AndyFish

Well I know Ted and the Superworld Team are going, and they had some new books they've picked up.   I don't love C2E2 but I was at Chicago Fan Expo and I thought that show was pretty good-- and you're right likely the same dealers or mostly the same.   I know of some great scores at Expo last month.  If you go, get in during setup (volunteer to help a dealer, etc) and buy when the dealers are buying from each other so you aren't paying markup prices.

TERRIFICON REPORT JULY 2022. (My reports are long, apologies in advance!)

The line to get in looked pretty long.   Full disclosure I've not waited in line or bought tickets to a show in twenty years-- and I tell you this not in bragging but because like doing a review of something you were given a free sample of said review is going to be affected somewhat.   I don't know if I'd feel so good about a show if I waited in line for three hours like people did at Heroes Con one year.

A quick note to anyone coming to the show with a wife, girlfriend or a SO who isn't into comics-- there is a TON to do here.  There is a connected Mall and a boat load of restaurants with bars and TVs, so even if they don't have any interest in gambling you can find ways to entertain yourself for several hours without much effort.   I'd been here 2-3 times before since it opened, it's about an hour from home for us, and I've done some blackjack and poker in the past but it's not something I really enjoy all that much even though I usually do pretty well.  It's also worth noting that unlike regular hotel bars drinks are fairly cheap down here.

Comics wise there were many dealers there; my favorites and the ones I bought something from were SUPERWORLD (of course), MOVING PICTURES, HIGH GRADE COMICS (Bob!), and 3 KEYS along with couple of dealers whose names I didn't catch.   Primarily a Golden Age collector I managed to find some gems including BLACK CAT WESTERN and AMERICA'S GREATEST COMICS #6 as well as WHIZ COMICS #93 (although the Hobo Whiz Cover is a purchase from Dale via his website that arrived yesterday so it ended up in the loot pile).   There was a small amount of pre-code horror kicking around but nothing I either didn't already have or it was not quite in the condition or price range I wanted to play in.

I went back and forth on a BATMAN #7 which had minor restoration.   It was a nice copy but purple label of death thing and all if it were graded.  I didn't want to pay market non-resto value for it because let's be honest you have to downgrade it at least a full number grade.  Still.... I had no intention of getting it graded so thanks to #2 son Joe (who is a manager for Superworld) he was able to secure a deal for me the following day at a substantial savings off the asking price.

It is a BATMAN #7 after all ;).

I didn't notice much in the way of nonsense crafty type sellers that take up so much space at some of these shows, there were some sculptors selling work, there was a woman selling stick on masks one of which looked like it'd work if you wanted to do your Denny Colt SPIRIT costume next year.

I only saw a few tables of original art, Spencer Beck's THE ARTIST CHOICE was setup and it's been a number of years since I've seen him.  I managed to find a John Romita Jr page which I really liked-- I've got a history with JJ going back to the 90s when I was working as Paul Ryan's assistant-- and I'd hoped to reconnect with him at the show but every time I swung by he was off doing something.  Not only is he my favorite modern comics artist-- his work channels Kirby to me-- plus he (and his Dad) is/are one of the nicest guys on the planet.   

I chatted with Paul Kupperberg, Joe Staton and Alex Saviuk who contininued our conversation from the green room in Chicago, had a quick meet with CB Celuski who currently edits Marvel Comics and said hello to Dan Didio whose tenure as DC Editor wasn't my favorite but you can't argue he wasn't enthusiastic in his role and didn't deserved the exit he got.   Everyone was asking me why I wasn't setup at the show and I told them we don't get invited to local shows for some reason and that it was nice to just be there as a fan for a change with no commissions or panels to contend with.

As I noted, the celebrity area was pretty quiet.   Unlike most celeb heavy shows this one had actors I've actually heard of, although that's not normally a great thing as I just don't watch modern superhero movies or sci fi.  No wrestlers either which I know even less of.  They had Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy-- Superman and Batman from the respective Animated Series.   It was interesting to see Michael Gray and John Davey-- Billy Batson and Captain Marvel from that absolutely terrible 70s SHAZAM! show where Billy drove around in a Winnebago (how come nobody ever asked Billy why he constantly wore that red sweater, drove around with a strange old guy, or had the Captain Marvel symbol on the front of his Winnebago?) with Mentor saving the day and giving us a morality lesson.   The show was bad but I tuned in faithfully with my bowl of Cocoa Puffs every Saturday morning because in the 70s we were desperate for anything comic related.   Both of them look good for guys pushing their 70s and 80s but it makes you realize how quickly time goes by.

