San Diego Comic Con 1 1

[gumbydarnit]

On 7/21/2024 at 5:38 PM, Xatari said:

San Diego Comic Con is arguably my favorite week of the year.  A collector group of which I am part has around 25 members or so from all over the world.  This year, I believe 15-18 of us will all be in SD together.  For the past several years, a subset of us have rented out a house that we use as our home base/club house.  Recently, this has been on Coronado.  Every day of the convention we take the ferry across, allowing us to save time on the commute and drop us off on the back side of the convention center which has its own entrance. 

In terms of strategy, I try to get convention work done during Preview Night since there are fewer people.  It is easier to navigate the floor, so I pick up all my art, connect with my dealers and reps, and browse portfolios until the bell tolls and they kick us out.

Each year varies in terms of events but there are a few that I will never miss. 

• VIP Dinner - Wednesday night after Preview Night a group of folks get together for an invite-only dinner (queue Cabal anthem).  This year, from what I'm told, there will be 18-20 folks including high value art and comic collectors, museum curators, and some of the popular social media content creators in the comic space.  It is likely the fate of the universe will be decided over the breaking of bread. /S
• Brian Peck also hosts an annual dinner that is a lovely event and much more accessible in that it is an open invite so long as you give him a heads up.  I attended last year with a group of friends and felt honored to meet so many veteran art collectors.  While collecting genres ranged widely, there was a really nice welcoming atmosphere without any tribalism.  I won't be there this year, but I really appreciate Brian for hosting this.
• Bad Idea Tiki Party -  this is another of my favorites.  Each year Dinesh Shamdasani and the Bad Idea publishing crew put together an awesome party at a restaurant on the harbor.  Historically there has been an exclusive "party favor" with an artist of creator signing/sketching for guests.  The views at the location are stunning, and Dinesh is a great host.  Guest mingle throughout, and it is easy to spot a lot of the "who's who" of the younger comic collecting crowd.  
• Annual Del Mar Surf Session - I used to live in North County myself, so every year I take a crew out here to try surfing and have a blast just getting in the water.  Del Mar is a perfect place to learn with beautiful beaches and fun waves that are not overwhelming.  We typically go Friday or Saturday morning.  This is a nice break from the convention which can be imposing once the masses are in full force (especially Saturday).  My goal is always to try to get everything done on Preview Night, so there is little pressure the rest of the weekend, and I can simply enjoy the experience.
• Deadpool and Wolverine - This year, a group of us snatched tickets for the Deadpool and Wolverine premier.  I think it's going to be a blast to see in San Diego with so many fans incoming from all over.

I'm sure there are million things I'm forgetting, but it would be a short novel to cover everything that goes on in a given SDCC week.  Such an incredible experience!!!

Edited for fat finger typing.

Now that’s what I’m talking about, a man with a plan including lots of friendly gatherings! Thanks for breaking it down so throughly sounds like great fun.

Edited July 23 by gumbydarnit

[gumbydarnit]

On 7/21/2024 at 6:23 PM, igotnogame said:

Biggest lands for me - getting the "I am hope" page from Sandman 4 in 1994, which is THE only page I ever wanted to have out of the series.

That land just keeps getting better and better Gaiman is a powerhouse! I have to admit that I am more of an art over writing guy probably so I haven’t really latched on to Sandman as many have. But you are a lucky man to have such an early page from that famous story! Congratulations and thanks for sharing the story!

[Xatari]

On 7/22/2024 at 5:55 PM, gumbydarnit said:

Now that’s what I’m talking about, a man with a plan including lots of friendly gatherings! Thanks for breaking it down so throughly sounds like great fun.

You should see the detailed itinerary I sent the squad. 😆 

[gumbydarnit]

On 7/22/2024 at 1:26 AM, Nexus said:

My first SDCC was 1989, the summer of BATMAN. I was immediately hooked. I've only missed a small handful since. It remains a highlight of the year.

