This past weekend I went to The Monroe Pop Fest in Monroe, MI. I hadn’t been to this con since 2019!
I’ve been going to The Monroe Pop Fest since 2016. Back then it was called The Monore Comic Con. In those years this con has always brought in lots of people. Lots of foot traffic.
On another note, since 2017 I’ve always wanted to go to the Cincinnati Comic Expo. The bad thing was, every year both of these cons were on the same weekend.
In 2020 I bought an Artist Alley table for The Moroe Pop Fest AND the Cincinnati Comic Expo because this was the first year they were not on the same weekend. Sadly, we all know how 2020 went.
In 2021, both cons were on the same weekend – again. So I decided to go to the Cincinnati Comic Expo this time. My AA table for the 2022 Monroe Pop Fest was my rollover from 2020.
Now that you know a little backstory, here’s what I think is the 2022 Monroe Pop Fest. It was…OK. First off, they added a “preview” day on Friday from 5-9. I didn’t want to go because this con is about a 1 hour and 45-minute drive from my house and this meant I would have to drive up there….twice! But I went. I thought the Friday hours were unnecessary. Every 3-day con that I went to had there Friday hours usually from 3-9 or 2-8. In any case, Friday is usually 6 hours. For Monroe, it was only 4.
I also believe the attendance was down a little too. There was still lots of foot traffic and people were happy to be there but It just seemed a little slower than in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Finally, I only sold 1 comic too.
I want to make this very clear. Gary puts on a great show. I still love The Monroe Pop Fest and I will return to this show again in the future it’s just that…I think I’ll skip next year and try again in 2024.
Again, it’s a great show. I like it but I felt the attendance was down from previous years. It’s also possible that the people that were there just weren’t buying. lol
