Comics and Everyday People

Having recently done a mall show with a non comic targeted crowd, I found it quite interesting how people outside the regular comic demographic view comic books today.  Some of the observations have a definite tie in to the current DC digital initiative while others are downright troubling when it comes to selling comics.

1. The Kids Don't Care - so, here we are in the middle of a major metropolitan mall over the course of three days, and I can count on less than two hands how many kids under 12 came up and started looking at the books of their own accord.  Most of the time, they went for the action figures first and had to be pointed to the comics by their parents.   Additionally, kids do not like to dig in the boxes, so the "joy of discovery" was a non factor.
2. "Hot" or "Not" - I had at least five adults who stopped by who identified themselves as former collectors, but they had not been following the books for a couple of years.  When I started talking about Secret Invasion, World War Hulk, and Blackest Night, all I got was blank looks.   Upon further investigation, a couple of years really meant the late 90s!   Even with everything done in the past four years or so to gain media attention, people still remember the Death of Superman and Mutant Massacre storylines.   I had one person (ONE!) ask if I had any of the new Death of Spider-Man issues (as one of the other dealers asked "Spider-Man died?").  As I tried to explain some of the recent big events, the dominant reactions revolved around the size and accessibility of the storylines.   The Big Two talk about attracting new readers yet these huge storylines appear to scare them off.   
3. Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs - Call it the Wal-Mart syndrome.   If there is not a price directly on the box that comics were in, I was consistently questioned on how much the books were.  Nevermind that there are 12 boxes with "Comics - 2 for $1" signs on every three boxes, if they were looking at a box between the signs, people had to ask how much it cost.   I even had questions about the post it notes on the action figures asking what the number meant  (Um, that's the price).   After doing so many shows, this really brought home how much I was used to the usual nomenclature and signage of the comic book show.  "Normals" did not have the same assumptions or base concepts.
4. Scary Comment of the Day - From a passerby - "Comic books.  They still make those?"

Bottom line, despite their own insular best efforts, the scope of the comic book industry has greatly decreased. The characters are known, but the individual stories and issues are not.  I picked up nearly 500 issues, all DC and Marvel, from the past three years from one person for a sad 0.25/issue.   Considering the average $2.99 cover price, that is even a worse return on investment than the stock market for the past few years. Moreover, there is no interest to pick up the stories even by casual fans EVEN AT A BARGAIN PRICE POINT!  So, I will have to save these books for the next true comic show.

DC has realized that they will have to do what the rest of the print industry has been in the process of doing the past few years - "Change or Die".  If they cannot bring in the younger readers or the casual readers, then our industry, our hobby, our passion, is on life support, no matter how much we may want to deny it.

  

Marvel needs to get on a similar path as their continual churn of "The Next Big Thing" and "The Next Big Death" is only cannibalizing long term sales for short term spikes.   Marvel is trying to replicate the speculator frenzy of the 90s by creating events and hoping readers stick around.  We have been down this path before, and we know how it ends (hello, Wizard).  Instead, if they could use their big multi-media properties, movies, and TV shows, to promote the books and have more of an integration between the platforms, that would drive more sales.  The current new Wolverine and Iron Man series are great examples of this, yet I have not seen one single "Read the Book" ad on any of these shows.    Hopefully, DC's new promotions, even as limited as they are, will spur some action over at the House of Ideas.

While the sales from the mall show were nowhere near expectations, the experience was illuminating.   For the various retailers complaining about the DC digital initiative, they should try setting up at something similar to this and see how the world beyond their "Wall Books" views their product and presentation.  The occasional customer looking through the lines of boxes could very well be a preview of their own future.

NCComicon - March 13 10am - 6pm!

It's always exciting when a new show debuts, and this one really has our interest. Raleigh has long needed a good pop culture type show, and hopefully, this could be the answer. Promoted by the great folks at Ultimate Comics in Durham, the show is going to be held at the Morrisville Outlet Center across from Raleigh Durham Airport. This is a really unique venue to be having the show in. Bigger than a hotel ballroom, nicer than a National Guard Armory, smaller than a convention center, and centrally located for all of the Triangle, it'll be a good sized and nicely appointed space for the debut show. There is also a large baby consignment sale going on the same weekend at the mall, so you can do shopping for all ages in the family!

While not loaded with guests yet, Tommy Lee Edwards and Christos Gage are great snags for the show. Both are great fan friendly creators, and this venue should provide for some quality fan interaction with them.

Another high point of this show is the variety of dealers. With a deliberate aim of providing a full spectrum of pop culture options, there is more than your standard "comic show" rows and rows of long boxes. So, if your inner geek is into things other than comics, don't let the "Comicon" name throw you off. Check out:

Wootini - custom and designer artist vinyl figures.
Gamefrog - video and internet gaming retailer and center
Vicious Vestments - Alternative Lifestyle Clothing
alternativeXchange - alternative music, movies, posters, books, and more

And if you are into comics and you are anywhere around the central to eastern NC areas, you have to be there. The strong comic dealer line up includes
Ultimate Comics (naturally)
Brett's Comic Pile - promoter of the VA Comicon and great selection
Earl Shaw Comics - regional show dealer with lots of older books
The Carolina Comic Club
and six more great dealers!

