PatrickG

Some of the now older conventions are what changed this. I'm from the Atlanta area. I go to SDCC more often than my friends largely for the professional/editorial networking, which remains better at SDCC than many other cons, until the last few years, anyway. Now I'd say Wondercon is probably the place for DC and NYCC for Marvel. Anyway, I have a ton of friends who have only done GenCon and Dragon*Con. Those are traditional cosplay venues along with Furry and Trek conventions. They're also cons which have traditionally sidelined comics. And they've grown alongside cosplay and gamer culture. When I bring a Dragon*Con friend to SDCC, they're always stunned by what a low percentage cosplay. Maybe 1 in 5 at SDCC cosplay? Dragon*Con has a smaller turnout but non-cosplayers are outnumbered by cosplayers there. I think the rise of TV, fantasy, and gamer fandom is what chokes out other stuff at cons. Those folks have always been cosplayers. The cosplay visibility is a symptom of poorly focused conventions, not a problem itself except when costumes block or slow down traffic. If you want a marketplace/trade show vibe, the solution isn't to ban cosplayers. It's to make a convention that's focused and marketed effectively at the right niche. Cosplayers aren't a problem but they are a symptom of a con that targets fandom and gaming rather than vintage trade professionals and insiders. I would adore a con that gets publishers putting out B&W preview art and which has panels focused on things like accounting for autograph dealers, how to seek out business loans for store expansion, and tax preparation for commission artists. And I think it does need to be its own show now. Honestly? I'd start by not calling it a con. I'd go with something like Funny Book and Memorobelia Trade Exhibition. Something vintage sounding. Deliberately not snappy. Avoid the word "con" and avoid the word "comics" which refers to a sub-genre of movies and video games to a lot of people now. If you're going to have any flashy stuff, make it retro. You know, cocktail party and swing band. You might do well in Vegas or on a cruise ship, although the latter presents issues for some vintage merch.

Which, again, isn't somebody using public signings, generally. I think it might be useful here to distinguish between flippers/scalpers and signature dealers.

They're just somebody further down the supply chain, making a profit off of curating work that someone with more fame and more of a personal brand created. It's exactly the same scenario aside from whether they have a commercial physical address or not.

So this statement applies to retail shops as well, right?

I think the only real profit here is fluke-driven. You break even on 50 books (especially when accounting for time spent) and you get lucky on 1. It's basically like a lottery/raffle. Thing is, all anybody ever pays attention to are the success stories.

One potential solution if you want to give copies away to kids: Raffle off pre-signed books. Free entry. Maybe tie it to a fun trivia question. This allows kids/casual fans to get autographs. Being pre-signed/unwitnessed, that rules out CGC verification. Being a raffle, that makes it less certain. Result: Resellers pay for your autograph. Little kids or non-speculators appreciate the book. Other solution: Autographs are half-price if personalized. In general, I agree with you. But I think if an artist has a particular aim here (like trying to recruit new readers), there are better ways to achieve it.

Gwenpool is weird in that she's neither a Deadpool spinoff exactly nor is she a version of Gwen Stacy. She's literally someone named Gwen Poole. Her link to Deadpool is that she breaks the fourth wall comedically. Her link to Gwen Stacy is, uh, blonde hair. She's so far removed, though, that DC or Image could have debuted the character.

For the record, I think those tend to be mis-listed. They are Mexican variants. As a rule: No. They're not worth just as much. However you probably can sell them at a profit if the condition is good just because some people are wary of international sales due to fraud or long shipping times. Autographed, SS, you might be able to get half the value of the original. Still nice. And they're cheap enough that you might be able to buy 5 raw copies and cross your fingers for a higher grade on one or two. International reprints DO tend to appreciate nicely long term, particularly autographed. I'd say, for instance, that a new German or Mexican classic key issue reprint with, say, a Stan Lee sig (assuming it's a reprint of something he worked on) has long term prospects in the $500-1000 range. Whereas getting him to sign a first printing of something he didn't work on or a Ravage 2099 issue won't be worth his signing fee more often than not. Without a sig, I'd say you might get up to $500 in the long term if it reprints something unattainable. With a sig, potentially up to $1000 if the wind blows the right way, probably long term. Short term, no sig? Maybe up to $150 at 9.8? That's foreign reprints in general. It's a bit different if it's a foreign market exclusive cover. I wouldn't bother importing foreign language books unless they're a reprint of a key issue or variant or a cover unique to that market with eye appeal.