Oh wow Felix I didn’t know you liked Batman… you ought to track down an old comic Frank Miller did.. Batman The Dark Knight Returns  I think you might like it 

Edited July 23 by gumbydarnit

[gumbydarnit]

On 7/22/2024 at 3:10 AM, Brian Peck said:

Any ways at preview night San Diego Comic Con 2014, I was at Moy's booth drooling over his "Wall of Art" when Albert produces a thick cardboard box. To my amazement it contained all the original art to "How to Draw The Marvel Way".

That is THE a moment of your fabulous collection. I still have mine the cover is barely attached but what an awesome book. PLUS big John created a lot of amazing pieces for the book, giving all us little punks very very high mark to shoot for! 
 

betcha you still are pinching yourself on landing those… and Albert probably is  kicking himself all these years later!

[gumbydarnit]

On 7/22/2024 at 10:22 AM, stinkininkin said:

My first SDCC was in 1980, and it was magic. Not the same beast it is now, and twice the charm. I've only missed one year since (1983), and consider it an annual must do. Of course, I'm behind the tables now as the local professional, but still manage to sneak out from my booth and geek out a bit. I too would recommend everyone hit the show up at least once in their life. As Felix said, make it a bucket list item. 

To those attending, come see me at my new booth location, 4505, and say hi. Or buy some art.   Or do both!  Either way, see (some of you) soon!

Heck Scott I have found memories of the show from just your telling of it to Felix on his podcast and I wasn’t even there!

Edited July 23 by gumbydarnit

[gumbydarnit]

On 7/22/2024 at 12:59 PM, fsumavila said:

My biggest regret art wise is not pulling the trigger on the cover to Avengers #203 that Hans had years ago. Love that issue, but the ask (something like $3k) was too much for my wallet at the time. (Insert face palm emoji)

Awww man you should have opened the ol wallet!

[gumbydarnit]

On 7/22/2024 at 1:18 PM, zhamlau said:

He introduced me to Moebius and Randy (his manager/translator/publisher/everything at the time). We three had sandwiches and talked about collecting art.

Oh man what an artist!!!!!!

[gumbydarnit]

On 7/22/2024 at 9:12 PM, Xatari said:

You should see the detailed itinerary I sent the squad. 😆 

I bet! You seem to run a tight ship… a good time will be had by all I’m sure.

[Brian Peck]

On 7/22/2024 at 6:20 PM, gumbydarnit said:

That is THE a moment of your fabulous collection. I still have mine the cover is barely attached but what an awesome book. PLUS big John created a lot of amazing pieces for the book, giving all us little punks very very high mark to shoot for! 
 

betcha you still are pinching yourself on landing those… and Albert probably is  kicking himself all these years later!

Yes I still get a thrill when I pull out the art for the book. Albert bought the book from John’s family after he died and had it for 12 years. He decided to sell it don’t think he has regrets. While there are still big things on my want list. There is nothing to compare with acquiring th How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way book of art

[batman_fan]

On 7/22/2024 at 1:10 AM, Brian Peck said:

I have been going to SDCC for the last 22 years in a row, missed 2001 (work related) started attending in the mid 90s.

SDCC is crazy but I always have fun. Get to hang out with collectors and friends I see usually once or twice a year and always find something interesting original art to add to my collection. The gaslamp around the convention had great food, entertainment and places to hang out after hours during the con.

When I first started attending you would find some art in the strangest booths, I picked up the X-Men #30 Wedding trading card art from Bob Larkin from a guy from europe selling toys, two pages from X-Factor #1 I had been searching 20 years was found by a friend at a comic book retailer booth. All types of stuff can be found at SDCC.

What I love most about SDCC is the all the great art on display I can not afford but get to see in person. I have seen the splash from X-Men #1 by Kirby, to Frazetta painting and Ditko Amazing Spider-Man cover. I always make a beeline to Albert's booth to see his "Wall of Drool" He always has great art to show and sell. I am amazed I can hold art in my hands even if I will never be able to take it home.

I have acquired a number of great pieces at SDCC over the years including the DPS by Dave Cockrum from one of my favorite stories Kitty's Fairy Tale from Uncanny X-Men #153. Which was up on the Wall of Drool/

My favorite memory of the con and greatest acquisition was.......

 

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. (wait scratch that, but SDCC does seem like a different galaxy to some).

