Dallas Sci-Fi Expo -- February 8-9, 2014

[JorgeRR96]

Since I'm more into Celebrities gotta give props to Ben Stevens for this show. 2 more guests pending (first time signers, one of them is a Doctor Who guest), and this is supposed to be the "small"show of all three.

 

This year my top events were Wizard World Austin and DCC Fan Days, since I'm into celebrities both events had huge lineups. Alamo City Comic Con was great for the comic fans but their celebrity lineup was boring for the ones that go to the other shows in Texas.

 

Mad props to Ben Stevens for aiming to get first time and rare signers!

 

 

[JorgeRR96]

KAREN GILLAN from Doctor Who and the upcoming GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY is coming! First signing EVER!!!!

[JorgeRR96]

Alice Eve from Star Trek Into Darkness added to the lineup as the LAST (planned) media guest. Fantastic show in terms of celebrities attending!

[JorgeRR96]

William Tucci (creator of Shi) added to the lineup.

[kaholo1256]

Yeah still waiting on that OMG creator for this show. Billy Tucci has been to Wizard World Austin a few times and while still cool for Shi..... ummm, still waiting

[thatdudebooks]

^^Same here, looking for maybe a Len Wein or another "legend" to headline the event from the comic side.

[mysterio]

That'd be great, but comic guests always seem to take a back burner to their media guests in terms of effort to get them and in terms of profile for their shows. They usually get a gem or two from the comic side of things for these shows, but it helps to keep expectations low and be pleasantly surprised when they show up on the guest list.

 

As mentioned in the other thread, the May show, allegedly their comic focused show, always falls on the same weekend as Big Wow and Motor City. This hampers their ability to get larger guests for their show, not to mention some of the larger comic dealers (who they don't seem to cater to or care about anyway). If they could get a May weekend free from conflict with other shows it would potentially help them draw a larger creator group.

 

We always enjoy these Dallas shows, but they also leave you with the feeling of unmet/wasted potential. These shows could/should be heading towards becoming a national-level show, but the promoters seem very comfortable staying a sort of Wizard-lite type of show. Granted it seems to be working well enough for them, so I don't know how likely it will be for us to see any growth on the comic side of things.

[JorgeRR96]

I think the reason because of that is that one of its promoters doesn't give a s--- about comics and just cares about getting celebrities.

[Monster's Lair Comics]

I think the reason because of that is that one of its promoters doesn't give a s--- about comics and just cares about getting celebrities.

 

 

That's how these shows have felt for a while. They should try to have a "celebri-con" with dealer booths stacked with t-shirts, and leather goods. Problem is they can't get the booths full with no other draw. If you just had a bunch of celebs signing, the dealer floor would be empty. If they want to please the dealers who are paying $400 per table plus expenses to be there, give people the even, well rounded show we've been begging for.

 

It's such a shame that they go the easy route and bring in just the local guys over and over and over again. You can say the same thing for a WW Chicago, but when you have 150+ creators, who can tell? Some of their "creators" don't even have comic cred, and are sketch card guys. I wish they would take the time to look at WW Austin's guest list and not bring in creators that were just signing 2 months ago.

[kaholo1256]

I think the reason because of that is that one of its promoters doesn't give a s--- about comics and just cares about getting celebrities.

 

 

That's how these shows have felt for a while. They should try to have a "celebri-con" with dealer booths stacked with t-shirts, and leather goods. Problem is they can't get the booths full with no other draw. If you just had a bunch of celebs signing, the dealer floor would be empty. If they want to please the dealers who are paying $400 per table plus expenses to be there, give people the even, well rounded show we've been begging for.

 

It's such a shame that they go the easy route and bring in just the local guys over and over and over again. You can say the same thing for a WW Chicago, but when you have 150+ creators, who can tell? Some of their "creators" don't even have comic cred, and are sketch card guys. I wish they would take the time to look at WW Austin's guest list and not bring in creators that were just signing 2 months ago.

 

Yep... I do have to say that I can usually get some pretty good deals and leave with at least a decent looking short box with some Modern Copper, and Bronze high grade hole fillers as well as make away with a few sweet Silvers on Sunday. I guess dealers are more apt at dealing at that point as they are at least trying to make it worth there while. I do have to say this is probably a horrible way to do business as this then tells out of town dealers to forgo this show or others for something else.

