Torpedo con 2022?? 0

[Robot Man]

On 6/16/2022 at 9:01 PM, JWKyle said:

I would have been there with 3 other people if it hadn't got cancelled. I quit buying advanced tickets because a few years again for an Ontario show I wasn't sure if we were going to get over the grapevine. During the summer you never know if they're going to shut it down from wildfires. For this Ontario show as we were on the 5 the flames were very visialible from the freeway but I had bought advanced tickets the freeway wasn't closed so we pushed through. Hopefully this and Terry's show come back. I have shows I like to hit in the LA basin and those are 2 of my groups favorites'

 

Me too. I will add in WonderCon as well. I don’t have a lot of hope for Torpedo or Terry’s show though. A lot will depend on how SDCC does this year.

Thought about a few out of state shows but I think shows like Baltimore and Chicago might be suffering the same.

Just costs too much to travel anymore to shows. Used to do it a lot. 

[Robot Man]

On 6/16/2022 at 9:01 PM, JWKyle said:

I would have been there with 3 other people if it hadn't got cancelled. I quit buying advanced tickets because a few years again for an Ontario show I wasn't sure if we were going to get over the grapevine. During the summer you never know if they're going to shut it down from wildfires. For this Ontario show as we were on the 5 the flames were very visialible from the freeway but I had bought advanced tickets the freeway wasn't closed so we pushed through. Hopefully this and Terry's show come back. I have shows I like to hit in the LA basin and those are 2 of my groups favorites'

 

I didn’t go to the Ontario show. Even though it was about an hour away. The dealer list just looked so slim. I just go to buy GA and my options looked pretty dim. 

[JWKyle]

On 6/17/2022 at 8:47 AM, Robot Man said:

I didn’t go to the Ontario show. Even though it was about an hour away. The dealer list just looked so slim. I just go to buy GA and my options looked pretty dim. 

There wasn't alot of Gold there. I didn't leave with a pre-code Atlas horror book but I did dig out some late issue marvel transformers that made me happy along with a bronze martvel Jungle Action 21. For me, my cousin,my youngest son,and one of my cousins (and now my) friend it's more about the trip the hunt and just hanging out together. The bs talk on the way to the con and the war stories of what was bought passed on and crazy con stories always make for a fun day. 

[Aarrow108]

On 6/17/2022 at 8:47 AM, Robot Man said:

I didn’t go to the Ontario show. Even though it was about an hour away. The dealer list just looked so slim. I just go to buy GA and my options looked pretty dim. 

I've gone to the Ontario show every year it's been held (with the exception of the last/most recent one), and I think I've only every seen Golden Age books amongst one or two vendors for the first two years, seemed to have dipped down from there.

Major bummer about Torpedo. Just gets harder and harder to have good shows here in Southern California outside of the insanity that is SDCC.

[Robot Man]

On 6/20/2022 at 8:23 AM, Aarrow108 said:

I've gone to the Ontario show every year it's been held (with the exception of the last/most recent one), and I think I've only every seen Golden Age books amongst one or two vendors for the first two years, seemed to have dipped down from there.

Major bummer about Torpedo. Just gets harder and harder to have good shows here in Southern California outside of the insanity that is SDCC.

I have to say, in spite of a drastic drop in out of state dealers, I did OK GA wise at WonderCon in April.

Ironicaly, bet stuff I got was from Harley and Brad from F-VF. And they have been doing a lot of small local shows. I also, got a few books from a couple small guys.

I came home with 2/3rds of the cash I brought.

But yeah, not much for SO CA collectors. And, I won’t be attending the money grabbing circus in SD again. 

[LDarkseid1]

Pretty bummed this was postponed. I was looking forward to this and all the cool comics that would have been there!

[Robot Man]

Me too. I had saved up quite a bunch of cash just ready to hand out to all my favorite dealers...

I have since learned that pretty much all the dealers that were there last year were on the list to attend. If the dealer list had been updated, I'm sure a whole lot more advanced tickets would have been sold.

I was also told that John is going to be on the road with his band at the time of the show. Might be the "schedule conflict" he was referring to.

Sure miss walking up to the little old lady at the card table and giving her a $5. bill for admittance to the SD Con at the El Cortez...

[alexgross.com]

On 6/27/2022 at 11:52 AM, LDarkseid1 said:

Pretty bummed this was postponed. I was looking forward to this and all the cool comics that would have been there!

me too. so many of us are going to be in town now anyway, i wish someone would organize a smaller version of this show somewhere in town. 

really frustrating. i don't expect john's absence would be the reason either. he didn't have to be there. torpedo doesnt even set up at this show. he's too smart a businessman to cancel this show just cause he's on the road. @Robot Man

[Drummy]

Don't know what happened behind the scenes, but I'm sorry Torpedo is not happening this year (just found out!).  I couldn't go this year, but would love to go in 2023, even for one day (and I live in CT, not CA).  The comic and art dealers at Torpedo are EXACTLY who I want to see and buy from without doing a million unnecessary things at a place like SDCC.  If Torpedo happens in the future, I'll be there.

