Oz ComicCon (aka The Hub) has announced that it’s bringing Benedict Cumberbatch to Australia for the Adelaide Comic-Con and two dates in Sydney. I can’t make Adelaide — but I won’t be giving them my money for Sydney either.
Image: Honeyfitz
Tickets for Adelaide encompass the whole Oz Comic-Con experience, and frankly, if you’re keen I can’t see too much of a problem there. There’s plenty to do if Benedict can’t make it for health or work reasons.
The Sydney experience is different. It’s instead for “intimate events” (get your mind out of the gutter!) at the Science Theatre at UNSW on the 12th and the 13th of April, with tickets ranging from $150-$350, although the “VIP” $350 tickets are already sold out.
There’s also a possible meet and greet for an additional $200 per head, limited to those same VIP holders.
But it’s not the price I object to. It’s once again that their stated terms and conditions say — and I’m quoting here from the ticket ordering page:
“Tickets to Oz Comic-Con are non-transferrable and non-refundable.”
Hub productions — the company behind Oz Comic-Con and a number of other not-always-happily-received “fan” events — has a bit of history in this regard. It’s entirely conceivable that Benedict may get a better offer, or higher paying gig.
What happens then?
I won’t be one of those having to find out, because while I’m quite certain that it wouldn’t stand up under Australian consumer law, I refuse to deal with a company that tries to dodge its obligations in such a blatant manner. It’s not hard to rectify — they just have to do the right thing — but it seems like they’re not terribly interested in doing so.
Source: Oz Comic-Con
Yeah, that’s pretty poor form. I didn’t even realise we had a Comic-Con here, so no great loss there.
The good one to go to is that SMASH! one in August for the anime and manga. Animania’s OK as well, though it’s more about selling stuff to anime fans than putting a good show on for them. It surprises me that we don’t have a genuinely good “nerd culture” event in Sydney yet. The population is large enough to support one, surely.
It’s not a Comic-Con as in affiliated with San Diego; it’s a group that grabbed the name and started running events a few years back. http://www.kotaku.com.au/2012/01/the-great-oz-comic-con/