Old Comic Shows - Before the Days of the Mega Conventions

[techvoodoo]

What happened here?

[Flatliner1313]

In Vancouver we still have both.

There's a small local show every 2 months, and then Fan Expo once a year.

The Big con is fun, because we get some more prominent guests that the small show could never afford to bring in, there's a much larger audience to sell to, and we have dealers coming from out of town bringing in fresh books.

 

The small shows are great though because they are laid back and better for socializing and wheeling & dealing.

[Wrightson fan]

The BEST shows I have ever attended were ran by either my buddy Jim Amash, or John Hitchcock back in Greensboro, NC. Jim and John used to manage Acme Comics back in the day....and the old school Acme Cons were awesome. The talent level at those shows was incredible. When John opened his own shop, Parts Unknown, he started running his own shows. Jim continued to oversee the Acme shows for a few years after that until he moved on to greener pastures with Sonic, Archie, and Roy Thomas at Alter Ego.

 

The creators I met at those old shows was incredible. Jim and John were comic fans, first and foremost, and the respect they had for those who blazed the trails was without question.

 

The old Heroes Cons in Charlotte were good too, but the intimate settings of Jim and John's cons in the mid 80's-early 90's was a comic lovers dream. I feel fortunate to have lived in Greensboro during this period.

 

 

[Westy Steve]

You guys need to consider one thing.

 

Comics aren't on the stands like they used to be and we're getting older. I know that among coin collectors, they would kill to have a bunch of anime wearing youngsters filing past the coin display cases.

 

My point is that the Mega conventions can hook new collectors. That isn't as important now as it might be in the future when it comes time to sell your stuff for retirement or whatever.

[That Ron Dude]

I agree Westy Steve. In SF fandom they talk about the greying of fandom. They have done nothing (in some cases) to attract new fans and the young fans have split off into media based shows. More often than not, we seem to combine the media fans with the paper lovers.

[joe_collector]

I know that among coin collectors, they would kill to have a bunch of anime wearing youngsters filing past the coin display cases.

 

Sure, but they're perverts.

 

As for this "hook them on vintage comics young", that may well occur to a limited amount due to movies and TV shows, but these cosplay jokers are only interested in feeding their OCD attention needs, not buying old comics. And if they were buying comics, no dealers would be complaining, right? Right?

 

Trying to turn out--of-work, wannabee-models into comic collectors is a pretty big leap of logic.

[originalisbest]

Sounds a lot like the Indiana Comic Con that I just left.

 

There was a tremendous crowd. If I had to guess, over 3000 on Friday, well over 10,000 on Saturday, and probably 5 or 6000.00 today. Hundreds and hundreds of kids in costume. Thousands of people with absolutely no interest in buying anything.

 

The comic con of today is what the mall was to kids in the 1980s. They just go there to hang out all day. They want to see their friends, want to see all the stuff, but are not there to contribute to the hobby in any way. They make the show promoters money, and no one else.

 

I would much rather go to a show with 2000 comic collectors than 20,000 people with no money and no interest in comics of any kind.

 

 

Sounds a lot like MegaCon that you just left, except there you have a customer base of over 12 years in development.

 

It's best that you not return to Indy. I'll build a marketing machine for vintage books & dedicate it to Graham Crackers. He'll appreciate your inventory being elsewhere.

 

Thanks for your unflinching public loyalty & support, though.

 

Dude, meow, hisssssss.

[Westy Steve]

I know that among coin collectors, they would kill to have a bunch of anime wearing youngsters filing past the coin display cases.

 

Sure, but they're perverts.

 

As for this "hook them on vintage comics young", that may well occur to a limited amount due to movies and TV shows, but these cosplay jokers are only interested in feeding their OCD attention needs, not buying old comics. And if they were buying comics, no dealers would be complaining, right? Right?

 

Trying to turn out--of-work, wannabee-models into comic collectors is a pretty big leap of logic.

 

That's a fair argument. But the idea that 100% of those youngsters will never get interested in comics due to their casual contact with them is a stretch. Even if we only get 1% of them, that's something.

[KingOfRulers]

I understand the love for the small comic show. I don't care about meeting celebrities. If I'm attending a convention for ME, I am there to buy comics and original art if available. I do like to meet creators as well.

 

The problem with small shows are that there's very little money in them, especially if you're in a city of any significant size. A hotel show doesn't necessarily mean it's cheap and cheerful to operate. To make small, hotel ballroom shows work you have to charge a very small admission and table rate. So, there will be a very small budget for marketing and a very small budget, if any, to bring any creators to attend. And in any city of significant size, a hotel ballroom will still cost a significant amount of money. In my mind, that means that small shows would have to be in small towns where hotels are very cheap, possibly suburbs or in the scummiest hotel options of big cities. It's a formula for attracting only local vendors, local buyers and local creators...yet still a lot of financial investment and effort/time from the organizer to make happen. It is tough to find someone that will put in the money and effort for the return.

 

And then big convention are tough simply because of the HUGE amount of time and money involved.

