The weather in Columbus, Ohio, was a bit colder than we are used to in Sarasota, but at Mid-Ohio-Con business was hot! For the second time in only a few weeks (first in Baltimore and then in Ohio), CGC was taken by surprise by a very noticeable increase in submissions. Luckily this show was well-staffed with Bill Bodin, Gemma Adel and myself in attendance at the CGC booth, ready to take the incoming flood of submissions and questions from con attendees. Mid-Ohio-Con was held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center on October 4 and 5, a date earlier than last year’s Thanksgiving weekend show. Perhaps this change in date was the reason for our sudden increase in business, or perhaps it was the fact that there is currently an economic crisis in America and maybe customers feel safer with their money in collectables rather than in stocks? Whatever the reason, Mid-Ohio-Con was a fantastic show all around.
A huge amount of our submissions in Ohio were Golden-Age and Silver-Age comics and a big reason for this was the large number of vintage dealers attending the show. The amazing thing about Mid-Ohio-Con was that not only was it a large show for vintage items but there was also a great array of modern goodies, too. There was something for everyone at this show, including many signature series opportunities. Chris Claremont, Alan Davis, Joe Kubert, Alan Dean Foster and Arthur Suydam, among many others, were there attending Mid-Ohio-Con and our customers took advantage of our Signature Series service in a big way because of that. Hero Initiative assisted these collectors by hosting many of the more popular artists at their booth and offering specific signing times with the opportunity to donate to this charity and back to the industry as a whole. One of our biggest modern signature series submissions was a “jam” book involving sketches done by many different artists on a copy of Secret Invasion #1 blank cover variant. Keep an eye out for it on the CGC Gallery in the upcoming month!
CGC has two more scheduled shows this year. We will be attending Wizard World Texas November 7 through 9 and the Big Apple November 14 through 16. As always, we will be accepting your submissions and will be on-hand to witness your books getting signed for our Signature Series service. Hope to see you there!