 

I would like to see them at least make a half hearted attempt at a Comic Con and invite some decent creators. I have to say while maybe mistreated Alamo City did a good job on a first attempt, and even Capital City is pulling out some really amazing stops with its current line-up... Kevin Eastman anyone??? Wizard World Austin brought Denny O'Neil... so hey anything's possible.

 

I will say that Dallas has tried in the past bringing Len Wein and George Perez along so there is hope. But right now this still lacks a few key elements. I'll still go due to the location for me and a few Sig's but probably not going to be spending to much unless there are some significant deals.

[mysterio]

I think the reason because of that is that one of its promoters doesn't give a s--- about comics and just cares about getting celebrities.

 

 

That's how these shows have felt for a while. They should try to have a "celebri-con" with dealer booths stacked with t-shirts, and leather goods. Problem is they can't get the booths full with no other draw. If you just had a bunch of celebs signing, the dealer floor would be empty. If they want to please the dealers who are paying $400 per table plus expenses to be there, give people the even, well rounded show we've been begging for.

 

It's such a shame that they go the easy route and bring in just the local guys over and over and over again. You can say the same thing for a WW Chicago, but when you have 150+ creators, who can tell? Some of their "creators" don't even have comic cred, and are sketch card guys. I wish they would take the time to look at WW Austin's guest list and not bring in creators that were just signing 2 months ago.

 

Yep... I do have to say that I can usually get some pretty good deals and leave with at least a decent looking short box with some Modern Copper, and Bronze high grade hole fillers as well as make away with a few sweet Silvers on Sunday. I guess dealers are more apt at dealing at that point as they are at least trying to make it worth there while. I do have to say this is probably a horrible way to do business as this then tells out of town dealers to forgo this show or others for something else.

 

I would like to see them at least make a half hearted attempt at a Comic Con and invite some decent creators. I have to say while maybe mistreated Alamo City did a good job on a first attempt, and even Capital City is pulling out some really amazing stops with its current line-up... Kevin Eastman anyone??? Wizard World Austin brought Denny O'Neil... so hey anything's possible.

 

I will say that Dallas has tried in the past bringing Len Wein and George Perez along so there is hope. But right now this still lacks a few key elements. I'll still go due to the location for me and a few Sig's but probably not going to be spending to much unless there are some significant deals.

 

I don't get the sense that the larger dealers do well enough to make it worth their while to come, even with lower table fees. They still need to travel with stock, get hotel rooms, eat, etc., so a weekend of tepid sales just doesn't inspire them to make the trek. Bedrock was doing at least the May show when I started coming, and will still occasionally make the trip, but I don't think he does tremendous sales-wise at the show because the crowd isn't a comic-buying crowd. That's the problem, you need comic buyers to attract dealers, and you need dealers (and good comic guests) to attract comic buyers, so you've got a catch-22. I always manage to find good books from the dealers that attend (I've bought a book from Black Cat every time I've seen him at a show, Boyd, and whenever I do see Bedrock he always has something for me too). But without a large buying crowd it isn't worth the investment for dealers to come with a big setup.

 

Like I said, these guys do get some good comic guests like Wein and Perez, and Romita Jr comes about every other May, which is great. I loved seeing Kelley Jones at the October show, and Steranko was there this past May too. These guys could put on a really good comic show, it is just a matter of whether they want to or not.

[Ajl007]

Almost every agent or promoter I've talk too said I was nuts not doing celebs, I have nothing against celebs, but many have been around, and don't want my con to feel like a traveling circus. So I am doing something different and doing a "Comic" Con with emphasis on art, creators and comics. Like I stated on the Cap City link here on the boards, I will give discounts to comic dealers and art dealers for booth space. As far as artists go don't worry, I have sent emails, and I am working on getting names that cover all generations.

[mysterio]

Almost every agent or promoter I've talk too said I was nuts not doing celebs, I have nothing against celebs, but many have been around, and don't want my con to feel like a traveling circus. So I am doing something different and doing a "Comic" Con with emphasis on art, creators and comics. Like I stated on the Cap City link here on the boards, I will give discounts to comic dealers and art dealers for booth space. As far as artists go don't worry, I have sent emails, and I am working on getting names that cover all generations.

 

I'm excited for your con and wish I'd be able to go. We'd do a table in a heartbeat if it wasn't a bad weekend to get away.

