• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

ALAMO CITY COMIC CON - SEPT. 26-28, 2014 (SAN ANTONIO, TX)

Started by JasonDaTwit,

125 posts in this topic

THB

THB

Posted
Posted

It was a nice crowd. I think they did a better job this year but need more volunteers. There is so much more they can do to make it a better experience but the progress from last year was evident. This reminds me a lot of the early days of Dragoncon without the massive crowds they have managed the first two years. Do they outsource their con management? It does not feel like they have a handle of the facility or the challenges of the area they are holding the event in. Is there a way to get the city more involved? Park and ride co-ordination from VIA would be better for locals than the average 45 minute wait to just park across the street. City planning needs to step up their game and run the parking facility for high volume crowds. And I do plan to write to whomever and express my opinion about that. The panels were nice but one Ballroom had a horrible crowd noise bleed and the staffers would not close the panel room doors.I had to complain during the Nicholls/Koenig panel because with the PA problems they had you could not even hear them. But overall I enjoyed myself and it sure looked like everybody else was too. Nice meeting some of my fellow boardies at the con and I was very impressed with everyone's set ups.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
DvilleBookstore

DvilleBookstore

Posted
Posted

We had a great time at Alamo City this year. They got a large crowd again this year and it only seems to be getting bigger and bigger. Apple and his crew have a few bugs to work out but overall, they did a very good job. Sales on Thursday night and Friday were steady but a little disappointing but Saturday was made up for it. Sunday was good but not great. We sold well in all the boxes and sold 50+ wall books. It seemed people were excited to have a big show in their backyard but still were not sure what to buy. People wanted something for Stan Lee to sign but had no idea what to get so we helped them find something as best we could. Most dealers we talked to had good shows. There were a lot of good books in the room and the CGC board was well represented. Boyd (bcc) with Black Cat Comics had his typical one booth set-up with two racks of Silver & Bronze keys and his cool inventory of Pre-Code and Pre-Hero books. Roger and the guys with Weird Paper had a great inventory of high grade Silver and Golden age wall books mixed with affordable Silver and Bronze age table stock. Rick (bubbagump) with Rick's Comic Crypt had a three booth set-up with a ton of Silver, Bronze and Modern age key issue wall books and a nice selection of discounted table stock. Graham Cracker Comics had a two booth set-up with a wide selection of Gold, Silver and Bronze age wall books and some nice discounted books on the table. Worldwide Comics had a great set-up with some remarkable wall books. Steve's inventory is just fun to look through and he and his wife are so nice. Authority Comics and In a Pickle Comics both made a good showing as well. Authority Comics is a local shop in San Antonio and had some nice Modern comics and some really cool statues. In a Pickle Comics had some neat hard to find Golden Age books that were low to mid grade but affordable. Cory (funnybooks) with Pop Culture Company was also there with a four booth set-up and they brought some great $1 books and 50% comics along with an impressive wall. The rest of the room was filled with the typical t-shirts, toys, pop culture items that make up the dealer rooms today but I think that is a good thing because that means there was something there for everyone. Overall, I think it was a very good show. There was lots of people, we all made money, most of us picked up some more good inventory and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
JimmySJay

JimmySJay

Posted
Posted

Jorge- Apparently he got a VERY BUM deal in year 1, and there are other artists/exhibitors with their complaints on the show in year 2. Liefeld has been a headline guest at multiple Amazing Comic Cons, and given the amounts of fans, and his body of work as the creator of Deadpool, Cable, X-Force, and Image Comics, his crowds can rival most. he has been nothing but sweet guys to the fans, and extremely reasonable to work with.

 

It's valid to say-

it's clear that just like collectors, and vendors post on these boards, creators talk and share their experiences too...

 

With that said, I'm glad to hear the folks with the strong reports from the 4 day show, and my heart goes out to those who didn't have quite the same experience.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Weird Paper

Weird Paper

Posted
Posted

I enjoyed the show. Sales were slightly above average overall -- not spectacular, but our stock had been somewhat depleted already. I can forgive the organizers' small missteps, as pushing that many people through the doors will always come with some problems. They need to work out some things with regard to load out, but I understand it was infinitely better than last year.

