A brief Mega-Con report

[joeypost]

Did not bring a camera

 

Shared Mike's booth with kingofrulers, inhuman_fiend. It was a little tight but with everyone floating around, looking at books, working out deals the booth was always properly manned.

 

First day was a bust for me as sales went. If the rest of the show was like Friday I was in trouble. Granted I was selling $1 books but they were GI Joe titles, TMNT, Marvel and DC major titles plus a select handful of slabbed books.

 

Did a lot of talking and it is funny watching people go through dollar bins. Actually had a few people ask if they could take books out and inspected them like you would a 9.6 copy of FF #1.

 

A few of us went to a Brazilian steak house and ate until we were about to burst. Company and food was great. By the time I drove home and got settled it was 2 AM. Big enough group to talk to everyone without asking "You were there"? Got to meet Jim (cgcworlds) whole family and was impressed by how well behaved/polite his children were. They must spend a lot of time with thier mom.

 

Saturday the place was packed. Saw more skin and underwear than you would on a Victoria's Secret runway. Some did not really belong or fit into the outfits they were wearing. Still, it provided a great deal of entertainment value.

 

Sales on Saturday put me well into the black and I could breath easier from that point on. Sold a few slabs and some small $$$ wall books. Had a few first appearance books and two copies on NM #98 that did not sell until the last few hours of the show.

 

Dinner at Vito's was great. Got to meet a few new boardies and say high to a few old friends from last year. Oddly enough I was so steaked out from Friday I ordered pasta with meatballs, or I should say cannon balls. They had to weight a pound each. I ate half of one and the pasta. Again dinner and the company was great. The table was a long table in the corner so we could be loud and not worry too much, only drawback was you had to get up and walk to talk to other forum members. Was sandwhiched between Arex and Watson and was constantly asked by Arex what kind of salad was in my drink (Mojito).

 

Waited till the end of the show on Sunday to do any real buying. Actually spent all of my profit from the show and re-invested it into more books. By the end of the day I missed the few board members that left early to avoid the weather and the show rapidly started to slow down by about 3:30.

 

Talked to most of the major dealers and while it was not a great show most said they did OK. Considering many are now dipping into 401k's and savings to pay their bills OK is more than good enough.

 

[TupennyConan]

Did not bring a camera

 

Saturday the place was packed. Saw more skin and underwear than you would on a Victoria's Secret runway.

 

[capt_comics]

What was the general consensus from dealers concerning sales. Up, down, about the same?

 

How was the crowd. About the same as last year or up?

 

 

What is the NM 98 going for?

 

I know, I know ......too many questions

 

 

 

 

[Gone Phishin']

Glad I was able to meet you Joey! I forgot to look through your TMNT's!

 

Have cheap copies of #3-6?

[joeypost]

I did. Do have 4, 7, 8 left. Multiples of each.

[CKB]

Was sandwhiched between Arex and Watson and was constantly asked by Arex what kind of salad was in my drink (Mojito).

 

Should have just told him to stop asking questions. That drink was MINT!

 

[Aloha]

For a first time attendee here were some of my impressions:

 

Lots of old comic dealers with good selection, but understandably high prices (when compared to what you can purchase on the boards or off ebay). I was looking, but didn't see any deals. Which hopefully is good for the long term value of our collections since prices seem to be holding steady in a rough economy. However, it was disheartening as a buyer to see mid grade silver and bronze books that I buy and see on ebay all the time being marked up double and triple what they usually fetch online.

 

On the other hand, if the sellers were making a decent amount of sales with those prices, then that actually makes me feel better about my past buying habits since I tend to buy a lot of VF mid grade stuff, but haven't had a lot of faith in their future resale value since most of the collectors I hear about tend to only want HG stuff.

 

DC booth was a disappointment. This is always one of the highlights of comic-con for me because DC always has great signings and cool giveaways. Unfortunately for this con, they only had about two or three of the same artists signing each day and did not bring down any of the big names to the booth (Dave Gibbons, Bruce Timm) that were attending the con for other DC panels. They only had about 50 Watchmen movie posters for the whole con and only gave them out with about an hour left at the con on Sunday afternoon. It looks like Time Warner is really scaling back on what they are allowing DC to spend on promotions.

 

Artists Alley - I always try to pick up some commissions and sketches from the artists and while there was a decent selection of artists, many dropped out at the last minute and didn't show up during the weekend at all. For a con this big, it was actually kind of a disappointment. I got a few nice pieces from Dave Johnson, who was fantastic as usual and an all around great guy. I got on Art Adams list on Day 1 and was number 12 on the list, but he was so slow, he only got about 8 sketches done over the 3 days (and his work was not up to his usual standards in my opinion). J. Scott Cambell went to a lottery type system where you told him what character you wanted, how much you wanted to pay (suggested prices: $100, $500, and $1000) and if he was interested, he would give you a call. Love his art, but not really sure if it's worth it at those prices (these were basically head sketches). Overall, not a bad haul, but nothing to write home about either.

 

I don't think I would make the trip down from LA again for this con. It's a great local con, but it's not something to go out of your way for.

[Transplant]

For a first time attendee here were some of my impressions:

 

Lots of old comic dealers with good selection, but understandably high prices (when compared to what you can purchase on the boards or off ebay). I was looking, but didn't see any deals. Which hopefully is good for the long term value of our collections since prices seem to be holding steady in a rough economy. However, it was disheartening as a buyer to see mid grade silver and bronze books that I buy and see on ebay all the time being marked up double and triple what they usually fetch online.