My wife arrived at 5pm - she wanted to say hello to Dave Foley and Kristy Swanson.   She also really enjoyed talking to Alex Saviuk in Chicago and wanted to catch up with him.   She'd never met John Romita Jr but had heard my ridiculous stories of one of our adventures together and as we walked to dinner we ran into him and he CONFIRMED the event to her-- she'll never doubt me again.

Pic of me with John, please note my expression is because my wife nearly dropped my phone before she snapped the pic and I was running numbers through my head as to how much the weekend was going to cost me with the comics, original art and now a new phone! ;)

Pro's & Cons

Pro's -

Wide range of dealers and a lot of comics in the show.

Security was present, metal detectors, bag searches, police and a bomb sniffing dog, but they kept it moving quickly.   Not so at SDCC and Chicago Comic Con this year where security really slowed things down.

Venue offered a LOT of food options with a good range of price options.  There was a concession stand where a lot of show folk were eating, no idea how that was but those who were eating there seemed happy.

Big selection of comics, heavy on the Copper and Modern stuff, but a decent amount of Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Show was organized pretty well, I felt like in Chicago earlier this month that dealers were spread out among nonsense sellers. 

Cons-

The comic area was very crowded and I'm sure the hall's AC was solid before the venue opened, but once it filled up it got very warm in there.   I'll never understand some folks aversion to showers and deodorant before going out in public.

The trivia game they played somewhere in the area was "broadcast" for all of us to hear, but it was so loud you couldn't talk at some booths, tough thing if you're trying to buy or sell.   I get trying to expand the "fun" to the whole show but if I'm negotiating a $2k book and I have to shout that's not much fun.

If you're not overly mobile the parking lot to the show seemed like a pretty good walk to me.   I personally see this as a pro because I am always trying to get my daily steps in which is hard to do when most of your day is spent at a drawing table, but it might be a negative to someone else.

If you're SO wants to shop after the show they're going to have a lot of options, between Sephora, Yankee Candle and another lady store I don't remember my wife was able to occupy herself for some time.   I spent about five minutes in the Tommy Bahama store, and then spent the rest of my waiting time taking pictures of tourists in front of the water fall and making friends with many of the dogs in the casino.   One Irish Setter got so excited he wanted to sit on my lap while I was standing up.

The aisles in the comic area were a little tight.   Artist Alley had HUGE wide aisles, I suppose the idea is to fit more dealers in, but maybe cut a row and extend the show down-- too much space in one ⅓ of the show, not enough in the other ⅓.

Overall - A good show, if I have the time I'll be back for next years offering.

Yeah this backs up what I was saying.   At a show last year we decided to try doing sketches based on how much time we spent on a piece, one option was a fifteen minute sketch for $40 on 9x12 bristol-- these were pretty simple sketches.   We had other artists come over and tell us we were undercharging.  I don't want to make it sound like it's like 1930s gangsters coming by and shaking us down, it's all done in a friendly way, but the pressure is there.

In terms of commission prices, market dictates price.   We did a TON of $500 commissions in Chicago and we had a waiting list.  We offered cheaper options with less detail but when someone would order one they'd point to the $500 ones waiting to get picked up and they'd say "I want that level of detail."   So as an artist you can't win sometimes and you hate to price someone out or disappoint them.

Spent the day at Terrificon Saturday as a fan and I picked up a few books and some art-- full report to follow.

On 7/29/2022 at 11:43 PM, Hockeyflow33 said:

Always a great show but the artist's signature prices are through the roof. I'll be getting less sketches than I ever have at a show

Do you mean prices artists are charging for signatures or the price they are charging for sketches/commissions?  With signatures, there is an active group of artists who encourage other artists to charge for signatures (Neal Adams was one of the first to push others to do it) arguing that those twenty books you just signed at that last show you did together all sold on eBay.    It puts the artists in a tough spot.    I've always seen it that if you as a fan bought copies of a book I worked on no matter what you're going to do with them then so be it.   We had one instance where a guy had a half a box full of Sabrina #1's that he was getting signed and I told him we'd have to charge for anything over 3 copies of the same book, but I never accepted the money when we were done, I just didn't feel right about it.

Books, mostly vintage ones, Universal Monster items, Firearms vintage and modern, watches and vintage toys especially 60s era.

Playing along with the home edition and I'm glad my grades are kept to myself.   There's a reason I'm not a grader I guess.

Didn't you used to have to answer a riddle from a troll?  I'm weak on my knowledge of all that kind of thing.   I don't think we're crossing any bridges anytime soon.  Clearly sun fading-- red always goes first, and sellers determine the price but buyers determine the value-- if those two things don't correlate then the seller needs to lower their price or sit on an item until someone is willing to pay said price.  But in the end, the buyer is the one with the cash.