Copic + Sharpees for the color. Copics for the large areas.

Interesting. I'd heard some pros claim they personally paid someone to stand beside them and act as a witness.

I don't know if that's fair. If they're paying the CGC or hiring a witness, the higher fee makes sense to me. Some do seem to have an empathy deficit, however.

Ideally, you just enforce a book limit. Even if someone is a blatant scalper, that might be the only way they can afford to attend cons. Back when Mattel exclusives were show-only at SDCC, that was how I paid back the cost of my plane ticket. I think there's a tendency to see scalpers and resellers like wealthy art dealers or Bond villains. They aren't necessarily the bad guy though. They're often people trying to turn a few extra bucks when laid off or in school. Or just break even. Maybe it's junior's braces. Maybe it's Mom's cancer bills. Maybe it's just respectable work that takes a good eye and a level head and some luck. My folks were never rich. But we paid for Christmas flipping Hallmark ornaments and collectible plates and Cabbage Patch Kids and Marvel trading cards. There are simple things from a weekend out of town to a nice Christmas dinner at home that Mom and Dad's paychecks wouldn't cover after bills but they made up the difference by figuring out what they could resell before it was hot and ordering some from a supplier or buying it at retail before it took off. If anything, I think it's often a bit greedy on the part of manufacturers to try to cut those people out. Their booth, their rules. But I can at least say I find those rules to be ugly and classist. The person hurt there is somebody who had to fly out on credit or who's trying to make up for a shift they gave up to attend the show. A professional reseller will just book a private signing anyway.

I'll be at MegaCon in May. I may stop by the CGC with a couple of covers and the comics I've written if I don't hear back sooner.

I think yellow label (sorry, wrong term before) can be witnessed by a rep OR directly submitted by the artist. But since I'm not a "name", I wondered if that still worked or if I needed extra paperwork at a minimum.

If I'm the artist for a sketch cover, can I get gold label? I just did my first sketch cover. It's a recreation but I'm the artist on it. I'm tempted to put it in with my next CGC batch. Since I'm the artist, can it qualify for Gold label? And, for fun, here it is:

CGC 9.8 All Star Comics #3 (1st JSA) International Reprint & More CGC 9.8 All Star Comics #3 I kind of specialize in reprints of rare key issues in comics history and I try to go for pieces with nice display value. This one is a really fun piece from Mexico as All-Star #3 is rarely reprinted with this kind of display value. I also have a Masterpiece Edition Replica Superman #1 (8.5), a USPS Action #1, and a Showcase #22 (1st Silver Age Green Lantern, 9.8).

The one proviso I'd suggest is that you can't go strictly off average prices when looking at the market comprehensively. There is a better chance of getting a high grade Siege #3 through a fluke, I'd guess? Probably not. But some books that are keys or high profile variants are more likely to have "hiccups" where they sell below or above average market prices. This is probably going to be more true in general with very limited variants. Two books could have the same longterm average but the one with more variance is going to have some beneficial attributes in terms of flipping. I got my America #2 for $25. I have seen the Comicxposure Gold Virgin Gwen go for maybe $30, raw? At the same time, I'm sure a 9.8 of that with signature would probably average over $500. I'd say in addition to volatility, the length of your flipping term matters. If you have 20 years, I'd focus on first appearances and Image first issues. 90% may do nothing but the other 10% will. Or stick with a standby classic purchase that tracks at growth that beats inflation. If you're trying to make enough money to pay for an SDCC trip by flipping books using credit cards (which is a gamble), I'd focus on books with a high medium term value (iconic characters) but also a high volatility. You may want to target untapped markets. So far, my big obervation has been that for a fairly quick flip, pack-in comics where the source is not widely known are a good value. You can get a 10, 15, 20 year old book in uncanny condition. Toy comics -- the right ones -- will sell for more than the toy it's packaged with mint on card. I know one book guaranteed with a certain 90s multipack that can be had for $25 and sold for $250-350 graded 9.8. If I find a sealed pack, I have a guaranteed profit of some kind (although not a guaranteed 9.8). The lack of awareness as to where the book can be consistently found allows me to leverage volatility. I could probably always justify buying one of these multi-packs on a credit card as long as I didn't do it more than around 4 times a month and risk flooding the market. I'll avoid saying what the book is to protect my "trade secret" but I will say it's a reprint that everyone buying it knows is a reprint. Which makes it a gimmick book like a variant cover. But the price volatility (ie. the ability to buy low and sell high in a tight window) makes it good for people who can't afford a long flip. Or if you're just trying to build up enough cash to get a "real" key issue, you could do a slow paced series of flips until you have enough set aside to get a Hulk 181.

