San Diego Comic Con 1 1

[brainbats]

On 7/30/2024 at 5:50 AM, KirbyCollector said:

Odd to see some of the same pieces, year after year after year, on a dealer's wall at a show --  yet despite the fact no one is buying them, the prices always creep higher.

That is because the value has gone up.

[Dr. Balls]

On 7/29/2024 at 9:04 PM, gumbydarnit said:

Batman Fan, I hope it’s not out of line to post a link to Marcus Wai CAF gallery with some SDCC dealer wall photos, they are fun to zoom in on and browse the selections. Thanks for the great photos Marcus!

https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=78294

Seconded this about Marcus - I followed his IG posts, and he gave it his usual active and high energy involvement we've come to expect from him. I'll never know if I get to meet Marcus someday, but it'd be great - he's a wonderfully positive personality in the OA community, at least - that's what I think.

[Xatari]

Providing a specific example, I was checking out the DoBros booth, and they have the issue 1 cover to the Magik miniseries.  $95k at the show, up from $55k last year.  From my perspective, they tend to price 2-3 years out in terms of value in most cases, but values seem to catch up in general.  What seemed crazy to me when I first started collecting now seems commonplace.

[Xatari]

On 7/31/2024 at 8:35 AM, Dr. Balls said:

Seconded this about Marcus - I followed his IG posts, and he gave it his usual active and high energy involvement we've come to expect from him. I'll never know if I get to meet Marcus someday, but it'd be great - he's a wonderfully positive personality in the OA community, at least - that's what I think.

Meeting Marcus on the floor was one of the highlights of the week for me!  I wish that guy every success in life, and he is certainly a massive bright spot in the hobby.

[grapeape]

On 7/30/2024 at 4:19 PM, alexgross.com said:

@grapeape thanks for posting these awesome pics! looks like you had a great time at sdcc. fascinating to me how artists often look like their work. tradd moore is long, thin, and sort of psychedelic, just as his work is, and bisley, well, lets just say he looks like some of his characters too. 

Bisley for sure 😆 

Edited July 31 by grapeape

[BS Damutantman]

I posted a few of my pics in the other thread, but I had a great time checking out Artist Alley this year. Every year, it's one of the highlights, and I try to engage with at least one artist I wasn't familiar with before the con. This year, we met Curt Merlo at his booth and loved his pulpy style so much that we decided to buy a few of the pages from his self-published book, Gunk, after the con, which I'll share once they're in hand later this week. I didn't get a chance to spend too much time looking through dealer folios, which is probably for the best since I've already got a few pages I'm paying off.

By the way, if you saw Airboy and Valkyrie, Jurassic Park employees, or two tired collectors in Old Gods of Asgard shirts, then you probably saw us:

[KirbyCollector]

https://nypost.com/2024/07/31/us-news/14-arrested-in-sex-trafficking-sting-at-comic-con/

[Benedict Judas Hel]

On 7/31/2024 at 6:15 PM, KirbyCollector said:

https://nypost.com/2024/07/31/us-news/14-arrested-in-sex-trafficking-sting-at-comic-con/

[cstojano]

"No traffickers were arrested in the operation, but the agents were able to lure out and arrest 14 johns."

[Bronty]

What a bizarre headline and details / lack of details.    Comic con and prostie ring don't exactly seem to go together?

[grapeape]

It makes a lot of sense. There are a ton of unaccompanied minors enjoying the Con and downtown San Diego. Trafficking, especially of children, is obviously abhorrent and needs all hands on deck to combat these sick perverts. I was happy to hear they were trying to do something to protect the kids from these scum.

 

[redrighthand]

On 8/1/2024 at 10:13 AM, Bronty said:

What a bizarre headline and details / lack of details.    Comic con and prostie ring don't exactly seem to go together?

Any event that draws in hordes of out-of-state people inevitably attracts human traffickers. Super Bowl is well-known for this phenomenon.

[tth2]

On 8/2/2024 at 1:13 AM, Bronty said:

Comic con and prostie ring don't exactly seem to go together?

Really?  A bunch of guys who can't get laid in real life unless they pay for it, all gathered together with lots of money to spend?  Seems like a perfect match.

[Bronty]

On 8/1/2024 at 6:00 PM, redrighthand said:

Any event that draws in hordes of out-of-state people inevitably attracts human traffickers. Super Bowl is well-known for this phenomenon.

Somebody help this rube understand.

There's a crowd of 100,000 geeks.

This is good for human trafficking how?    Demand?    I would think there's demand anywhere and anytime.

Supply?   The article doesn't speak to kidnapping or anything.

 

[tth2]

On 8/2/2024 at 10:52 PM, Bronty said:

Somebody help this rube understand.

There's a crowd of 100,000 geeks.

This is good for human trafficking how?    Demand?    I would think there's demand anywhere and anytime.

Supply?   The article doesn't speak to kidnapping or anything.

 

I think you're misunderstanding the human trafficking element.  It's not that the traffickers are coming to the con and kidnapping attendees and forcing them to turn tricks.  They've already done the trafficking elsewhere (runaways, girls smuggled into the country, etc.) and are now forcing the trafficking victims to work as prostitutes at the con (or sporting event) to meet the huge demand.

I think you're also misunderstanding the demand element.  Yes, some people may solicit hookers and/or go to massage parlors when they're home.  And of course there is a standard level of demand in San Diego, which is met by the local supply of prostitutes.  But now there's suddenly an extra 100,000 people in San Diego, which the local talent don't have enough capacity to meet. 

Also, there's no doubt that many guys act differently when they're away from home.  The motto of Las Vegas isn't "What happens in Vegas is the same as what happens in Dubuque".  

[batman_fan]

On 8/1/2024 at 10:02 PM, tth2 said:

Really?  A bunch of guys who can't get laid in real life unless they pay for it, all gathered together with lots of money to spend?  Seems like a perfect match.

Fact check: True

[pemart1966]

Apologies if I missed it but did anyone take photos of the original art on display?

[gumbydarnit]

Friend of the hobby Marcus Wai uploaded some in his CAF galley:

https://www.comicartfans.com/galleryroom.asp?gsub=78294

[gumbydarnit]

The previous page of this thread has some cool pictures from the always wonderful Grapeape. Of particular interest is the killer slash of Magneto by the great Byrne/Austin duo!