MegaCon report!

[KingOfRulers]

My report doesn't day much that the other reports don't already say.

 

Basically, I thought it was a great show. The guests were pretty good. I think the selection in both quantity and quality was fantastic--the best I've seen for a show. I haven't been to that many conventions, but still I'd think this selection would stand up with some of the other major conventions. There was even some good original art which you don't see too often at most shows.

 

The crowds were pretty good. On Friday I heard the number 2000-2500 guests and Saturday an estimated 6000. Saturday was just insane. The lines were huge, there was constant traffic everywhere and it lasted the entire day. Today (Sunday) was not as busy as I hoped but still not bad. Compare it to FX which I heard had an attendance of 300 on Friday.

 

My spotlight of the show was bidding and winning the Sergio Aragones Ultimate Spider-man #100 cover. I didn't buy any books though--just nothing that was perfectly for me this time around even though the selection was great. There were actually three copies of Captain America #3 in the hall which was awesome as thats a book I hope to own one day.

 

I got a second to stop and see Sean Astin. He looks like a nice guy. A bunch of boneheads were waving like crazy at him from a distance which is where I was, and he actually waved back and had fun with it. Overall, I had a lot of fun. I think it was an A-class convention this time around. Sure, its more Anime oriented then I'd like, but Anime hasn't beaten the comic industry yet as it is apparent by the surge in comic related dealers this year.

 

I stole some pictures that Joeypost and Flee-Marquette posted, and also added a few of my own. I didn't see that much to take pictures of this time around.

 

 

The three of us at our booth (Me, Steve and mcmiles)

 

 

Joeypost, me and mcmiles at the booth.

 

 

7 of us at the forum dinner.

 

 

The guy next to us who was selling swords. Some of thos people scare me when I watched them holding a sword. You can also see the large Saturday crowd.

 

 

CPG board member "The Fuj", CGC & CPG board member "lookwhoitis" and me!

 

 

Some of the Ultimate Spider-man #100 books that will be making their way to NYC and other locations in the coming weeks.

 

 

The best picture I could get of Samwise.

[Pirate]

i recognize 5 of the 7. Who's in the white hat and who is the guy behind steve?

[arexcrooke]

hey fellas, but was the guy in front of Stephen in the dinner shot at Heroe's last year? I seem to remember his face, and maybe even the guy in front of him.

Arex

[Fazybones]

Nice looking booth!! If possible I would really appreciate any photos board members could post of your big conventions. In Western Canada or Vancouver our comic conventions are so small and shrinking. Which is the biggest US convention? One year I'm hoping to plan a trip around a big convention.

thanks,

fay

[Pirate]

left to right

 

guy in white hat

joeypost

steve

kingofrulers

jiveturkeymofo

qualitycomix

[Pirate]

Nice looking booth!! If possible I would really appreciate any photos board members could post of your big conventions. In Western Canada or Vancouver our comic conventions are so small and shrinking. Which is the biggest US convention? One year I'm hoping to plan a trip around a big convention.

thanks,

fay

 

San Diego is the biggest, most fun thats up to debate.

[greggy]

left to right

 

guy in white hat

joeypost

steve

kingofrulers

jiveturkeymofo

qualitycomix

#1 = Wes Hagen, #2 = Bechara Malouf

[sckao]

Hi. I was noticing your display rack...

 

Any comments about its construction? Did you build it yourself? How did you attach the wire shelf frame to the side legs and how do the side legs stay vertical? (A-frame or flag-stand type base?)

 

Thanks!

[MCMiles]

This style has been used by a lot of people for many years. There are a lot of variations on it. I think I have minimalized it quite a bit and it does break down and sets up quite easily.

 

It is an A-frame construction for the legs, which are made from (2) 2x2's hinged at the top so they will open and close. Like a step ladder.

 

The wire rack clips are attached on what will be your front side of your legs. You will have to trial and error on your spacing depending on what you store your books in, or for slabs.

 

The wire racks can be purchased at Home Depot or Lowe's and you will find the small clips merchandised with them.

 

When putting the rack together it is easier to lay the legs down at the spacing you want then attach the racks and stand the rack up. Once up, you can open the legs to the desired angle.

 

The racks basicly hang on the clips upside down, making a small 1" shelf with a 1/4" lip and a 12" back. The lip will prevent the bottom of the book from sliding forward.

 

To minimize (actually eliminate) the need for structural framing on the legs. you can double clip a few of the racks. Meaning place a clip at the the top and the bottom of a single rack. Once snapped in this is enough to keep the legs square and prevent lateral shifting.

 

A couple of tips:

I use a string, now days, tied across the rack to prevent books from falling forward. About 2/3's of the way from the top of each row.

 

A string tied between your front and rear legs will prevent the legs from sliding open if you are on a non carpeted surface.

[sckao]

Thx. I actually own 3 wombats (Aluminum A-frames) and the 4' extension bars.

 

They're fine for comics generally and there are two supported ledges that can take the weight of slabbed comics.

 

Structurally, though, the other shelves don't hold the weight of slabs as well. I used to build my own out of wire shelving (same as yours) but I always had problems with the a-frames/side supports. (I would use two 8' wire shelves standing vertically for those.)

 

From the photos though, it looks like steel poles were used instead of the wooden 2"x2"s?

 

Are the clips you're talking about driven into the wood? Any chance you could take photos?

