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SD GA Report?

Started by dem1138,

230 posts in this topic

Flex Mentallo

Flex Mentallo

Posted
Posted
Centaurs, early Fox, early Fiction House, and MLJ's were very, very scarce, hardly to be found at the Con at all.

 

hm indeed! That's very interesting news - would you normally expect to see more of those? Sounds almost like it is Mile High or nothing!

 

Thanks so much for the detailed report!

 

:popcorn:

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50YrsCollctngCmcs

50YrsCollctngCmcs

Posted
Posted

Just back in from the show. A few interesting observations on my end. The day of the poor messy fanboy is departing with the arrival of some serious Hollywood folk and their entourages.

 

This corresponds with the ever shrinking Golden and Silver Age section of the show. Prices are still strong although there seemed to be a deal for anyone who was willing to look for things. I will post my books later but I had previously purchased Action 36 and Cap 50 off the boards for pickup at the show and was very pleased.I also found a really nice issue of Animal Comics that jumped off the rack at me for a pleasing $60. Early Pogo, great stuff. Lots to see and I could have looked longer but ran out of time and energy. It is a young person's con!

 

And to that end there is a demonstrable generational shift that has occurred as a strong showing of younger fans with a much more varied demographic than ever attended any comic show of my youth has added new vigor to the shows. Good on them I say, it will keep Comic Con alive; although it will be quite different as the years move on.

 

A sign of the improving financial standing or perhaps the disaster that I heard the hotel reservation system was was spotted where we stayed at the Del Coronado Hotel. On occassion we stay over there and combine some nice days at the beach and pool with Comic Con. This was the first year I ever saw other attendees over there. Usually we are surrounded by Arizona denizens in for a week's vacation, never groups of comic con attendees. For anyone attending I highly recommend this way to see the show, and bus service is right outside the hotel's main entrance.

 

My kids attended the Lulu Fan Gathering last year and did the same this year. It helped that the Airbender Fan Gathering followed in the same room. For those wanting some old convention vibe the Lulu Gathering is a blast with audience members getting to play the parts of characters in an old Lulu story. It sounds funny but it is a hoot and my kid's got a kick out of reading some lines. I'm surprised no one does this with Bark's but it probably wouldn't be the same.

 

I spent some time perusing original artwork this year as well as several of the new publishers. The variety of material is simply amazing. I only wish I had some sort of buyer's guide to the new material as some of it looks really interesting. My daughter picked up the new Tubby reprint book from Drawn and Quarterly. I will have to grab a look at that too.

 

The crowds were a bit overwhelming at times; as we were there Friday all day and Saturday afternoon. We eat lunch (we bring our own healthy sandwiches to stay away from the con food) in the pro suite each year and this year it was shifted from the main hall to the far southern end of the hall. I would never get down to that part of the show normally and I was amazed to see the crowds as thick down there and perhaps thicker than the north end. Of course I should know this as a couple years back I thought I might casually walk into a Lost panel as it was starting only to have security point out to me the "Waiting Line for spare seats," which was longer than any line I had ever seen fit to stand in in my life!

 

I managed to squeeze in the panel where Paul Levitz talked about his experience's with DC. That was quite interesting and he has had an interesting career. I wish I could have made it to more of these panels but old comics and the family beckoned so I made the best of my time.

 

Overall, I would say this was one of the better shows of recent years. Certainly a good time seemed to be had by all I saw in attendance. The crowds still seem a bit much but this is the price of success and everyone wants to be there. Quite an interesting paradigm shift from the shows of the early seventies I attended when everyone thought you were a little nuts to go.

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50YrsCollctngCmcs

50YrsCollctngCmcs

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Barry's not me, you can call me Frank.

 

Great report, Barry! :applause:

 

Great report, Frankenberry. :applause:

 

 

:baiting:

 

Good one! My Iphone is the Frank 'n Phone!

 

By the way couldn't help but think this weekend of one of the funnier posts I read here about Richard Munchin's books being described as Frankenbooks as I walked past his booth.