With the official New Warriors cast announcement, Speedball's first appearance seems to be taking a spike back up. Squirrel Girl's was already high. Night Thrasher might see a spike. I'm expecting those three to be the breakout characters.

Would you get more 9.8s to break them up into other shipments over time? If you're looking at $8 per reject, it seems to me like it might be better to submit 5, hold, submit 5, etc. Fewer than 5 and shipping gets silly but sending them in smaller batches might yield more 9.8s, subjectivity being what it is. Also, I might argue that this could work the other way on some books. 80% or more of the Loot Crate Action #1 had spine tears or spine stress. I think my first submission (a fast track) got graded lower because there was less basis for comparison. The paper stock is thinner than typical and the interior is 64 pages of newsprint wrapped pretty tight.

The frames for pre-2016 annuals should be pretty close to the right size. Within 1/16 of an inch if memory serves.

I always thought there was a good chance of this getting adapted in some fashion for the MCU. You have AoA as a natural home for Peggy Carter and there are a number of other characters I could see utilized, like a young Hank Pym or Howard Stark. The big thing I'd imagine it being a few waves out, after they get around to Namor.

Krypton Key Issue Heads up: World of Krypton In particular, World of Krypton #3 is the first appearance of Superman's grandfather, Seyg-El, who had been Jor-El I in prior continuity. Seyg-El (spelled as Seg-El in the news releases) is the star of SyFy's Krypton series, which had a teaser trailer on April 18th.

Issue Note Suggestion related to SyFy's Krypton: World of Krypton #3 (1988) This issue is the first appearance of Kelex, who became a fairly major recurring fixture in the Superman books as robotic caretaker of the Fortress of Solitude. It is soon to be perhaps more notable for being the first appearance of Superman's grandfather, Seyg-El, who is the star of the new SyFy series Krypton, which had a teaser trailer drop in the last day. The show adapts the name as Seg-El. Superman's grandfather prior to this had been depicted as Jor-El I, father of Jor-El, first appearance Superman #103 in 1956. Seyg-El has appeared in a handful of other comics and I believe was name dropped in the Dini/Timm animated series. Another noteworthy character from the new show is Val-El, first appearance Krypton Chronicles #2 (1981). Since Seg-El is the star of a TV show, the first Seyg-El appearance seems more noteworthy now. (The name is a reference, of course, to Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel.)

A few years ago, the TV series Fringe commissioned DC to make distorted covers to classic comics. There was a Red Lantern/Red Arrow comic, a JLI with Jonah Hex as a member, a Frank Miller Man of Steel Returns and a Dan Jurgens Death of Batman. My favorite was a distorted Crisis #7 where Supergirl mourns a dead Superman. DC released the covers in high rez for fans. They also later signed off on the Fringe comic (which wasn't published by DC) doing rare variants that had the fake covers partially displayed on them. I would really like to get a Crisis 7 with appropriate ads on the back and inside with the alternate cover. For that matter, I'd consider opting to restore some old Jack Kirby books with his rejected cover art in place of the published version. I don't know about CGC's take on this but I think it's a fun thing if it's appropriate to the book in some way. And I agreed with DC scrapping this cover at the time and still think the customization to restore it to an alternate form is cool.

Kind of a glut of comics media dulling the impact, I guess? People getting used to everything being adapted?