Dan

[ComicsAndCode]

On 6/14/2022 at 1:53 PM, alexgross.com said:

 double booked?? this sounds like a fully fictitious reason. very disappointing. people book hotels that are non-refundable, etc. we would have been coming into town anyway, but this was perfect timing for us. 

Just found this thread, but I've known about the cancelation for a while now. 

I agree. The explanation seems to be just for PR purposes, but can't say for sure.

I attended last year. Brought the whole family, was a lot fun! What I wonder though is why would dealers choose to exhibit at and in many cases, travel long distance for a show like Torpedo where competition for attendees' business is rather stiff? Also, these same dealers are likely also exhibiting at SDCC which means they have to stay in So Cal a lot longer, incurring more cost. So to me, Torpedo Con is great for buyers and not so much for dealers. Could that be the reason dealers backed out?

Maybe it's because I am strictly an online store and doing the convention circuit is not part of my business model, but it just doesn't make much sense to me. Or maybe I'm just totally niave and need to get with the program called 'misery loves company.' 

And on a total tangent, and granted this is just hearsay, but I was told the show became sort of a shark tank, where a major dealer swept up the entire inventory of one or more smaller dealers. Is that a desirable scenario for some dealers? Not a rhetorical question.

Edited July 14, 2022 by ComicsAndCode

[Robot Man]

On 7/14/2022 at 4:25 PM, ComicsAndCode said:

Just found this thread, but I've known about the cancelation for a while now. 

I agree. The explanation seems to be just for PR purposes, but can't say for sure.

I attended last year. Brought the whole family, was a lot fun! What I wonder though is why would dealers choose to exhibit at and in many cases, travel long distance for a show like Torpedo where competition for attendees' business is rather stiff? Also, these same dealers are likely also exhibiting at SDCC which means they have to stay in So Cal a lot longer, incurring more cost. So to me, Torpedo Con is great for buyers and not so much for dealers. Could that be the reason dealers backed out?

Maybe it's because I am strictly an online store and doing the convention circuit is not part of my business model, but it just doesn't make much sense to me. Or maybe I'm just totally niave and need to get with the program called 'misery loves company.' 

And on a total tangent, and granted this is just hearsay, but I was told the show became sort of a shark tank, where a major dealer swept up the entire inventory of one or more smaller dealers. Is that a desirable scenario for some dealers? Not a rhetorical question.

The show was created to capitalize on many big dollar buyers in SO CA that have given up on SDCC. Many older deep pocket folks that just want to buy nice GA/SA books without the crowds, distractions and extra costs associated with SDCC.

Dealers are coming to SD anyway. They usually arrive there several days before the show. So the cost of a reasonably priced hotel room in LA for maybe a couple of nights isn’t that big a deal. Especially with the money that comes into the room.

I have heard nothing of the “shark tank” you refer to last year. The dealers always swarm each other at any show.

I looked at the on line vendor list. It did look dim. A lot of pre show buyers were on the fence. Early ticket sales were probably very poor.

I found out later that pretty much everyone from the past were planning to attend. The dealers didn’t back out, they were shut out.

I believe it was handled poorly this year. An accurate vendor and guest list would have generated a lot more pre show ticket sales. Last years it was a 3 day show. WAY to long  I did the room comfortably in one day. 

I am super bummed. I am one of those serious GA buyers. I gave up SDCC about 5 years ago. Torpedo was an incredible opportunity for collectors like me. I had been putting money aside for sometime just for this show. It was also a wonderful opportunity to have free access to the fresh stock that was headed to SDCC before it made it there. Hopefuly, it comes back next year. 

[ComicsAndCode]

On 7/14/2022 at 6:48 PM, Robot Man said:

The show was created to capitalize on many big dollar buyers in SO CA that have given up on SDCC. Many older deep pocket folks that just want to buy nice GA/SA books without the crowds, distractions and extra costs associated with SDCC.

Dealers are coming to SD anyway. They usually arrive there several days before the show. So the cost of a reasonably priced hotel room in LA for maybe a couple of nights isn’t that big a deal. Especially with the money that comes into the room.

I have heard nothing of the “shark tank” you refer to last year. The dealers always swarm each other at any show.

I looked at the on line vendor list. It did look dim. A lot of pre show buyers were on the fence. Early ticket sales were probably very poor.

I found out later that pretty much everyone from the past were planning to attend. The dealers didn’t back out, they were shut out.