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40sJohn

40sJohn

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40sJohn=Barry; no wonder I'm always confused around here!!

 

 

Barry's not me, you can call me Frank.

 

Great report, Barry! :applause:
Sorry, Frank! I got you mixed up with 40sJohn

 

I agree with Mike, excellent report from ComicCon. I especially liked your observation on the demographics. I think the movie industry is seriously helping to pull younger fans to our hobby. One question: Do you think the shrinking GA/SA sales area is due to the high costs of booths and accommodations?

 

(BTW, the 40sJohn username refers to my mostly unused first name, Barry is middle name.)

 

(thumbs u

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nearmint

nearmint

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I don't know that the Gold & Silver Age Pavilion was any smaller this year than last. Redbeard wasn't there for the first time in decades, but Comiclink occupied Ron's old spaces. Dale was in Bob Beerbohm's old spot, but Bob was set up elsewhere. I noticed several comic dealers set up in areas outside of the G & S Pavilion, as well.

 

But there's no doubt that the increased costs of Comic-Con is making it more difficult for dealers to turn a profit.

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action1kid

action1kid

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Posted
I don't know that the Gold & Silver Age Pavilion was any smaller this year than last. Redbeard wasn't there for the first time in decades, but Comiclink occupied Ron's old spaces. Dale was in Bob Beerbohm's old spot, but Bob was set up elsewhere. I noticed several comic dealers set up in areas outside of the G & S Pavilion, as well.

 

But there's no doubt that the increased costs of Comic-Con is making it more difficult for dealers to turn a profit.

 

I think they want us Geeks outta there[comicbook dealers] to make room for the truely big bucks . They dont actually want to say it so they will just price us out of the show. Thats what I think.

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nearmint

nearmint

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Posted
I don't know that the Gold & Silver Age Pavilion was any smaller this year than last. Redbeard wasn't there for the first time in decades, but Comiclink occupied Ron's old spaces. Dale was in Bob Beerbohm's old spot, but Bob was set up elsewhere. I noticed several comic dealers set up in areas outside of the G & S Pavilion, as well.

 

But there's no doubt that the increased costs of Comic-Con is making it more difficult for dealers to turn a profit.

 

I think they want us Geeks outta there[comicbook dealers] to make room for the truely big bucks . They dont actually want to say it so they will just price us out of the show. Thats what I think.

 

Not sure what you mean by the big bucks. If a movie studio rents a dozen spaces, how does Comic-Con make anymore money than a dozen comic dealers occupying those spaces?

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action1kid

action1kid

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Posted
I don't know that the Gold & Silver Age Pavilion was any smaller this year than last. Redbeard wasn't there for the first time in decades, but Comiclink occupied Ron's old spaces. Dale was in Bob Beerbohm's old spot, but Bob was set up elsewhere. I noticed several comic dealers set up in areas outside of the G & S Pavilion, as well.

 

But there's no doubt that the increased costs of Comic-Con is making it more difficult for dealers to turn a profit.

 

I think they want us Geeks outta there[comicbook dealers] to make room for the truely big bucks . They dont actually want to say it so they will just price us out of the show. Thats what I think.

 

Not sure what you mean by the big bucks. If a movie studio rents a dozen spaces, how does Comic-Con make anymore money than a dozen comic dealers occupying those spaces?

 

With the big studios there they can continue to raise prices year after year without losing a rent or hearing a complaint. With a comic dealer continued price increases will illiminate him eventually. It is heading towards being a Superbowl commercial which only a select few can attend or pay..Well im exaggerating of course but you get my point.

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sacentaur

sacentaur

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That's a sweet book! (worship)

 

Thank You for the kind comments all, Action 14 is/was a grail for me and to get such a nice copy is certainly a thrill.

 

Credit must extend to Superworld (Ted) who settled on a quick flip to me at a very reasonable price after he realized how badly I wanted the book (drooling on myself was probably the first clue, lol ).

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