Tampa Bay Comic Con! Feb. 20th, 2011 back at the Doubletree!

[capt_comics]

Looks like a fantastic turnout

 

Congrats (thumbs u

[TupennyConan]

[A-DONIS]

Just wanted to add a couple of pictures from the show:

 

Our CGC SS table, that disappeared during the show:

 

 

The Artist Alley prior to the show:

 

 

Mr. Alex Saviuk working on an ASM Blank (I'm not the owner, some lucky guy was):

 

 

 

Arthur Suydam:

 

 

 

And finally, myself and Mike Perkins:

 

[gcstomp]

Good show, strong turn out, surprising number of costume wearers. Would be nice to see this grow to a 2 day.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

Good show, strong turn out, surprising number of costume wearers. Would be nice to see this grow to a 2 day.

 

A 2-day Tampa show that gets some out-of-town Boardies and dealers to attend would be a big plus. If I were Mike or Stephen, I would consider scheduling next Winter/Spring's show on the weekend before MegaCon. Get together with a traveling agency and the Doubletree (assuming its still at that location) and offer the Boards an opportunity for a package deal. Considering the weather this time of year, I think there would be more then a couple of folks who would bring the family down for a week of Florida fun sandwiched between two great comic shows.

 

Just a thought.

 

[400yrs]

I got the impression that a few of the vendors were there because Miami is next week.

[JiveTurkeyMoFo]

I got the impression that a few of the vendors were there because Miami is next week.

 

Exactly. Combine a couple of out of state dealers with a handul of out of state buyers who normally wouldn't be there, in a venue that's almost all comics (unlike Mega-Con), and you have the potential for something good.

 

Having been to Mega-Con for what will be my 10th straight year (jesus, has it been that long!?!), I can elaborate on the mentality:

 

Buyers from across the south and into South Florida often times don't want to make the trip because they don't think there are going to be any good books there to be purchased. As a buyer, I think the selection of vintage material has increased on a yearly basis....it was absolute garbage in 2001-2003, got better in 2005-2008, and has really been decent in 2009-2010. However, it is primarily now an animae and "entertainment" show, and I remember one collector telling me a few years ago he won't be back because of the crowds of animae kids.

 

As for out of state dealers, we've seen guys like Bedrock, Metro a few years ago, Motor City, and others come and go. Besides Harley Yee, Rick - Gator, and Dale Roberts, the list of vintage comic vendors is incredibly limited this year. And why not? Its expensive to do MegaCon ($700-$900 a booth), plus the travel and hotel expenses, all to hope that a handful of buyers and sales to other dealers make your weekend? I can see the allure of skipping the venue altogether, but that's the fault of the show's promoters, who have been going out of their way to make it as unfriendly to comic sellers and buyers for years now.

 

All of which doesn't address the fact that a comic-related show in Florida is still very much an easy sell. The weather is amazing, compared to 90% of the rest of the North America, and people do build mini vacations around coming down here. Hotels are cheap, theme parks are everywhere between Tampa and Orlando, and its the closest thing to Vegas east of the Mississippi (we have gambling too!).

 

Add in that Mega-Con and the Seattle show essentially kick off the convention circuit for the new year, and that by February there is always a little bit of pent up demand as people are ready to do some buying, and I would think that Florida becomes a natural venue for a decent comic show.