Is the San diego Comic con leaning even farther away from being a Comic con?

[PokerKid]

of course it is. when dealers like myself stopped going it has to become a mass exodus at some point. I exhibited for 25 years. When they moved the dealers and made us second class citizens in our own ghetto it was the end for me.

 

Plus it is an incredibly expensive show to exhibit at now. I don't know what booths are now, but hotels are almost 300 a night. If you are there for 6 nights (arrive tues, leave sun) and if you bring help so you need 2 rooms, hotel alone is $4000. with taxes

 

If you have one booth, parking, 1 hotel room 6 nights, gas to the show from where ever you are or airfare... you're talking almost 5k in expenses before you make $1.00. When I stopped going in 2003, it was costing me $9000 a year with my 3 booths, help, food, exhibit supplies.. It costs a fortune to setup at shows today and the whole city of San Diego rips off the attendees now with high prices on everything.

 

Those costs mean nothing to Sony or WB, but to dealers selling $5-30k (depending on what you sell and what your merchandise costs are), the cost of showing up is the loss of your inventory and all you got out of it was a working vacation.

 

An excellent explanation of some of the major obstacles.

 

If the convention moved to a city more accustomed to handling large conventions, such as an Anaheim or Vegas as has been discussed, would the lower hotel costs be enough to draw you and other dealers back in?

 

I'm not likely to go back at all, even if Faye Desmond were to beg me & give me free booths and by the time the show does come to Vegas there won't be any comics left there anyway. Also, even if the show came here, you wouldn't save much money. The hotels all raise the rates for big conventions and it's no longer a fair value to come here like it was 20+ years ago (oh PokerKid, you do realize that I am in Las Vegas, right?).

 

If that is the case (not arguing, just asking), what makes other large shows work as comic shows? Are they not quite as big and essentially Comic-Con has hit a critical mass where it is too successful to work for the funny books?

[innocuous]

I have two perspectives on this issue.

 

First, there were definitely fewer dealers this year than last year. And, fewer still than years before. So, I was very disappointed in the choice of "collectible" comics available to me. Yes, this is sad and I would like to see SDCC do something to draw more dealers and "collectors". I was very upset to see BLB Comics not in their usual spot by the front door.

 

However, there is still a very strong presence of comics at this show. There were massive booths for all the major publishers. Many independent publishers were present as well and I managed to find some interesting titles to try. And, tucked away at the end of the hall was artist alley. I still waited about 40 minutes for a sketch from Francis Manapul. And, there were huge lines at all the major publishers to signatures when artists and writers were scheduled to appear. Maybe not all attendees read comics, but a lot of them do.

 

With that said, the crowds were definitely there for the mass media tv and film stuff, but the comic areas were not ghost towns.

 

This show will be around for a while. They may have lost sight of comic books as collectibles, but, they still draw people to today's version of comics.

[silverweb]

You want comics in a California show - go to Wondercon..

 

Or the CalComicCon in Yorba Linda put on by Terry's Comics (thumbs u

The one last January was terrific!

[comicartcom]

of course it is. when dealers like myself stopped going it has to become a mass exodus at some point. I exhibited for 25 years. When they moved the dealers and made us second class citizens in our own ghetto it was the end for me.

 

Plus it is an incredibly expensive show to exhibit at now. I don't know what booths are now, but hotels are almost 300 a night. If you are there for 6 nights (arrive tues, leave sun) and if you bring help so you need 2 rooms, hotel alone is $4000. with taxes

 

If you have one booth, parking, 1 hotel room 6 nights, gas to the show from where ever you are or airfare... you're talking almost 5k in expenses before you make $1.00. When I stopped going in 2003, it was costing me $9000 a year with my 3 booths, help, food, exhibit supplies.. It costs a fortune to setup at shows today and the whole city of San Diego rips off the attendees now with high prices on everything.

 

Those costs mean nothing to Sony or WB, but to dealers selling $5-30k (depending on what you sell and what your merchandise costs are), the cost of showing up is the loss of your inventory and all you got out of it was a working vacation.

 

An excellent explanation of some of the major obstacles.

 

If the convention moved to a city more accustomed to handling large conventions, such as an Anaheim or Vegas as has been discussed, would the lower hotel costs be enough to draw you and other dealers back in?