 

On the other hand, if the sellers were making a decent amount of sales with those prices, then that actually makes me feel better about my past buying habits since I tend to buy a lot of VF mid grade stuff, but haven't had a lot of faith in their future resale value since most of the collectors I hear about tend to only want HG stuff.

 

DC booth was a disappointment. This is always one of the highlights of comic-con for me because DC always has great signings and cool giveaways. Unfortunately for this con, they only had about two or three of the same artists signing each day and did not bring down any of the big names to the booth (Dave Gibbons, Bruce Timm) that were attending the con for other DC panels. They only had about 50 Watchmen movie posters for the whole con and only gave them out with about an hour left at the con on Sunday afternoon. It looks like Time Warner is really scaling back on what they are allowing DC to spend on promotions.

 

Artists Alley - I always try to pick up some commissions and sketches from the artists and while there was a decent selection of artists, many dropped out at the last minute and didn't show up during the weekend at all. For a con this big, it was actually kind of a disappointment. I got a few nice pieces from Dave Johnson, who was fantastic as usual and an all around great guy. I got on Art Adams list on Day 1 and was number 12 on the list, but he was so slow, he only got about 8 sketches done over the 3 days (and his work was not up to his usual standards in my opinion). J. Scott Cambell went to a lottery type system where you told him what character you wanted, how much you wanted to pay (suggested prices: $100, $500, and $1000) and if he was interested, he would give you a call. Love his art, but not really sure if it's worth it at those prices (these were basically head sketches). Overall, not a bad haul, but nothing to write home about either.

 

I don't think I would make the trip down from LA again for this con. It's a great local con, but it's not something to go out of your way for.

This doesn't sound like the MegaCon I went to. Perhaps you were at Wondercon instead?

[Aloha]

Oops

 

My brain is so thrashed from driving all the way back home from SF last night that I posted this in the wrong thread.

 

My only defense is that there seemed to be a lot of people smoking weed outside the con and I must have inhaled too much and got a contact high.

 

Need to get some sleep.

 

[HouseofComics.Com]

Don't worry, those of us who set up at Wondercon are totally thrashed too!

[Flee-Marquette]

So how were things at Wondercon Joey?

[joeypost]

Not bad

 

I rarely read any of Chuck's blogs but I did read the one he sent out this morning about Mega-Con

 

"The Manga and Anime kids refused to give up on the show entirely, but they clearly cut back. Given that all those crazy kids in costumes used to pack the aisles to the point where those of us who came for the comics oftentimes couldn't even traverse the aisles".

 

Saturday was like that and their were times that you could not even get through an isle without literally pushing your way through. Good for the overall convention, but bad for the comic dealers who need clear space in front of their booths.

[Gone Phishin']

I also did not think it was well organized.. They should have placed the 4-5 dealers there in one corner and called it Comic Cove

[kryptonitecomics]

It was great meeting Joey at Vito's especially since he only lives about 20 minutes from me......if he has dollar boxes I will have to make my way up there to see if I can dig out some Cheap Star wars #1's as I hear he practically gives them away

[joeypost]

It was great meeting Joey at Vito's especially since he only lives about 20 minutes from me......if he has dollar boxes I will have to make my way up there to see if I can dig out some Cheap Star wars #1's as I hear he practically gives them away

 

(thumbs u

 

(thumbs u star wars #1's are at least $2

[Dale Roberts]

Were a few more that 4 - 5 comic dealers there......

 

Dale Roberts Comics, Bedrock City, All Select, Graham Crackers, Basement Comics, Crazy Ed, Comic Central, Daves Comics, Bretts Comic Pile, Coliseum of Comics, Tim Gordon, Cards, Comics, & Collectibles(Marc Nathan), and several 8 - 10 other guys with some quality books...

 

I will grant you that it was difficult to find everyone with all of the anime

[Transplant]

I will grant you that it was difficult to find everyone with all of the anime

You're just mad because they were all out of the Level 6 Sword of Fairy Tears.

[joeypost]

Were a few more that 4 - 5 comic dealers there......

 

Dale Roberts Comics, Bedrock City, All Select, Graham Crackers, Basement Comics, Crazy Ed, Comic Central, Daves Comics, Bretts Comic Pile, Coliseum of Comics, Tim Gordon, Cards, Comics, & Collectibles(Marc Nathan), and several 8 - 10 other guys with some quality books...

 

I will grant you that it was difficult to find everyone with all of the anime

 

If their was a comic alley as has been previously stated it would make things easier. Personally I would like a section set aside like they do for the games and artists.

[Dale Roberts]

yeah, for this show, that would be nice.....I talked to the promoter for a while about some options to help the comic guys out, hopefully, she will take it to heart.

[kryptonitecomics]

Were a few more that 4 - 5 comic dealers there......

 

Dale Roberts Comics, Bedrock City, All Select, Graham Crackers, Basement Comics, Crazy Ed, Comic Central, Daves Comics, Bretts Comic Pile, Coliseum of Comics, Tim Gordon, Cards, Comics, & Collectibles(Marc Nathan), and several 8 - 10 other guys with some quality books...

 

I will grant you that it was difficult to find everyone with all of the anime

 

 

I was there and honestly I didn't see all these sellers so yes some were burried in the Manga universe I did see your both and spent a lot of time looking but didn't pull the trigger on the Catman #20 you had......just didn't want to drop most of the $$$ I brought on a book that wasn't originally on my want list.

 

Still it was great meeting everyone!