 

Display rack construction has always been of considerable interest to me actually... (from CW's (Fantastic Comics) massively overengineered racks to the crude home-made peg board ones I see from time to time.)

 

In the photos for Dale Robert's booth, I noted that he cleverly used the box tops as an angle provider to make horizontal displays for smaller tables. I found this to be a clever use of the box top as well since it gives a better viewing angle to the person looking in from the aisle.

 

Maybe I should walk around the Con and take photos of people's display racks...

[KingOfRulers]

Wooden 2x2s are used for the racks. The plastic notches that hold the racks are driven into the wood. The metal poles you see are the MegaCon booth setups.

[sckao]

Wooden 2x2s are used for the racks. The plastic notches that hold the racks are driven into the wood. The metal poles you see are the MegaCon booth setups.

 

Ah... That makes much more sense.

 

So how much do you think it cost you to make those?

 

Because here's an idea... Comic PROMOTERS should offer YOUR racks for RENT (because they seem cheaper to make than Wombats) for those people who would like to occasionally set up at smaller shows but don't have a rack.

 

The Wombats, while small and portable, would be too expensive for Cons... but I can see promoters offering to rent the kind you have for $50 per 1-day con event. (I'd make them in varying sizes that could be mixed and matched which would also make them more portable for the promoter.) I'd also figure a way to make the 2x2 a-frame slotted so they fit together to make an 8' ft piece, but would break down into 2 4' sections. (Like a three dimensional jigsaw piece.. I'm sure there's a term for this in woodworking...)

 

 

[MCMiles]

A lot of smaller shows have 6' tables so I use 6' wire racks. A 6' display with 5 rows costs about $50 - $60 to make. I usually have two tables when they are 6', so I have to sets of racks, but only need three sets of legs. The middle set has a 2x3 on the front side which allows for side by side clips to clip adjacent ends of the racks in to at the middle. We just overlap them and zip tie them together when we need it to be shorter than 12' total but greater than 6'.

 

The clips can do all the work. One friend of mine just takes a wooden step lader with the clips screwed on the face of the legs. Stands the step latter up and clips in the racks. Even with 3' - 4' extending out on each side the racks hold fine.

[sckao]

A lot of smaller shows have 6' tables so I use 6' wire racks. A 6' display with 5 rows costs about $50 - $60 to make. I usually have two tables when they are 6', so I have to sets of racks, but only need three sets of legs. The middle set has a 2x3 on the front side which allows for side by side clips to clip adjacent ends of the racks in to at the middle. We just overlap them and zip tie them together when we need it to be shorter than 12' total but greater than 6'.

 

The clips can do all the work. One friend of mine just takes a wooden step lader with the clips screwed on the face of the legs. Stands the step latter up and clips in the racks. Even with 3' - 4' extending out on each side the racks hold fine.

 

That's an interesting idea with the ladder...

 

I'm trying to limit the foot print to 2' since that's 20% of a normal 10x10 booth but with a still solid enough footing. (I realize the smaller cons often only sell you a 6' or 8' table and you have to take what back space they give you.)

 

Since you guys are on the East Coast, you might want to run with the idea of having Promoters rent Display Racks. I think it's a viable idea and another profit avenue for them. (Or you can start mass producing them for the East Coast which might lessen the cost.)

 

The promoter could even have them set up prior to the show starting which would be even more incentive for dealers to just rent them from the Promoter. (I'm usually late for shows in the first place and if I knew I would have racks there waiting for me, I wouldn't have to lug them in my car. My Wombats are about 6-7' long in a ski bag but they barely fit in my SUV without hitting someone in the head. The A-frame legs telescope to 8'+) Some dealers I know only do a couple of small regional shows a year and they have small cars, so renting racks for them would be ideal.

 

(I'd still use my own Wombats since that saves me money in the long term and because I already bought them... but I can see using them for cons beyond my driving range. I can especially see new collectors who want to set up at cons for the first time using them as well.)

 

.

[osborn_fr]

guy in white hat = eBay seller dodofive

[Pirate]

left to right

 

guy in white hat

joeypost

steve

kingofrulers

jiveturkeymofo

qualitycomix

#1 = Wes Hagen, #2 = Bechara Malouf

[arexcrooke]

left to right

 

guy in white hat

joeypost

steve

kingofrulers

jiveturkeymofo

qualitycomix

#1 = Wes Hagen, #2 = Bechara Malouf

Who is Hagen? Ive heard his name before but cant make the connection to where.

Malouf is the guy who discovered the Boston Ped, correct?

[Kevin Boyd]

Who is Hagen? Ive heard his name before but cant make the connection to where.

 

Wes is a Canadian collector and dealer.

[MCMiles]

I didn't know who he was at first but Malouf had about 300 or 400 Raw DC Bostons at his booth and some of the coolest original art I have ever seen in person. I went through all of the Bostons but most seemed to be 9.0 range and second tier titles. I didn't see anything I had to have starting at 125% of guide. Pretty cool to see that many of one Ped all together thogether and unslabbed.

[MCMiles]

Who is Hagen? Ive heard his name before but cant make the connection to where.

 

Wes is a Canadian collector and dealer.

 

Pretty nice guy. I think his dad was with him - a real nice guy also. Wes could stand to be a little more organized, but at the same time it is fun to did through random stuff, you never know what you might find.