Lake Como Comic Art Festival - Cernobbio (Como Lake) 12/14 May 1 1

[RBerman]

On 5/19/2023 at 9:33 AM, barneythecantankerous said:

Ahh, I think I recognise your face, are you the chap who left pretty much all of his belongings at Gary Frank's table?!

Could be! I was carrying a yellow backpack that I sometimes didn't pick back up when I moved on to the next table.

[John E.]

On 5/19/2023 at 9:41 AM, RBerman said:

Could be! I was carrying a yellow backpack that I sometimes didn't pick back up when I moved on to the next table.

I have this problem too and have lost artwork that way. When I used to “con,” I would set my backpack down between my feet so I couldn’t walk away without stumbling over it. With art portfolios (as with anything else) if you set it beside you away from your line of vision you may be apt to walk away going the opposite direction. That’s how I lost a sketch book. I always put my name and info on things. Last month, I had an artist sketch something in my kid’s book at a book festival and set it on a table to let the ink dry. I got caught in conversation and then walked away from it. So it still happens. It took a few emails, texts, and calls, but I was able to retrieve it. I’m considering getting “business” cards made with my name and contact so I can easily stick them in books, etc. 

[barneythecantankerous]

On 5/19/2023 at 3:41 PM, RBerman said:

Could be! I was carrying a yellow backpack that I sometimes didn't pick back up when I moved on to the next table.

Yes! Think I also saw you going back to a table (around Peach) on Sunday having done the same thing 😂!

I also saw you got a picture with the 2 guys from Singapore - really nice guys, I was feeling a bit down early Sunday but having chatted with them in the line before entering really turned my mood around, which I'm grateful for.

On 5/19/2023 at 4:02 PM, John E. said:

I have this problem too and have lost artwork that way. When I used to “con,” I would set my backpack down between my feet so I couldn’t walk away without stumbling over it. With art portfolios (as with anything else) if you set it beside you away from your line of vision you may be apt to walk away going the opposite direction. That’s how I lost a sketch book. I always put my name and info on things. Last month, I had an artist sketch something in my kid’s book at a book festival and set it on a table to let the ink dry. I got caught in conversation and then walked away from it. So it still happens. It took a few emails, texts, and calls, but I was able to retrieve it. I’m considering getting “business” cards made with my name and contact so I can easily stick them in books, etc. 

I carry a giant backpack with a 13x19 portfolio and I can still mislay the damn thing! I also do the same thing of keeping it between my legs. 

[RBerman]

On 5/20/2023 at 3:20 AM, barneythecantankerous said:

Yes! Think I also saw you going back to a table (around Peach) on Sunday having done the same thing 😂!

I also saw you got a picture with the 2 guys from Singapore - really nice guys, I was feeling a bit down early Sunday but having chatted with them in the line before entering really turned my mood around, which I'm grateful for.

I carry a giant backpack with a 13x19 portfolio and I can still mislay the damn thing! I also do the same thing of keeping it between my legs. 

Yes, the two guys from Singapore were a positive force at the con.

I was carrying a 13x19 Itoya everywhere as well, but I don't think I ever left it anywhere. It got progressively convex as the weekend went on. I showed it to lots of the artists, who seemed to genuinely enjoy seeing the company that their contribution was keeping. They didn't seem to just be humoring a customer. Gary Frank told me later that my Itoya was one of the highlights of his weekend; it included six pages from him that I brought.

Edited May 20, 2023 by RBerman

[grapeape]

On 5/20/2023 at 4:42 AM, RBerman said:

Yes, the two guys from Singapore were a positive force at the con.

I was carrying a 13x19 Itoya everywhere as well, but I don't think I ever left it anywhere. It got progressively convex as the weekend went on. I showed it to lots of the artists, who seemed to genuinely enjoy seeing the company that their contribution was keeping. They didn't seem to just be humoring a customer. Gary Frank told me later that my Itoya was one of the highlights of his weekend; it included six pages from him that I brought.

That's one of my favorites things to do is show art to other artists I meet, when they are interested. Sometimes they know, and sometimes they'll ask who the artist is. Like you said, I think it's natural to want to see what company the art is keeping, that you let go to a client.

Trudging  around with a regular size and sometimes larger Itoya is my least favorite physical activity to endure at a con. I have an Itoya for 9x12 drawings, that's the one most likely to get left somewhere.

Gary Frank, besides being a terrific artist, sounds like a pretty cool guy also.

[thethedew]

Anybody wonder if a convention in this all-art, all-artist format would work in the States?  Any particular reason it needs to be Europe-only?

[KirbyCollector]

On 5/31/2023 at 2:56 AM, thethedew said:

Anybody wonder if a convention in this all-art, all-artist format would work in the States?  Any particular reason it needs to be Europe-only?