I was there extra early on Sunday, and got to listen to some artist rant about how badly he was screwed over by the con. I don't know who he was, but he had been promised a booth in a decent spot, but ended up on the outside row at the very back of artists' alley with the people selling insurance and finger puppets. (I really don't know what they had back there. I didn't even know there was a row back there.) He said they were expanding to fill the entire convention center next year and had offered him a comp'd booth, but he wasn't coming back. Tough to please everybody.

Kent McCord (Adam 12) came to our booth looking for Adam 12 comics. Teresa Ganzel came by and was fascinated by the crime and horror pulps. I'm old enough to remember these folks from their heydays on TV. Where we were, which was NOT a prime location, was in the direct path from the front to the celebrity area, so most of them walked by at one time or another.

Stephen, Andy, Rick, Cory & Rober, Boyd, Graham all had great comics! If I was still a hard core GA collector, I'd have had a field day. Unfortunately (or fortunately) all I collect these days is original art, and there was very, very little of that. I bought a Jack Davis one-panel gag and a 1949 Gordo strip. Legion picked up a Gene Colan Batman page. But, there was very little.

Some of the books that sold were All Star 33, Preacher 1, Avengers 57, King-Sized Spider-Man 1, Avengers 8, Adventure 64, That silly mag with the first Rocket Raccoon, the Amazing Mystery Funnies with the first Wolverton Space Patrol (Cookeville), Two Faces of Communism, Tim Holt 17, Green Lantern 85 & 88, Kid Eternity 2, some ECs and a decent amount of misc. mid-high-grade Silver Age books.

I will do the show again next year if I can pick up some decent stock in the coming months.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
inapicklecomics

inapicklecomics

Posted
Posted

We had a great overall time at the show. Sold a lot of books, and met a lot of great people. Duncanville and Heroes + Fantasies had the biggest selections it seemed, tons of great keys. Black Cat had a nice selection, as did many others. I'm sorry if I can't remember all the boardies that stopped by, glad I met all that visited though. We got there a little late on Thurs, and it was very slow. Friday went ok, but still not too busy. Saturday was crazy busy! We had our best sales day ever, and a lot of buyers left our table very happy. Sunday was still busy, but not at Saturday's level. It was great meeting other collectors that recognized the rarity of a lot of the books we had. I remember 2 guys in particular that were very knowledgeable in GA books. They bought some GA from me, including a Cap 41. I had a lot of interest in my X-Men 94, 101, and my Black Cat Mystery 50, but they didn't end up selling. I sold a Spiderman chromium cover to someone taking it straight to Stan Lee to get signed and submitted for grading. I also sold a 3rd print TMNT 1 that someone took straight over to Eastman for signing. Many other keys were sold as well. The negative about the show was the lack of internet connection, a big black curtain from the booth next to us blocking a good view of our table, and load-out time. We will hopefully be back next year!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MyNameIsLegion

MyNameIsLegion

Posted
Posted

https://www.facebook.com/groups/195041610657542/

 

 

I've skimmed thru the comments on that Facebook page rating cons- and the vast majority of the person_without_enough_empathying is just that- person_without_enough_empathying.- and mostly from amateur artists who do the con circuit like its a damn arts and crafts fair, not a comic con- finger puppets is not an exaggeration, there was some truly ridiculous in "Artist" Alley. I can tolerate the small press guys, they're trying to do something original,and I wish they had their own section, but the guys making collages and wallets out of old comics, or bad digitally rendered print or crochet hats and coasters of licensed characters from Marvel and DC that they have never worked on or for and NEVER will, please shut up, stay home and hawk your wares on Etsy and Pinterest. You've already polluted the Original Comic Art section on Ebay. We had a sub-par location in the dealer area and we're not complaining, it was a fluke, whereas the entirety of the artist areas was in a prime location- all the attendees had to filter thru the art area to get to the dealers room. Had I set up the con, you would have been in the very back behind the b-list guests. I felt bad for the real artist guests like Pat Broderick, Arvell Jones, Angel Medina, David Finch, etc. they didn't have giant banners and table skirts, just a guy at a table, a few comics or books or pages or art. I'd like to see the pros given they're own row, so that real comic fans don't have to wade thru all that . rantrant

