Tue Oct 20, 2009 — by Glenn Hauman

Big Apple Con 2009 wrap up

Yes, I was there. (You probably didn't recognize me.) My general feeling is that this was the best Knights of Columbus show I ever attended.

If you're of a certain age, you probably went to a convention like this a few times when you were young. Lots of fans, lots of comic book dealers, lots of pros and a few celebrities, and no big publishers. No movie companies. None of the corporate hard sell. Just enthusiastic people as far as the eye could see.

I found myself really having a good time there. Picked up a few trades at fire sale prices (which may be the new normal pricing-- good if you're buying, bad if you're selling, dangerous if you're producing), got to spend twenty minutes talking with Carol Cleveland about Monty Python and other work she's done, shared some gossip with Rich Johnston (with each of us knowing we had juicy stories we weren't going to tell each other), talked shop with the folks down Artist Alley making each other feel old (your daughter's in college now? you're forty now? I remember when you were a kid...) and did the comic book equivalent of walking into a Ferrari dealership, thumbing through Albert Moy's original art for sale (holy cow, John Buscema pencils and Neal Adams inks? Original Watchmen pages? The cover to the first Superman/Spider-Man team-up?) The new location was a bit off the beaten path, but spacious and well filled.

I really had a much more enjoyable time than I expected. Which is why the concept of next year's show being scheduled for the same time as New York Comic-Con is really ticking me off.

It feels like a dick move, a move done out of spite, a move that signals a war of attrition to see who goes bankrupt first. And we're already seeing casualties: since the news of the show dates was anounced on Friday, I had a chance to ask a number of dealers which show they would attend. Many of them said they wouldn't attend either show if they were both held the same weekend.

That's a recipe for twin disasters. If neither Reed Expo nor Wizard World can fill their floor spaces, they're both going to get clocked.

More wrap-up from Rich and Heidi.

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