I've always hated the "cheap" look of those BW covers throughout. 

I do think these conventions that promote themselves as for comic collectors should put the same level of effort in getting CGC Witnesses as they do for celebrity photo ops, and by that I mean list on the website that they will be available.  Ignoring a large percentage of your attendees needs is never a good idea.   The problem is not just Terrificon's alone, if a promoter is happy to come on here and pitch his event, he should also make it a point to check what people are asking.

I've done about a half dozen shows since the end of the pandemic and so far every show as had them there.   Now where they come from or how you get them to come watch someone sign something I have no idea, but someone should here on the boards, so help a fella out!

If back issues are your thing, especially Gold and Silver-- you can't beat Heroes, Emerald City or Baltimore Comic Con-- those are the only "true" comic cons out there for the most part.  I've done every big show and a lot of the smaller ones and there really is no comparison.  SDCC and NYCC are great if you want the spectacle of pop culture, are into new toys and statues, or want to meet a celebrity, but for comics go with one of the ones listed above.  The Little Giant Show in New Hampshire is a very small show devoted only to old comics-- it was a nice small show but the venue is lousy and the air conditioning was non-existent so they need to find a new spot for it.

If you do a little local show you can get a flavor for cons, but they'll have a lot of modern and copper stuff.

Harley is tops in my book!

Sorry my friend we are not tabling, just going down for the day and then dinner.   Our next show is Salt Lake City in September, and there's always the ComicArt Fans Live show in the Fall.

On 7/25/2022 at 2:36 PM, Primetime said:

What does Ted think of the new Overstreet app? 

Vanliew??  Guy doesn't even know how to use his phone, never mind an app for comics collectors. ;)

I've never been to this one despite it being relatively close-- but I think I have my wife convinced to make the trip for the day so we can check it out and have dinner with our sons from SUPERWORLD (no Ted is not my son) at Michael Jordan's Steakhouse.

And that doesn't include the offsite events that are part of the official programs.   The entire city turns comic book-- I stopped at a market to pick up some food for the hotel room (okay and Vodka) and all the displays in the store were superhero themed, and this was about a mile away from the convention center.

And I was there in '18 too-- 165k seems about right-- I think NYCC numbers are close or even higher, but the crowd is much more spread out at SDCC, plus let's be honest, NYC is great but San Diego is a vacation spot.

Well I can give you a report but my perspective is a bit different since I was there as an invited guest and setup in the Comics Pro area;  but I can tell you as someone who collects Golden Age Comics there were some gems in the room.   Dale and Terry had great selections and I picked up a few things including a couple from dealers I hadn't bought from before.   I picked up some CAPTAIN MARVEL ADVENTURES, and ALL FLASH COMICS and a BATMAN #19 and came really close to grabbing a BATMAN #6.

Sales wise for me (and again different as an artist) I can say that foot traffic was stronger than the Wizard Shows with Preview night on Thursday being our second busiest sales day of the show, Saturday was the juggernaut with Friday coming in third.  Now I've been on the record saying I really dislike the celebrity shows but let's be honest that's what San Diego and New York have become.   At least with this show you had many celebs that crossed over with comics culture.  A fan who got a Jon Bernthal photo autographed and then as he passed my table and saw a Ghost Rider I'd done he ordered a Punisher Commission -- so it wasn't a case of someone not having any money left over after buying autographs.

The Show was well organized, family friendly and I saw a lot of happy kids with their parents enjoying it.  I walked the con floor a couple of times and I thought it was an improvement over Wizard, no empty tables, I didn't see any fortune tellers and if there were insurance companies I didn't see them.  A nicely done show in a great area.

Good luck with the sale-- some great books here fellas, great price too.

You need to add payment methods you'll accept.

On 6/6/2022 at 5:21 PM, jbud73 said:

House of Mystery 282

9.2

$12

Take it if I didn't already take it (don't know if it went through)

Bruce Timm, Damien Scott and a few others work at 9x12 or smaller--so too do a lot of Manga artists-  a lot of people think it's faster to work smaller-- smaller page, less ink, less work, right?  I find it takes longer to work small but I ink with brushes which are not kind to a smaller work area.

On 6/6/2022 at 5:39 PM, jbud73 said:

House of Mystery 275

9.4

$10

Take

On 6/6/2022 at 5:21 PM, jbud73 said:

House of Mystery 282

9.2

$12

Take this one too.

On 6/5/2022 at 10:43 PM, jbud73 said:

Ghostly Tales 133

8.5

$7

Take this one too.