And of course, there is us! We will be continuing our successful "20/20" sale promotion of 20% any total purchase of $20 or more. On the comic front, we will be featuring another great selection of at least 32 half boxes of 50 cent books, new additions to higher end books, and a new "Buy 1, Get One Free" variant and signed books sale. For the toys, we will be continuing our clearance of some misc movie and TV related older figures as well as
GI Joe - 25th, A Real American Hero, DTC, Extreme, and Sgt. Savage
Marvel Legends - Toy Biz and Hasbro
Charmed
Farscape
House of the Dead
DC Direct
Star Wars! - clearing out older Power of the Force figures and more at $3 each or 8 for $16!
McFarlane - Spawn, Terminator, Aliens vs. Predator, Conan, and more

We are really looking forward to this show, and hope to see a lot of support for it. See you there!

VA Comicon - Winter Style!

It has been a crazy winter thus far with the weather. Here at New World Command Central in Eastern NC, we have gone from snow to mid 60s to wind storms and back to a possibility of more snow. Making things even more aggravating is that it seems that the snow and rain have been coming in every weekend since Christmas!

Of course, our snow ills are nothing compared to the Snowmaggedon through the Mid Atlantic and Northeast. So, what's a good cure for the snow blues? Well, besides no more snow, how about a good comic book show! And that is what the VA Comicon is, a good, no make that great, comic book show.

So, if you are anywhere around the Richmond, Washington DC, Norfolk, or northeastern NC areas, and you are reading this blog, you owe it to yourself to check out this show. A great array of dealers including show promoters Brett's Comic Pile and Guy Rose, regional comics legend Heroes Aren't Hard to Find, Cards, Comics, and Collectibles, TNT Comics, All American Comics, and many more bring an incredible variety of books from the latest hotness to Golden Age greatness.

Not just a dealer's room show, there is also a cool assortment of artists in attendance including the hot Tsunami Studios (Kelly Yates, Rick Ketcham, Randy Green, John Wycough, and more), Kevin Sharpe, and the always cool Louis Small, Jr (you owe it to yourself to get a sketch from him). Additionally, get your horror on with Fangoria magazine in attendance.

Of course, we are bringing a selection of comics and toys as well. We have added in four and a half new boxes of fifty cent books (lots of GI Joe, Batman, Detective, and Thing in there) along with some additions to our higher priced books. On the CGC front, a slew of slabbed Joes will be available along with John McCrea Wolverine 100 book from Hero Initiative. This is a one of a kind book, and these do not show up on the market very often, so don't miss your chance.

Toys, you want toys? Well, we will definitely have toys as well. We will be bringing some random clearance figures from recent purchases. These have some out of the ordinary items in them, so they will be definitely worth a look. Other lines will include DC (Batman and some Justice), Marvel Legends (Toy Biz and Hasbro), McFarlane Hanna Barbera, Terminator, AvP, some Dawn figures, more Predator, GI Joe (yo Joe) and some hard to find Charmed sets.

Our show promotion is going to be a "20/20" sale with 20% off on all purchases of $20 or more. This will apply to everything we have, so pick up some more 50 cent books to make that $20 level!

If you made it down this far, one last thing to consider. Due to our upcoming addition to the New World family, this will be our last VA show until August. So, if you see something you like, make sure to pick it up since we won't be back for awhile!

Looking forward to seeing some of the greatest comic fans out there, and hope to see you there!