 

It's a very, very delicate balancing act to make a convention/show of any size successful and enjoyable for everyone involved.

[zosocane]

That isn't as important now as it might be in the future when it comes time to sell your stuff for retirement or whatever.

 

You mean 25 years from now because the market has collapsed and there are no buyers under the age of 50?

 

Seriously, I agree with Westy. They're an annoying lot, but all the cosplay stuff gets TV airtime, Youtube time, and now most Americans know what a "comicon" is. In some way, we should be thankful to these hordes of non-buyers for generating buzz.

[Limited66]

Any local shows in NYC? I'd love to go to something like that.

[JBrown]

I attended and set up a few times at the shows at the old 57 Park Plaza in Boston...mid to late 80s into the 90s. Early on it was pretty good. My 1st show attending was Teddy Van Liew's 1st show setting up. I made a few deals w him that day and still have one of the books. Went down hill a bit when Monkey Business or some such name took over. Guy who ran it was a bit out there.

 

I went to that show often in the 80s/90s but remember it being in the Raddison in later years? That's where I first met Ted, Harley, Jim Payette, Steve Borock and many others.

 

My last one was 1999 before I moved here to CA. Then it was Primate Productions run by Dave Cummings (?).

 

Overall it was a good show. Lots of SA and GA books and more comic books than anything else.. Still have good memories of it, although Dave could be a little frenetic.

 

Yes it did turn into the Radisson at some point there in the early 90s I think. There were some new guys at almost every show and it was both affordable and somewhat organized. Plus they let u in early for a few $ extra. I remember set up fees were in the range of $75 for a 6 foot table.

 

Yep! They were good shows at the Radisson!

 

As for the small conventions, I finally hit the one in South Attleboro, MA last month and it had that old small con feel! Got some good stuff and only spent about $35 with admission and lunch down the road! It was good to do some digging thru bins, 'cause at the larger cons, it seems like you just can't get at the tables. And when you do, it just too new or uninteresting for me.

 

Although I do like the larger cons for the artists. It seems like the artist area are usually a little more relaxed and easier to get around, except for the really big names attending (Perez).

[zosocane]

So the universal and understandable gripe is that comic cons are not what we grew up with.

 

A question for some of the long-time boardies:

 

Has there ever been thought given to a "Collector's Society Comicon" or "Boardie Comicon" that our boardie community supports by commiting as many boardies to fly in/drive in and show up en masse? Only dealer tables would be for comic book dealers/collectors. No manga, pop culture, etc. No "media guests". Maybe an artists alley. Each year the city changes. It becomes an annual event and our annual "mecca" because SDCC, NYCC, etc. have sold out (literally and/or figuratively).

 

To reduce conflicts of interest and to ensure the convention sticks with its "mandate" of being dedicated to the buying, selling and trading of comic books only, the promoter sets up a 501c3 that serves as the promotion company, and all profits go to a charity like the Heroes Initiative or MS, etc.

 

Thoughts?

[Conan_Aficionado]

[divad]

So the universal and understandable gripe is that comic cons are not what we grew up with.

 

A question for some of the long-time boardies:

 

Has there ever been thought given to a "Collector's Society Comicon" or "Boardie Comicon" that our boardie community supports by commiting as many boardies to fly in/drive in and show up en masse? Only dealer tables would be for comic book dealers/collectors. No manga, pop culture, etc. No "media guests". Maybe an artists alley. Each year the city changes. It becomes an annual event and our annual "mecca" because SDCC, NYCC, etc. have sold out (literally and/or figuratively).

 

To reduce conflicts of interest and to ensure the convention sticks with its "mandate" of being dedicated to the buying, selling and trading of comic books only, the promoter sets up a 501c3 that serves as the promotion company, and all profits go to a charity like the Heroes Initiative or MS, etc.

 

Thoughts?

 

Yep, you're elected.

[divad]

 

It actually works the other way around . . .

[Conan_Aficionado]

 

It actually works the other way around . . .

 

[divad]

I am sorry, but you guys are living in the past here. A convention needs to evolve over the years or it will die.

 

I say, let them die then . . .

[divad]

 

It actually works the other way around . . .

 

 

I knew I'd get you back on that one: Completed eBay sales and GPA are good tools, but they are buyer-biased tools. They don't tell you if you are paying too much, they only reassure you that you are paying what others have paid for remotely similar items. Seriously? If you only paid GPA or EBay sold prices, you'll never get the books you really want.

[Conan_Aficionado]

 

It actually works the other way around . . .

 

 

I knew I'd get you back on that one: Completed eBay sales and GPA are good tools, but they are buyer-biased tools. They don't tell you if you are paying too much, they only reassure you that you are paying what others have paid for remotely similar items. Seriously? If you only paid GPA or EBay sold prices, you'll never get the books you really want.

 

but, isn't it given that if you are paying inline with what others are paying, you are paying a fair market value, and isn't a price that's inline with the market a just price. I just assumed that when you say "paying too much," it infers that you are paying above and beyond fair value.

 

I don't know bro, stop making me think, where is my advil.