Any ways at preview night San Diego Comic Con 2014, I was at Moy's booth drooling over his "Wall of Art" when Albert produces a thick cardboard box. To my amazement it contained all the original art to "How to Draw The Marvel Way". Almost anyone who reads comic books knows about this book. My first exposure was discovering it at the library (its a place which were books can be checked out and read, no not Wikipedia) when I was in Jr High. I was blown away that I could become a comic book artist (ya I soon realized I didnt have the patience or skill to become a comic book artist). But I still loved looking thru the book and that book has stuck with me ever since.

I think that book helped me appreciate the art in the comic books and later my collecting of original comic art (especially Big John art).

After looking the all the art (twice) I was able to work out a deal with Albert Moy for it. 

I want to take my hat off (where is that damn hat?) to Albert who was really great to work with on this deal. One of the best!

Never know what piece of art is around that next booth could be your grail/

 

Brian

 

That book came out when I was young and wanted to be a comic book artist.  It quickly became my bible and I used it all the time for working on becoming a comic book artist.  Sadly when I started college I had to choose between engineering and art for my major.  Art class didn’t count towards my engineering degree and I ended up picking engineering.

[Xatari]

Big dinner this evening. Incredible group of people involved, and we had an absolute blast shutting down the restaurant. We also saw two other pretty big “power tables” hosting dinners at the same location, one of which included the annual dinner of some of our heroes… Liefeld, Kirkman, Loeb, etc. I have a ton of respect for that crew, and it was awesome to see these giants as we walked by to our table. 

Another highlight of the day was chatting with Marcus Wai! What an awesome dude! Cheers from San Diego 2024!

 

 

[delekkerste]

SDCC is definitely a fun time so far! Had dinner with two close hobby friends on Tuesday night at Greystone Prime steakhouse. Bigger group dinner last night at Fleming's steakhouse. Both really fun dinners but one HUGE gripe - doesn't any restaurant in San Diego know how to cook a proper medium rare steak? Both steaks were dry and overcooked. I'm ordering rare steaks from here on out whenever I'm in town. But, I digress...

Had a look through most of the OA inventory on the floor yesterday so I could take it easy the rest of the show. Bought a couple of small things - a nice, early-ish Walking Dead page (Adlard) and a super cool Marvel Transformers splash (Delbo). There were a number of smaller pieces that caught my eye - Thibodeaux is selling a couple of Starlin Dreadstar pages for a friend, ComicConnect has a nice Bloom County strip, Scott Eder has some hilarious Simon Hanselmann stuff, but, I found myself asking if I "needed" those examples on top of what I have, and the answer was no. The Transformers page I felt added something to the others I have and, even though I have quite a large WD art collection, the page I got yesterday I felt added some quality to the mix and will make the whole better, so I was happy to buy.

The really annoying thing was that an older gent bought a really nice 1966 Peanuts daily w/Charlie Brown and Snoopy in all 4 panels just before I got to the ComicConnect table. While I haven't been actively looking for P-Nutz, this one was really nice and priced acceptably ($25K) that I would have jumped all over this one as a one-and-done had I seen it first.  

One bit of good news, though, is that I've been working on getting a super memorable piece for me for the past 4 years and I struck a tentative deal yesterday via e-mail with the owner (not at SDCC) to get the page. Hope to have it either this weekend or in the next 10 days (working out the logistics of payment and delivery still); if all goes well, it will get posted to CAF at some point before year-end.  

SDCC is great for just walking the floor and having random, in-depth conversations with collectors that I don't normally see regularly. Was great to talk to so many people yesterday, especially the SoCal locals who don't normally make it back east for NYCC. 

Edited July 25 by delekkerste

[tth2]

On 7/26/2024 at 12:17 AM, delekkerste said:

One bit of good news, though, is that I've been working on getting a super memorable piece for me for the past 4 years and I struck a tentative deal yesterday via e-mail with the owner (not at SDCC) to get the page. Hope to have it either this weekend or in the next 10 days (working out the logistics of payment and delivery still); if all goes well, it will get posted to CAF at some point before year-end.  

???

