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WonderCon - Are people going?

Started by mtlevy,

43 posts in this topic

suspense39

suspense39

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Went yesterday......pretty good, I spent the whole day at three booths, bechara (nostalgic investments), saul's( Kirby art.com),Scott eder and coolines, which was like a two hour history lesson.. One thing I realized is that the original art collecting side of comics is very tiny and insular.my friends and I would basically have the art tables to ourselves for up to twenty minutes at a time at a crowded con. I was surprised how many people, especially younger comic collectors don't even know what the art really is. Anyway I saw lots of GREAT stuff my friends all picked up some nice peices and for me, no luck, my search for the right Marie Severin dr strange page continues!

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suspense39

suspense39

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I don't really collect newer art, scetches or commissions so I didn't really pay attention what artists were there....but I did pass through the artist section on the way to where I was going and the crowds in that area seemed quite deep.

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AKA Rick

AKA Rick

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The Original Art sector of the hobby wasn't well represented by the bigger named dealers like Albert Moy, Anthony Snyder, Romitaman, Splash Page Art, or Graphic Collectibles - - and most of the dealers were the smaller or niche ones or the dealers whose display seems to have the agenda of showing off their collection than actually making sales, since they're all unmarked in prices and when you inquire, the rates are at higher than market value prices. I think they're probably more interested in trades I'm guessing, or those random lighting in a bottle collector who buys on impulse or obsession despite the prices. After seeing these types of folks at many shows, I think their reputations for such business strategy and practices tends to not inspire collectors to walk past them, not even bother looking anymore, let alone inquiring about prices, so even if there were bargains to be found, their reputations precede them and biased opinions have been formed. They need to probably list actual prices and build a better eCom web presence with pricing to restore faith and trust in the collecting community.

 

Artists Alley was okay, if you looked at the roster, it's "the usual suspects" of the same talent who always haunts the California shows, so no new or exciting names and faces.

 

There were a lot of artist direct deals to buy art from the artists themselves.

 

There were some nice big names and many were doing commissions as well as selling art, but for those who have been in the circuit for the past 3 years and who have already gotten commissions, there was a lack of either marquee names that don't frequent shows often nor fresh new ones.

 

I did see Marc Silvestri was drawing free sketches for fans, which was an added bonus for anyone who knew about it, so that was a great opportunity at Wondercon.

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suspense39

suspense39

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I don't know what happened with Moy or Snyder, I thought they were signed up to be there.....maybe last minute pull out. I didn't find prices to be too bad on the things I inquired about, but I was focused on finding a Marie Severin strange page. I did find one at Kirby art which was about a thousand over what I've seen them go for, I have bought from him before and gotten extremely reasonable prices, so I was a bit surprised this time. Also I didn't really bother to inquire at cool lines because I know anything I've personally ever asked about is always way more than I've been willing to spend. My freind however did ask about them about some non hero things and the prices were more than fair.

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Baron

Baron

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Agree with above that the OA dealer field at this weekend's WC was super-limited. I think Cool Lines was the only major player there and since there's no prices or the ones that did were astronomical the foot traffic (and me) just passed on by. Heck, OA and the vintage comic books section you could easily shop around compared to the video game and 40/50% off HC and TPB booths.

 

Artist alley was tight though when trying to walk through, not too many A-level talent but a lot of B-list pencillers and top notch inkers with lots of fans commissioning them.

 

****

I missed on Doug Mahnke's signing at the DC booth, anyone know if he sketched there or only signed?

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oldwhy

oldwhy

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I'll be there on Friday. I went for the first time last year and while overall it wasn't too exciting I really enjoyed some of the panels. I also got to meet Steranko and Lee in person which was great. However, I spent most of my time at the booths of the few comic art dealers. If I remember correctly Bechara, Saul, Scott Eder and the Donnellys were there.

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