[JorgeRR96]

Almost every agent or promoter I've talk too said I was nuts not doing celebs, I have nothing against celebs, but many have been around, and don't want my con to feel like a traveling circus. So I am doing something different and doing a "Comic" Con with emphasis on art, creators and comics. Like I stated on the Cap City link here on the boards, I will give discounts to comic dealers and art dealers for booth space. As far as artists go don't worry, I have sent emails, and I am working on getting names that cover all generations.

 

That's exactly what we need...as an example Alamo City was a good show but the celebs they had are the ones that do shows every single year and most of them did Dallas Comic Con before, that's why I wasn't exited about that show.

 

I honestly can't wait for Capital City CC, Austin is closer and the fact that it will take place in the summer is even better. Kevin Eastman and Thony Silas are the ones I want to meet the most...and of course I'll try to save up money to finally buy an original art page from Bernie Wrightson.

[mysterio]

Almost every agent or promoter I've talk too said I was nuts not doing celebs, I have nothing against celebs, but many have been around, and don't want my con to feel like a traveling circus. So I am doing something different and doing a "Comic" Con with emphasis on art, creators and comics. Like I stated on the Cap City link here on the boards, I will give discounts to comic dealers and art dealers for booth space. As far as artists go don't worry, I have sent emails, and I am working on getting names that cover all generations.

 

That's exactly what we need...as an example Alamo City was a good show but the celebs they had are the ones that do shows every single year and most of them did Dallas Comic Con before, that's why I wasn't exited about that show.

 

I honestly can't wait for Capital City CC, Austin is closer and the fact that it will take place in the summer is even better. Kevin Eastman and Thony Silas are the ones I want to meet the most...and of course I'll try to save up money to finally buy an original art page from Bernie Wrightson.

 

If you don't mind smaller figure or head sketches in pencil he had several pieces in the $250-400 range last I checked. I bought one at a Dallas show last year after thinking I'd never own one of his originals.

[DvilleBookstore]

I have to chime in on this post. I hate to always see the Dallas shows get talked about in a less than positive light on the board. I think people have to remember what shows they are talking about here. The same promoter is producing three shows, each with their own identity. The February show is the Sci-Fi Expo and, if we look at the guest list, it is geared toward Star Trek, Doctor Who, LOTR and the such but they do have more than a few comic guests, including Ethan Van Sciver, Ian Churchill, Billy Tucci, Howard Chaykin and more. The May show is the comic show and the October show is Fan Days, which leans toward Star Wars and Star Trek. Coming on to the Dallas Sci-Fi Expo page and complaining that it is not a good comic show is, in my opinion, missing the point of the show. There will still be quite a few comic dealers at this show, including myself. There is going to be a good crowd of between 8000 and 12,000 people, maybe more. Will there be people selling t-shirts and leather goods? Of course but that is the case with any show today. That is the nature of the business we are in. I have talked with Mysterio and jaster-mereel at LENGTH about what kind of show we all want to see but those days are pretty much gone. There is a whole generation of people that don't know or don't care about the comic version of these characters. They are growing up on the movies, cartoon, video game and digital versions of these characters and couldn't care less about or don't have the money to buy the individual comics to complete a run. There is no way a promoter can weed out the non-comic dealers and, quite honestly would be foolish to do so. Their job is to put people through the door, which the Dallas promoters do. I wish they would get some different guests just like everyone else. I wish they would start booking guests earlier so we could get some bigger names here but over the last several years, just about every big name has come through town at least once. Remember, we are talking about three shows a year, not just one. Put all three guest lists together and it would be a fantastic show, on par with the national shows. As far as dealers go, we have a nice selection of regional dealers, including several from here on the CGC board, that offer a nice selection of comics every show. The "national" dealers aren't coming to this show for several reasons. The tables are affordable in Dallas so there is very little dealer turn over. The crowd is being portrayed as a "non-comic" crowd so why would they come here to sell comics? Finally, there are lots of shows all over the country but expenses keep going up so dealers have to pick and choose where to go. Personally, I wish the room would be full of Golden age comics but that is rarely the case at any show anymore outside of San Diego, Chicago, New York or Baltimore. I think the Dallas show offers a nice mix of Silver to Modern age, in all price points with more dealers bringing Golden age when we can get it. I didn't mean to get on a soapbox and certainly don't mean to call anyone out because several people that are on this thread are my friends but I hate to think non-posters get on here and get the wrong idea about the Dallas shows.

