mysterio

Just wish it wasn’t on a Sunday...

Got a great deal on a Planet #59 that was securely packed and shipped quickly!

I agree that the situation is almost certainly not as dire as the article makes it out to be, but even a billionaire isn't going to be content to continually lose a few million a year. They've got some shows that are definitely profitable (NO & Chicago, for example) but those are currently outweighed by plenty of others that can't be making too much money (Des Moines being Exhibit A).

All this is fair. I would argue that Wizard does have to overcome their own legacy and get out of their own way in terms of cleaning up their image and growing their brand. Hopefully they will be able to do this, but they may not last the year. You're definitely right about Chicago, its my favorite show of the year. The dealer room for Wizard at this point is a catch 22. People don't make an effort to attend the shows because there aren't enough dealers, but you're right that dealers won't come if they can't make any money. While you're correct that most of us around here could score passes for a Wizard show if we wanted to, the general public is paying $50 or more to get in the door (plus parking and ever escalating costs of the celebrity autograph or VIP package they want). This doesn't leave a lot of extra cash for books (again, from general buyers, which are needed to pad most dealers' bottom lines). I am not sure there is any fix for this, other than to provide some incentive for dealers to come back. Austin is a classic example of a show that had great dealers and books in the room several years ago, but the number of dealers (particularly national ones) dropped precipitously following 2011 or 2012 or so. Not sure whether it was more the lack of buyers or a rise in costs that kept the dealers from considering it, but whatever the factor/factors involved that show cratered.

That is what I have heard too, but just bumping in case anyone was interested. I imagine that most in the area will be saving their money for Planet.

Spawn #185 Portacio variant VF/VF- -- asking $17 shipped in the US Looks great in the bag/board, but spine wear that shows up on the black back cover, plus a dent toward the bottom of the back cover, knock the book down some.

Figured I would do a quick sales thread for these books I recently picked up in a lot and do not need. Shipping included in the prices for US customers. Shipping out of the US is fine, but we will need to figure it out and it will be more expensive than the prices quoted for the US. Payment via Paypal, checks, or MOs accepted. Payment from outside the US via Paypal only. Returns are welcome for raw books. Return shipping is on the buyer, unless the fault is mine and then it will be on me. Nobody on any lists, nor anyone who has previously backed out of a deal with me, is welcome to purchase. The Boys #1 NM and #2 VF/NM or NM- -- asking $39 shipped in the US Nice books, only light touches of wear to spine corners on the #1, and a bit of a bump to the lower spine corner of #2. A press may help the latter.

Coming up.

I was on the fence about whether to respond or not. I can’t tell if you’re talking about me, but since you quoted my post you might have been at least a bit. If you were talking to me directly, go back and take a look at who started 95% of the event threads for Wizard shows in the past 3-4 years to make sure the boards were aware of them. As for your “haters gonna hate” line of reasoning, I’ve personally been to about a dozen Wizard shows in three cities (Chicago, NO, Austin). The first two are good if you want a variety of dealers to shop for books, especially Chicago, and the third one used to be (09-10) but has become terrible. I can’t comment on the last two NO shows as I didn’t go, but Chicago has been declining in the number of comic dealers and overall booth occupied (reference the recent Chicago event threads for a variety of eyewitness opinions). The majority of posts referencing comic dealer participation at the other Wizard shows are negative. You’ll also notice that many Wizard show event threads receive no posts at all other than my bumps every couple of months. Is apathy considered hating? As for management, I’m glad they are trying to improve, as all businesses should strive for this. Their image was done no favors by buying out local shows and then failing to deliver (i.e. scheduling and cancelling Albuquerque THREE times, scheduling and cancelling Orlando TWICE). The Pittsburgh market also seems to have been underserved by Wizard moving in. Personally, I am a huge fan of shows, large and small, and would much prefer that Wizard get back on the rails and deliver good shows that contribute to a healthy environment for comic conventions to thrive long term. That isn’t going to extend to sugar coating posts about Wizard shows being good COMIC shows if the evidence is not there.

@dscott, with their appearances at Planet Comicon coming up in a few weeks, just thought I would touch base to see if anything has changed for Scott and/or Greg in terms of their public signing policies. Also, do they both have the same 3 raw books for free policy? Thanks!

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Glad you had a good show! Despite being a Wizard show I’ve always thought it was legit for books. I’ve been twice and would go in ‘19 if it works out.

Large crowds are good as long as some of them are spending money on books. Were you hearing that sales were thin? What’d you pick up?

Heard from a reliable source that Capullo will have very limited signing times at the show, so plan accordingly if you want to get him.

I’d prefer more comic names, but Alice should get people in the door.

Alice Cooper added!

Hope to hear some reports from this show, and that it goes well for everyone. Thought about going this year but it wasn’t in the cards.

Anyone have a pic? I know the Library of Congress has the interior pages and photos of those can be found online. I’ve never seen a pic of the original cover nor heard about the donation of the cover. EDIT: Just googled it and found no info about the cover being donated...

Why not.

95 days away! Now that we’re past the first of the year for some guest announcements beyond the five celebs we’ve gotten.

No problem! Just making sure we’re all on the same page.

The ASM #136 was already claimed at the bottom of the last page (pg 9).

Not to mention the missing back cover.

Thanks @Cpt Kirk! I’d forgotten about the Action #700, so thanks for filling in all those details!