I believe it was handled poorly this year. An accurate vendor and guest list would have generated a lot more pre show ticket sales. Last years it was a 3 day show. WAY to long  I did the room comfortably in one day. 

I am super bummed. I am one of those serious GA buyers. I gave up SDCC about 5 years ago. Torpedo was an incredible opportunity for collectors like me. I had been putting money aside for sometime just for this show. It was also a wonderful opportunity to have free access to the fresh stock that was headed to SDCC before it made it there. Hopefuly, it comes back next year. 

Great insight. Thanks. And now I know whose information to take with a grain of salt (referring to the source of the the dealer buyout comment). 

I hope it comes back next year too - I'll be there. Nice to be at a show devoid of all the extra fluff. 

On a separate note, I'd love to see more dealers at the show offering vintage toys. I think there was one last year. Maybe I should exhibit next year 

Edited July 15, 2022 by ComicsAndCode

[Robot Man]

On 7/14/2022 at 7:29 PM, ComicsAndCode said:

Great insight. Thanks. And now I know whose information to take with a grain of salt (referring to the source of the the dealer buyout comment). 

I hope it comes back next year too - I'll be there. Nice to be at a show devoid of all the extra fluff. 

On a separate note, I'd love to see more dealers at the show offering vintage toys. I think there was one last year. Maybe I should exhibit next year 

I’m a vintage toy and premium collector as well as mostly GA comics. Not many of us cross collecting collectors. Most comic folks are pretty focused on just comics. I would never use table space for toys at a show like that.

We have a killer vintage toy and advertising show coming up in August in LA. A great two day show. Vintage comics almost always turn up there but it isn’t a comic show and there are no guarantee. 

[ComicsAndCode]

On 7/14/2022 at 7:50 PM, Robot Man said:

I’m a vintage toy and premium collector as well as mostly GA comics. Not many of us cross collecting collectors. Most comic folks are pretty focused on just comics. I would never use table space for toys at a show like that.

We have a killer vintage toy and advertising show coming up in August in LA. A great two day show. Vintage comics almost always turn up there but it isn’t a comic show and there are no guarantee. 

Would that be the All-American Collectors Show in Glendale?

[Robot Man]

On 7/14/2022 at 8:05 PM, ComicsAndCode said:

Would that be the All-American Collectors Show in Glendale?

Yes. Will be held August 29-20 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. Best show of it’s kind in LA. 

[alexgross.com]

the big question for me and perhaps others is whether or not we should trust these guys next year. here i am in LA with no con tomorrow. i would probably have come anyway, but many people got stuck with pricey plane tix, hotels, etc.

being jerked around just one month out, and this being handled so dishonestly, have been a real turnoff. if terry gets the january cal comic-con happening again, i might forego any torpedo events in the future. granted, it would be phenomenally s t u p i d of them to cancel another show next year. but they've shown that they don't really care too much about their customers.

[ComicsAndCode]

On 7/15/2022 at 7:36 AM, Robot Man said:

Yes. Will be held August 29-20 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. Best show of it’s kind in LA. 

I will be at that show. Jim and Tauni do a great job running it.

[Robot Man]

On 7/15/2022 at 8:26 AM, alexgross.com said:

the big question for me and perhaps others is whether or not we should trust these guys next year. here i am in LA with no con tomorrow. i would probably have come anyway, but many people got stuck with pricey plane tix, hotels, etc.

being jerked around just one month out, and this being handled so dishonestly, have been a real turnoff. if terry gets the january cal comic-con happening again, i might forego any torpedo events in the future. granted, it would be phenomenally s t u p i d of them to cancel another show next year. but they've shown that they don't really care too much about their customers.

Terry’s and Torpedo are 6 months apart. With WonderCon in the middle. If we are lucky. I would go to all three if I had the chance.

Not real sure about Terry’s show He has moved to WA now. He didn’t want his shoe to have any Covid restrictions. Sadly, maybe a fact of life these days.

John was probably looking at taking a huge financial hit on this one. I get it, but poor promotion on his part.

I guess that leaves SDCC… If you have the financial means and are willing to put up with “lotteries” for everything in a super crowded show with limited vintage comic buying potential…

Yeah, I’m real bummed too. I look forward to it every year. 

[Robot Man]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:39 AM, ComicsAndCode said:

I will be at that show. Jim and Tauni do a great job running it.

Me too. I will be set up. No comics though. I have too much vintage toys and advertising items this time. I know Jim will bring some as well as a couple other people. Then, there are always surprises. 

[Catwomancomics]

On 7/15/2022 at 9:54 AM, Robot Man said:

 

Not real sure about Terry’s show He has moved to WA now. 

February 2023