[grapeape]

On 7/22/2024 at 10:18 AM, zhamlau said:

The only time I went to SDCC was in 1996 or 97 (one of the two). I flew in and hung out with Bob Burden for a while. He introduced me to Moebius and Randy (his manager/translator/publisher/everything at the time). We three had sandwiches and talked about collecting art. I bought a bunch of art from Incal and Surfer off him and he did some sketches/ signed stuff. He was a very nice man. After that I never felt like I needed to go back, I accomplished all I had hoped to in that one trip.

I could've retired after a con like that. Hard to top.

 

[grapeape]

On 7/25/2024 at 1:29 AM, Xatari said:

Big dinner this evening. Incredible group of people involved, and we had an absolute blast shutting down the restaurant. We also saw two other pretty big “power tables” hosting dinners at the same location, one of which included the annual dinner of some of our heroes… Liefeld, Kirkman, Loeb, etc. I have a ton of respect for that crew, and it was awesome to see these giants as we walked by to our table. 

Another highlight of the day was chatting with Marcus Wai! What an awesome dude! Cheers from San Diego 2024!

 

 

I gotta meet Marcus. Dudes an absolute legend!!!!

[delekkerste]

On 7/25/2024 at 12:17 PM, delekkerste said:

SDCC is definitely a fun time so far! Had dinner with two close hobby friends on Tuesday night at Greystone Prime steakhouse. Bigger group dinner last night at Fleming's steakhouse. Both really fun dinners but one HUGE gripe - doesn't any restaurant in San Diego know how to cook a proper medium rare steak? Both steaks were dry and overcooked. I'm ordering rare steaks from here on out whenever I'm in town. But, I digress...

Had steak for a third night in a row last night, this time at The Water Grill, my favorite restaurant in the area. Ordered it rare and I would say it just managed to qualify as such, more like in-between rare and medium rare. It was fine for me, but, someone at the table who ordered it medium rare got something that was clearly at least medium.  

Pro tip: the best steak I've had since being in SoCal the past week and a half was Matu in L.A. They won't even let you have your steak cooked beyond a little above this (and for the filet, they refuse to cook it beyond this level at all). This, my friends, is how steak should be prepared - warm, red and juicy:

Again, sorry for the digression but I am now on a mission to Make Steak Great Again in San Diego after the past 3 nights.  

On 7/25/2024 at 12:17 PM, delekkerste said:

One bit of good news, though, is that I've been working on getting a super memorable piece for me for the past 4 years and I struck a tentative deal yesterday via e-mail with the owner (not at SDCC) to get the page. Hope to have it either this weekend or in the next 10 days (working out the logistics of payment and delivery still); if all goes well, it will get posted to CAF at some point before year-end.  

Hopefully will have it in the next week or week and a half. Seller was going to bring it to the U.S. while on a business trip, but decided it would be safer to ship it when they are back next week.  

Bought a cool Manix Abrera sketch card at the show yesterday (I have a bigger Manix piece but this one was fun). I think someone bought a TOS cover from Thibodeaux if I heard correctly? Think that's the only big sale I've really heard of. Heard another dealer negotiating a mid-5 figure piece; not sure if he and the buyer closed the $5K price gap they were at, though (sounded like it was going to happen, but, I'm not sure if it did). I've talked to some big players who seem to be a bit sidelined after major recent purchases earlier this year and it's made for a bit of a quiet show. 

My show is pretty much done; I intend to make a quick pass through the other end looking for something to bring back for the kids and maybe bump into a few more people, but, I should be done by lunchtime today. 

 

Edited July 26 by delekkerste

[buttock]

On 7/25/2024 at 10:17 AM, delekkerste said:

SDCC is definitely a fun time so far! Had dinner with two close hobby friends on Tuesday night at Greystone Prime steakhouse. Bigger group dinner last night at Fleming's steakhouse. Both really fun dinners but one HUGE gripe - doesn't any restaurant in San Diego know how to cook a proper medium rare steak? Both steaks were dry and overcooked. I'm ordering rare steaks from here on out whenever I'm in town. But, I digress...