Top 11 Reasons to Go to VA Comicon! Nov. 21st and 22nd

11. Great door prizes throughout the weekend - literally hundreds of dollars given away each hour!
10.  Charity auction Saturday at 600p!  Great opportunity to pick up cool stuff and benefit great causes!
9.  Charity Magic Tournaments on Sunday.  Get your deck together and game on!
8.  Free Bowling Party on Satuday night (730p).  Comics and bowling -  two great things that are greater together!  (no, the Hulk will not be bowling).
7.  Panels, panels, panels!  As you probably have noticed by now, this is not going to be a "Dealer's Room Only" show with lots of other activities for a bigger con experience.  There is a full slate of panels over diverse subjects including inking, comic licensing, running a con, GI Joe, and a special appearance by Chuck Rozanski of Mile High Comics fame.
6.  Great Guests - Part I.  VA Comicon Regulars including the Tsunami Studio posse of Randy Green, Rick Ketcham, Kelly Yates, Steve Bird, and more; Andy Smith; Louis Small, Jr; Brian Shearer; John Gallagher; Steve Conley; James Kuhoric (in one of his few show appearances); Kevin Sharpe, and Eric Wolfe Hanson are all going to be in attendance.  And previous attendee now DC Comics Zuda Award Winner Adam Lucas will also be there.
5.  CGC and Hero Initiative - two organizations that are wonderful additions to any show.  Drop your submissions directly at the CGC booth for grading and save the time, money, and worry of shipping your gems!  CGC will also be witnessing for their Signature Series (see all of the Great Guests entries above and below).
4.  Show Exclusives  - not only will there be the cool VA Comicon poster designed by Tsunami Studios, there is also the exclusive holiday variant cover to Witchblade #132 (limited to 1000) by Randy Green and its ultra rare (less than 200) no logo sketch version (submit those lovelies to CGC!)
3.  Advance Ticket Specials - buying early has its benefits!  Premium VIP tickets have sold out, but you can still get Advanced VIP tickets for $14.95 and Advanced VIP for $9.95.  Both levels get into the dealer's room 30 minutes early on both days, the show exclusive Witchblade variant, 20% off at New World Comics and Toys booth at the show, and free entry into the prize drawings.
2a.  Great Guests - Part II.  Adding to the already stellar guest lineup are a number of writers and artists who have not been to a Virginia show in years (if ever!).  DC and Marvel artists Mark McKenna (so many titles, he could have his own long box!),  Dan Parent (Archie), Reilly Brown (Cable and Deadpool), Mike McKone (Exiles, JLI, Amazing Spider-Man, Big Town), Jim Calafiore (Batgirl, Exiles, Iron Man, Countdown), and Alex Saviuk (Spider-Man comics and newspaper strip) will all be in attendance.
2b.  Great Guests - Part III.  But wait, there's more!  Great artists also need great writers, and some of the bests will be here including Chuck Dixon (just about every Bat title, GI Joe, Stargate, Birds of Prey), Billy Tucci (creator of Shi), Chris Claremont (the "father" of the Uncanny X-Men and creator of thousands of characters and dozens of titles plus loads of fun to talk with), and in a very rare appearance, the creator of the modern GI Joe franchise, Larry Hama!
1.  Ticket Prices and Free Entry - all this and 50+ tables of one of the best comic selections on the East Coast for just $10 for  both days!  Plus free admission for children, anyone in full costume, student ID, or Military ID!


Bottom Line - if you like ANYTHING about comics, superheroes, Magic the Gathering, pop culture, GI Joe, or even looking for some cool Christmas gifts, you MUST be at this show!  For much more info, go to www.vacomicon.com

It's Show Time!

We have been out of the show circuit for a little bit, but business is picking up over the next month. With a slew of over 800 plus figures added to inventory, these shows will be the first time these figures will be offered for sale. We are also adding in at least five new long boxes of 50 cent books for these shows as well.

This Sunday (9/20), we will be at the September edition of The Virginia Comicon. Located at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Richmond, Brett and Guy put on a great one day show that attracts collectors of all levels. We are continually amazed when we are informed of the final attendance numbers because it always seems like there are more people than that! The crowd is really nice and has the most kids we have seen at any show other than HeroesCon. Additionally, there is a great selection of comics from fifty cent and buck books to the latest variants to Golden Age goodness. Non-sports trading cards are represented by between two to four vendors per show. There are also at least a few comic artists taking commissions (say hi to Louis Small, Jr!). We bring the majority of toys/figures/busts found at the show, and this time we are focusing upon family and wallet friendly superhero and similar action figures along with at least ten boxes of fifty cent books. Marvel, DC, and Star Wars will all be represented with prices starting as low as $3/figure, and if you ask Angi nicely, she can probably cut you a better deal. If you are a comic fan within a two hour drive, this show is definitely worth the drive.

The following weekend (9/26 and 9/27) finds us at the Inside Pitch Toy Show at the NC State Fairgrounds in Raleigh, NC. This show appeals to mainline collectors with items ranging from vintage 50s and 60s toys to sportscards to diecast (lots of Hot Wheels) to all sorts of action figures. It has a little bit of something for every type of toy fan. Unfortunately, there is usually only one or two comic dealers present. With it being a two day show, some nice deals can be found on Sunday which is great for casual fans. Next to the flea market also run every weekend at the Fairgrounds, this show tends to attract a mix of hardcore collectors searching for specific items and bargain hunters. We are going to be bringing some McFarlane sports figures along with more wallet friendly figures from X-Men, Batman, Aliens, Predator, and other genres.

After that, we are off to a new show - Jaxcon in Jacksonville, NC on October 3rd. We really enjoy going to new shows when possible because of the opportunity to meet a whole new circle of fans. Jaxcon is also significant because all the proceeds are going to a pair of great causes - Wounded Warrior - Battalion East and The Pride Track and Field Club. Jaxcon is going to be primarily a gaming show with CCGs, RPGs, board games, video games, and tournaments currently boasting over $10,000 in cash and prizes. Since this is not our normal customer base, we are excited to be bringing a number of figures we normally only sell online. Among these will be McFarlane fantasy and horror lines, NECA horror (think Freddy, Jason, and Leatherface), and some Sideshow offerings. On the comic front, we will have some 50 cent boxes, higher end books, CGC books, and perhaps some Bowen and Diamond busts. So if you are in the area and are into gaming, you can't miss this show. However, make sure to check out what we have, you might find some surprises!

Things are going to be hectic, but we are looking forward to meeting some old friends and repeat customers as well as new fans. We will be sending out con reviews as we go along our merry way, and if you go to one of the shows, let us know you saw the blog!