for good.
I think the Nazi's pulled this kind of
trick when they put the jews in ghettos
and starved them to death.
So unless this "adult section" is
guaranteed to be somewhere on the
convention floor(and not just "in the
building")
- I'm not sure Carnal would even
get a booth under those circumstances.
Jay Allen Sanford: The petition to have
comic-cons offer separate areas for adult
material is here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/4comics/petition.htmlI've never understood why most cons refuse
to do this. I recall a shortlived publisher's
coalition in the mid-90s, we all tried to get
the San Diego con to do this but they wouldn't
even consider it. And yet they'd complain
after, inevitably, every year the local news
stations did TV reports from the Carnal booth
with some "shocked" reported doing an
"expose'" on "porn stars invade gotham" or
some similar hook. I think the con
organizers realized that this kinda press
didn't DETER attendence, it INCREASED with
a new well-monied audience who were
uninterested in superheroes or Manga,
Jay Allen Sanford: The coalition of publishers
who petitioned the San Diego Con for a separate
adult section included Carnal Comics, Boneyard
Press, Angel, Verotik (?!) and a coupla others
I ferget, as well as Maggie Thompson at CBG
and a guy named Chris at the Comic Book Legal
Defense Fund who lobbied the Con with us.
Fantagraphics/Eros lent tentative support
but with a provision that they thought
publishers who carry adult and all-age
material like them should get two
booths for the price of one - a booth in
the adult section and a booth on the
main floor. I seem to recall Rip Off
Press agreeing and pitching this
notion as well. The Con wouldn't even
discuss the remote possibility - - -"