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mysterio

mysterio

Posted
Posted
https://www.facebook.com/groups/195041610657542/

 

 

I've skimmed thru the comments on that Facebook page rating cons- and the vast majority of the person_without_enough_empathying is just that- person_without_enough_empathying.- and mostly from amateur artists who do the con circuit like its a damn arts and crafts fair, not a comic con- finger puppets is not an exaggeration, there was some truly ridiculous in "Artist" Alley. I can tolerate the small press guys, they're trying to do something original,and I wish they had their own section, but the guys making collages and wallets out of old comics, or bad digitally rendered print or crochet hats and coasters of licensed characters from Marvel and DC that they have never worked on or for and NEVER will, please shut up, stay home and hawk your wares on Etsy and Pinterest. You've already polluted the Original Comic Art section on Ebay. We had a sub-par location in the dealer area and we're not complaining, it was a fluke, whereas the entirety of the artist areas was in a prime location- all the attendees had to filter thru the art area to get to the dealers room. Had I set up the con, you would have been in the very back behind the b-list guests. I felt bad for the real artist guests like Pat Broderick, Arvell Jones, Angel Medina, David Finch, etc. they didn't have giant banners and table skirts, just a guy at a table, a few comics or books or pages or art. I'd like to see the pros given they're own row, so that real comic fans don't have to wade thru all that . rantrant

 

Pretty much exactly how I felt the one trip I made through artist alley to find Norm Breyfogle for a signature, though you forgot to add that the aisles were too narrow and the directory ACCC provided was .

Link to comment
Share on other sites
MyNameIsLegion

MyNameIsLegion

Posted
Posted

 

Pretty much exactly how I felt the one trip I made through artist alley to find Norm Breyfogle for a signature, though you forgot to add that the aisles were too narrow and the directory ACCC provided was .

 

 

 

Whew, I was afraid I was the only one that felt that way! :headbang: There were some definite traffic flow problems, owing to the fact that it's not one contiguous con area, like SDCC. The area we were in is the oldest part of the convention center, and is slated to be torn down and made into a park as they renovate and expand the convention center to the south and east.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TexasGunner-migration

TexasGunner-migration

Posted
Posted

I think the aisles where wide enough. Just wish people will stop taking strollers to the con. But yeah there was a lot of foot traffic in the artist alley compared to last year. Cudos for placing them in the front. I did buy ALOT of art this year and found a local artist who paints in splash color. O yeah there was a ton of that bead art and comic wallet vendors mixed in the artist alley.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RevMex-migration

RevMex-migration

Posted
Posted

This was my first comic con in my life and I have to say that the experience was a mixed bag.Walking through the vendor isles was great. Flow was good. I saw the way it was - artists, crafts were on one end where it was more comics and toys on other.

However, getting the Stan Lee (only reason I was there) information was a challenge. What time will he be here? Who do I pay? Who is in charge? You want me to give cash to this guy in a striped jacket then come back? Also, I went to the Stan Lee panel and I get that kids are there to enjoy these events with their parents but maybe organize the questions a bit instead of opening the floor. Questions like "who is your favorite character" is OK but that question could of been screened and asked something more ... i don't know the word. It also shouldn't be too deep. That's why screening questions should be a must because his time was limited.

Met some vendors and introduced myself through the boards later. However, there was a real cool guy named Rick that sold me an early Tales of Suspense. I had questions concerning taping comics and he was kind enough to share his time and thoughts. Weird Paper guys were cool too.

 

I think I can tell that the signature area off in that corner was going to get screwed. I don't think anyone knew it was there. Organizer needs more visuals signs and setup to help the crowd flow around.

I had fun though. Very overwhelming for a first timer.

My two cents.

 

-Rev

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Go to topic listing