Had a look through most of the OA inventory on the floor yesterday so I could take it easy the rest of the show. Bought a couple of small things - a nice, early-ish Walking Dead page (Adlard) and a super cool Marvel Transformers splash (Delbo). There were a number of smaller pieces that caught my eye - Thibodeaux is selling a couple of Starlin Dreadstar pages for a friend, ComicConnect has a nice Bloom County strip, Scott Eder has some hilarious Simon Hanselmann stuff, but, I found myself asking if I "needed" those examples on top of what I have, and the answer was no. The Transformers page I felt added something to the others I have and, even though I have quite a large WD art collection, the page I got yesterday I felt added some quality to the mix and will make the whole better, so I was happy to buy.

The really annoying thing was that an older gent bought a really nice 1966 Peanuts daily w/Charlie Brown and Snoopy in all 4 panels just before I got to the ComicConnect table. While I haven't been actively looking for P-Nutz, this one was really nice and priced acceptably ($25K) that I would have jumped all over this one as a one-and-done had I seen it first.  

One bit of good news, though, is that I've been working on getting a super memorable piece for me for the past 4 years and I struck a tentative deal yesterday via e-mail with the owner (not at SDCC) to get the page. Hope to have it either this weekend or in the next 10 days (working out the logistics of payment and delivery still); if all goes well, it will get posted to CAF at some point before year-end.  

SDCC is great for just walking the floor and having random, in-depth conversations with collectors that I don't normally see regularly. Was great to talk to so many people yesterday, especially the SoCal locals who don't normally make it back east for NYCC. 

San Diego has the worst food across the board of any big city in the US.  At least in the high-traffic areas.  I'm sure there are some good mexican places around, but I've never had anything that impressed me in the downtown/gaslight area extending all the way up to italian village.  Mission beach is kinda sad also.  It's worth getting up to La Jolla if you're looking for good food.  

[G.A.tor]

my first sdcc was in 1988...it was downtown in a hotel iirc...went every year until 2019 (pre covid was my last sdcc)...a 30+ year run...one of the early 1990s cons I went to (don't recall which, might be 1991?) my buddy Rob and I got to sd, checked into the days in, and went downtown to the hotel to get our tickets...boy were we surprised to find out there was NO con there...fearing we had gotten weekend wrong, we went back to the hotel and called the number on the post card (i think) and no one answered...talk about being bummed out...we went out to get some food and saw someone walking in a comic book Tshirt and explained our situation and he informed us the con was now down at the convention center ...sure enough,we headed that way, and it was in halls a and b that year...and the next year it expanded into hall c...we rode the tram (it was just a dust bowl back then, no "gaslight" district like now)...watched the area grow and change over the years ...in 2000 we started being a vendor and did that for like 15 years until I gave my booth to Bedrock city... good memories

[cstojano]

On 7/26/2024 at 8:59 AM, buttock said:

San Diego has the worst food across the board of any big city in the US.  At least in the high-traffic areas.  I'm sure there are some good mexican places around, but I've never had anything that impressed me in the downtown/gaslight area extending all the way up to italian village.  Mission beach is kinda sad also.  It's worth getting up to La Jolla if you're looking for good food.  

No food can out-bad the food court food I have had at SDCC over the years. This includes easily the driest and worst hamburger I ever had. I don't have deep history stories of SDCC but I went for a stretch around the 2007-2012 horizon. Legendary lines and chaos. It seemed they changed the check-in protocol every year back then, maybe it is better now. I remember being in a line so long to get in we actually wrapped the building and were standing on docks near the water.

Back to food. My first SDCC I was totally feeling the buzz and excitement. I bought an awful, extremely overpriced pizza at the food court and it was SRO, of course. So I scarfed down half this pizza, made eyes within another guy standing around and we somehow knew what we were both thinking. I eyed the trash cash and looked at this guy and just said "do you want this?" He was like "uh, sure" and we both admitted it was a first for both of us, chuckled and then I walked off into the crowds a hero for a day. 

edit: I should add I was shocked with Sideshow Collectibles pulled out. Their booth was massive and super popular. I can see niche comic OA dealers not finding it worth the money but a major company like that was shocking. I was glad I went to see the glory days of entry level collector enthusiasm, Weta still attending, Sideshow, heck even Ralph Bakshi and CS Moore had booths my first year. 

Edited July 26 by cstojano