[JorgeRR96]

I have to chime in on this post. I hate to always see the Dallas shows get talked about in a less than positive light on the board. I think people have to remember what shows they are talking about here. The same promoter is producing three shows, each with their own identity. The February show is the Sci-Fi Expo and, if we look at the guest list, it is geared toward Star Trek, Doctor Who, LOTR and the such but they do have more than a few comic guests, including Ethan Van Sciver, Ian Churchill, Billy Tucci, Howard Chaykin and more. The May show is the comic show and the October show is Fan Days, which leans toward Star Wars and Star Trek. Coming on to the Dallas Sci-Fi Expo page and complaining that it is not a good comic show is, in my opinion, missing the point of the show. There will still be quite a few comic dealers at this show, including myself. There is going to be a good crowd of between 8000 and 12,000 people, maybe more. Will there be people selling t-shirts and leather goods? Of course but that is the case with any show today. That is the nature of the business we are in. I have talked with Mysterio and jaster-mereel at LENGTH about what kind of show we all want to see but those days are pretty much gone. There is a whole generation of people that don't know or don't care about the comic version of these characters. They are growing up on the movies, cartoon, video game and digital versions of these characters and couldn't care less about or don't have the money to buy the individual comics to complete a run. There is no way a promoter can weed out the non-comic dealers and, quite honestly would be foolish to do so. Their job is to put people through the door, which the Dallas promoters do. I wish they would get some different guests just like everyone else. I wish they would start booking guests earlier so we could get some bigger names here but over the last several years, just about every big name has come through town at least once. Remember, we are talking about three shows a year, not just one. Put all three guest lists together and it would be a fantastic show, on par with the national shows. As far as dealers go, we have a nice selection of regional dealers, including several from here on the CGC board, that offer a nice selection of comics every show. The "national" dealers aren't coming to this show for several reasons. The tables are affordable in Dallas so there is very little dealer turn over. The crowd is being portrayed as a "non-comic" crowd so why would they come here to sell comics? Finally, there are lots of shows all over the country but expenses keep going up so dealers have to pick and choose where to go. Personally, I wish the room would be full of Golden age comics but that is rarely the case at any show anymore outside of San Diego, Chicago, New York or Baltimore. I think the Dallas show offers a nice mix of Silver to Modern age, in all price points with more dealers bringing Golden age when we can get it. I didn't mean to get on a soapbox and certainly don't mean to call anyone out because several people that are on this thread are my friends but I hate to think non-posters get on here and get the wrong idea about the Dallas shows.

 

I always see you guys at the show, right at the entrance to the main floor, you get several tables and your selection is nice.

 

I went to Fan Days and there were plenty of comic dealers, didn't go to SciFI Expo last year but there were a lot of comic dealers at DCC. My complaint is not about vendors because the vendor room is packed, but the fact that there's not a lot of new names in the comic guest list, but their celebrity list is always insane. Even for DCC in May, they don't really get a lot of new comic creators, and that one is supposed to be the main show.

 

I don't hate the Dallas shows, they are my favorites, but in terms of comic guest list sometimes I wish they could bring some more new names.

[Ajl007]

Duncanville so true, I would rather give discounts to people who want multiple booths rather than have some one sell leather goods, but that is the business of the game we are all in, basically I have expenses at the end of the day, but a slight name change or addition to my con name can change the whole look of the show. There are just so many cons popping up with the same basic formula, you have to be different, yes I would love to have wall to wall comics and art booths is that possible maybe not but does mean I cant try, I dont expect to pull high numbers through the door, but it will get the con name out there and maybe a larger following down the road. A great artist who doesn't generally do pop culture cons told me we need an art/comic show, so by him telling me that maybe I am on to something, just I have to do more work, but I hope people come out and support a con that does what might be missing.

[mysterio]

I'm glad you posted. I try to be evenhanded in my posts and talk about the positives along with some of the things we would like to see changed. Any show can improve in some areas, but hopefully overall my posts have shown that I do really enjoy these shows and look forward to them.

[DvilleBookstore]

I absolutely agree with you about the guest list. Last year they put all their eggs in one basket and it fell through for them. They were trying to get a MAJOR comic guest and didn't have a plan B. By the time the major name backed out, it was too late to get anyone else major. I think this year will be better. It is a bigger venue and they some BIG things planned. I think everyone will be shocked if everything goes according to plan. At least we can all hope so.