Bill Cox is sponsoring exactly that in Orlando in January -- and tickets go on sale tomorrow

https://www.conventionscene.com/2023/05/11/1st-annual-original-arts-expo-oax-on-january-26-28-2024/

Edited May 31, 2023 by KirbyCollector

[wurstisart]

Why would you plan on doing this convention right in the middle of Disney property - makes absolutely no sense to poke the bear or mouse in this case.

For our hobby I hope this does not backfire.

[KirbyCollector]

On 6/3/2023 at 1:00 PM, wurstisart said:

Why would you plan on doing this convention right in the middle of Disney property - makes absolutely no sense to poke the bear or mouse in this case.

Disney doesn't own all of Orlando lol. Plus, all of the other stuff going on has nothing to do with this.

Btw Bill lives there now... where did you expect him to put his own convention? 

Edited June 3, 2023 by KirbyCollector

[Xatari]

I guess I'm not following.  How would this provoke Disney?  It would seem they would appreciate any increased attention to their properties (both intellectual and physical). I'm not saying you're wrong but just not following the thought process.  Could you elaborate?

(edited for fat finger spelling)

Edited June 4, 2023 by Xatari

[wurstisart]

I hope you are right about your position.

It’s the old concern of property rights, can artists make money on characters someone else owns and so on

How long will they look the other way.

Our hobby has turned into big business, it’s not only a couple of comic art lovers any longer and whenever there is big money involved there is the chance of others trying to get a piece of the pie.

[KirbyCollector]

On 6/4/2023 at 4:31 AM, wurstisart said:

I hope you are right about your position.

It’s the old concern of property rights, can artists make money on characters someone else owns and so on

How long will they look the other way.

Our hobby has turned into big business, it’s not only a couple of comic art lovers any longer and whenever there is big money involved there is the chance of others trying to get a piece of the pie.

Disney just took a $1.5 billion write-down in the June quarter due to removing content from its streaming platforms... and if that's not bad enough, wait until their stock price goes to 75 later this year. They have much bigger problems than guys doing Iron Man commissions near their parks...

[vodou]

On 6/4/2023 at 9:39 AM, KirbyCollector said:

and if that's not bad enough, wait until their stock price goes to 75 later this year. T

As various publicly traded companies burn themselves to the ground, the matter of “fiduciary liability” ought to be in the minds of both Boards and shareholders alike…

[John E.]

On 5/31/2023 at 1:56 AM, thethedew said:

Anybody wonder if a convention in this all-art, all-artist format would work in the States?  Any particular reason it needs to be Europe-only?

Steve Morger, lawyer and art rep to the likes of Frank Cho and Travis Charest (formerly) under Big Wow! Art, established the Lake Como convention. Morger and another comic-con promoter Steve Wyatt ran Big Wow! Comic Fest in San Jose, California for years. Big Wow! was like a Lake Como in that it had a very impressive Artist Alley, but it also had the typical stuff you’d find at cons, like panels, which is where I first learned about the hobby and became a collector at that show the following years.
 

Around 2017 the two Steves sold Big Wow! to Steve Wozniak. The Woz then changed the name to Silicon Valley Comic Con and turned the show from comics to All-Pop Culture inclusive show with a lot of science. Morger and Wyatt had signed a multi-year non-compete clause and so they had to sit on their hands for a while before they could bring anything else resembling Big Wow! A few years after I asked Morger at a show if he was going to bring another show like Big Wow the Bay Area and he said he can’t yet, but he was going to bring a show to Lake Como. Why he chose that location? I don’t know or don’t remember. Maybe it was just a nice place he visited or maybe it was far away enough not to be sued by Woz for competing. This is all relatively public information and since Morger is also a collector and important member of the community I’m sure there are Boardies here can correct my information. 
 

Otherwise there are two other All-Comic Art shows on both coasts. The one that Bechara runs twice a year in L.A. and S.F. and the one in New Jersey or whatever. They just don’t have the artist alley aspect to it. 

[RBerman]

On 6/3/2023 at 12:00 PM, wurstisart said:

Why would you plan on doing this convention right in the middle of Disney property - makes absolutely no sense to poke the bear or mouse in this case.

For our hobby I hope this does not backfire.

Bill Cox's convention site is actually next to Universal Studios park, not on Disney property. I believe January was chosen because it's a down time for the resort business, being generally too cold to swim. I took my family to Disney last February, and we it was so cold we had to go to the Norway section of EPCOT to buy wool sweaters and ski hats!

[redrighthand]

On 6/3/2023 at 10:00 AM, wurstisart said:

Why would you plan on doing this convention right in the middle of Disney property - makes absolutely no sense to poke the bear or mouse in this case.

For our hobby I hope this does not backfire.

I don't see why this would be aeven a ripple when MegaCon is down the street a week later and is stuffed with IP violations on a grander scale (much like most other comic cons) that nobody cares about. And MegaCon has something like 150-200,000 attendees compared to Bill's cap of, what was it 1500 or something?

Edited June 14, 2023 by redrighthand
typo