 

I'm not likely to go back at all, even if Faye Desmond were to beg me & give me free booths and by the time the show does come to Vegas there won't be any comics left there anyway. Also, even if the show came here, you wouldn't save much money. The hotels all raise the rates for big conventions and it's no longer a fair value to come here like it was 20+ years ago (oh PokerKid, you do realize that I am in Las Vegas, right?).

 

Are there any big comic shows or comic conventions in Vegas?

 

someone tried it, but they tried to copy SDCC and it was too expensive. They needed to turn it down a notch or two & grow it, but that wasn't their business model

[rabidwolf]

The first time I went to the con was in 1993, right after I graduated high school. I remember driving, finding parking right away, buying a ticket and walking right in. The floor space was a lot smaller but multiple times the number of dealers from all around the world with some of the most incredible books I had ever seen. It was virtually all comics and original comic art. A truly incredible comic book convention.

 

Then I went in 1999, 2001, 2002. The show was becoming overwhelmed with all kinds of other unrelated booths and events. There were a lot of comic book dealers but not as many as I had seen in 1993. Comic dealers made up maybe 25 to 35 percent of the show around those years.

 

2010 - This was my first time back in eight years. Comic dealers made up maybe 5 percent of the room with only a fraction of the number of dealers that were there in 1993 and maybe 1/4th of what was there in the early 2000's.

 

The purpose for this trip down memory lane is quite simple, comic book collectors, especially silver/gold/bronze collectors need a new show to surface that mirrors the one I had gone to in 1993.

[tth2]

hotels are almost 300 a night. If you are there for 6 nights (arrive tues, leave sun) and if you bring help so you need 2 rooms, hotel alone is $4000. with taxes

You don't have to stay in a hotel right by the convention center or within walking distance. SD is a huge family tourist destination year round and has a zillion budget priced hotels. The best advice I got the one time I went to SD Con was from Fuelman, I think it was, to just drive to one of the train stations and then take the train right to the convention.

 

I parked at the convention center only once, because the traffic in and out of the downtown area was nightmarish, and that's even before hoping there's still a parking space.

[Ringfinger]

Sad state of affairs.

[PeasOfCrap]

its ironic that Odin's throne which was the biggest display in the heart of "comic" con was sitting cold and empty.

[Jeffro.]

Don't get me wrong, I would love more than anything else to have a room full of dealers selling vintage comics but those days are gone because ain't nobody giving up a fistful of dollars to please a few hundred comic geeks.

 

Then maybe it's time to take the word "comic" out of the title and replace it with something else.

 

As a young'un, there were two major cons I wanted to attend someday. One was Gencon and the other was SDCC. A few years ago, I finally got to go to Gencon and it was fantastic. Blew me away.

 

I have little interest these days in going to SDCC. Maybe 20 years ago, but not now.

[capt_comics]

The first time I went to the con was in 1993, right after I graduated high school. I remember driving, finding parking right away, buying a ticket and walking right in. The floor space was a lot smaller but multiple times the number of dealers from all around the world with some of the most incredible books I had ever seen. It was virtually all comics and original comic art. A truly incredible comic book convention.

 

Then I went in 1999, 2001, 2002. The show was becoming overwhelmed with all kinds of other unrelated booths and events. There were a lot of comic book dealers but not as many as I had seen in 1993. Comic dealers made up maybe 25 to 35 percent of the show around those years.

 

2010 - This was my first time back in eight years. Comic dealers made up maybe 5 percent of the room with only a fraction of the number of dealers that were there in 1993 and maybe 1/4th of what was there in the early 2000's.

 

The purpose for this trip down memory lane is quite simple, comic book collectors, especially silver/gold/bronze collectors need a new show to surface that mirrors the one I had gone to in 1993.

 

Sad..............wish I had went 15-20 years ago. Doubt I ever will now.

 

[oakman29]

You want comics in a California show - go to Wondercon..

 

Or the CalComicCon in Yorba Linda put on by Terry's Comics (thumbs u

The one last January was terrific!

 

I agree the Yorba Linda show is as old school as you can get,a comic book collectors show.I hope to see everyone there. (thumbs u

[action1kid]

I went to the San Diego Comic con every year until 1999.

Its just not what it use to be for me"Vintage Comicbooks"

I understand im in the vast minority and times are evolving.

[divad]

It's a vicious cycle that will eventually be broken one way or another.

 

The expenses are likely what is killing the show for dealers. You're looking at about $3-4000+ in travel expenses alone for a person. Lou and I are into the trip for $4500 and that was being relatively moderate on meals and travel (like taxis) where at other cons we wouldn't pull any punches and still come out cheaper.

 

That's not including table costs or any purchases.

 

Either all the dealers will leave and just make their own cheaper show or Comic Con will have to do something to stem the tide.

 

At this point there is no other resolution that I can see.

 

 

$4500 to attend a once-comic book convention in San Diego??? I'd rather go to Rome for two weeks . . .

[Mr.Diggler]

 

$4500 to attend a once-comic book convention in San Diego??? I'd rather go to Rome for two weeks . . .

[Lethal_Collector]

Wow, I really appreciate everyone's input. I was on the fence about looking into going next year, but now I'll stick with Emerald City up in Seattle and keep an eye out for Wondercon in S.F. It sounds like it will be called 'SDC' since its already minus the comics

 

Jerome

[Calamerica]

You want comics in a California show - go to Wondercon..

 

Or the CalComicCon in Yorba Linda put on by Terry's Comics (thumbs u

The one last January was terrific!

 

I agree the Yorba Linda show is as old school as you can get,a comic book collectors show.I hope to see everyone there. (thumbs u

 

I went to this one once and it was ONLY comic books. Got got a good deal on SILVER SURFER 1 - 18 VF+ raw.

 

This was a few years back and if I ever get down that way again I will stop by....

 

CAL remebers

[WaltT-migration]

of course it is. when dealers like myself stopped going it has to become a mass exodus at some point. I exhibited for 25 years. When they moved the dealers and made us second class citizens in our own ghetto it was the end for me.

 

Plus it is an incredibly expensive show to exhibit at now. I don't know what booths are now, but hotels are almost 300 a night. If you are there for 6 nights (arrive tues, leave sun) and if you bring help so you need 2 rooms, hotel alone is $4000. with taxes

 

If you have one booth, parking, 1 hotel room 6 nights, gas to the show from where ever you are or airfare... you're talking almost 5k in expenses before you make $1.00. When I stopped going in 2003, it was costing me $9000 a year with my 3 booths, help, food, exhibit supplies.. It costs a fortune to setup at shows today and the whole city of San Diego rips off the attendees now with high prices on everything.

 

Those costs mean nothing to Sony or WB, but to dealers selling $5-30k (depending on what you sell and what your merchandise costs are), the cost of showing up is the loss of your inventory and all you got out of it was a working vacation.

 

An excellent explanation of some of the major obstacles.

 

If the convention moved to a city more accustomed to handling large conventions, such as an Anaheim or Vegas as has been discussed, would the lower hotel costs be enough to draw you and other dealers back in?

 

I'm not likely to go back at all, even if Faye Desmond were to beg me & give me free booths and by the time the show does come to Vegas there won't be any comics left there anyway. Also, even if the show came here, you wouldn't save much money. The hotels all raise the rates for big conventions and it's no longer a fair value to come here like it was 20+ years ago (oh PokerKid, you do realize that I am in Las Vegas, right?).

 

you can rent a weekly 1 bedroom for $170 and they are all over Vegas, or the circus circus will always be around $30 a night unless they decide to remodel their old rooms.

 

 

[october]

It's a vicious cycle that will eventually be broken one way or another.

 

The expenses are likely what is killing the show for dealers. You're looking at about $3-4000+ in travel expenses alone for a person. Lou and I are into the trip for $4500 and that was being relatively moderate on meals and travel (like taxis) where at other cons we wouldn't pull any punches and still come out cheaper.

 

That's not including table costs or any purchases.

 

Either all the dealers will leave and just make their own cheaper show or Comic Con will have to do something to stem the tide.

 

At this point there is no other resolution that I can see.

 

 

$4500 to attend a once-comic book convention in San Diego??? I'd rather go to Rome for two weeks . . .

 

No doubt. Hell, I spent three weeks in Europe on two different occasions and each trip ran less than $3k. Not to mention the fact that they beat the pants off of my two trips to the San Diego Con....which, while an interesting spectacle, didn't impress me much comics-wise.

[nearmint]

Comic-Con cost me $1050. $800 for the hotel, $100 for the 4-day pass, and $150 for meals.

 

As for the the quality and quantity of comics, it sure seemed like there were a ton of great funny books to me.

[musicmeta]

I hear another good convention for mostly comic books is the "Baltimore Con". Anybody have any feedback?