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Alamo City Comic Con -- October 26-28, 2018
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124 posts in this topic

4 hours ago, THB said:

The comic dealers I talked too all had great sales. I have done every ACCC and have increased sales every year. There were not a lot of comic dealers in the room but there were great books everywhere.  I did not hear any negative comments and the crowd was thick on Saturday.  I will be back. Key books, Run collectors (esp Spawn 150 -200), Guest related( I could have sold 20 + Little Mermaid comics if I had more) led sales. Good dollar books around etc...... My only wish is that they get more comic related guests next year and I hope the dismissive response from a rep I asked "Comic guests don't sell tickets" was only him talking out of his ***.

I agree with him; comic creators don't sell tickets. The people who get signatures from movie and TV people are not there to buy comics. They will get their picture taken with Star X and then buy a t-shirt or a sword or some toys, but they walk past the comic book people. Comic book people care about the dealers. If there are guests there, they will find something from their collection (or maybe buy something) for them to sign.

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On 10/28/2018 at 1:47 PM, kevhtx said:

Yeah, the creator list was slightly repetitive (Capullo and Snyder were there the previous year...I think Kubert too?). One thing I like though is that they sprinkle some new ones in there and in the past year, Capullo and Snyder had created Batman Who Laughs, so I had a bunch more books to get signed. I do hope to see some others this next year, but its going to be tough with the competition for the weekend. Last year, Jim Lee split his weekend between Dallas and WonderCon which was nice at least.

Sorry, just sharing my perspective since we're talking Fan Days and Fan Expo.

Fan Days - I have little space or budget for comic guests, and I'm asked to focus on bringing the top talent to Expo. So you get a mix of a few out of towners, local pros and some indie creators plus everyone who books for Artist Alley. Honestly, I get ripped constantly for the guests at this show, but it's meant to be more of a dealer show with celebrities. Considering how many other shows in DFW have decided that they need to bring in guests as well with shows every 2-3 months it's never going to be that exciting on the comics guest side of things. 

Fan Expo - we do try to bring in a mix of superstars, legends and interesting creators. I don't try to pander to one specific age group like other shows do when booking. Snyder and Capullo are superstars who are always working and fans want to meet them. To me a creator like John Bolton who has never been to Texas is an interesting guest (he was there last spring). How many times a year do you want to see the same creators that do every show on the circuit?

We're way ahead on guest bookings for Fan Expo Dallas 2019, so I'm sure we'll have a little something for everyone. The overlap with FCBD was a huge mistake, and once the management was informed of the problem attempts were made to move the dates but we didn't have any luck. For the amount of space we need, we had to try to negotiate with other events to swap and no one was interested. To that end we had a meeting with a bunch of DFW retailers and some plans were shared to help them emphasize FCBD events at their stores and some ideas for linked promotions to get people to the stores and the show. Good thing is we've already booked 2020 and it's not on that weekend.

Edited by Kevin Boyd
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I was at AlamoCity this weekend and I have to admit I was pretty disappointed. This show like most shows has shifted to the celebrity side of the business which for me I could care less. The few books I did look at were way overpriced. I looked at a FF55 that was 2.5X GPA needless to say I didn't even bother to ask what they would take. Looked at several raw ASM's on dealers walls that I would not consider major keys asking 2X slabbed prices. One dealer had a box of 50% off slabs on their table. The one book I was interested in wound up at GPA with the discount. Jim Lee had a sizable crowd but there is so much of his signed stuff on the market in a lot of cases you can grab a SS off ebay and have it be cheaper than paying creator fees and grading fees. All in all I drove 275 miles to buy $30 worth of Lego mini-figures for my son, not worth it and I probably wont be attending next year. On a positive note I got to meet Steve Lydic and spoke to him about  doing a commissioned piece. Nice guy and had some really outstanding artwork on display. 

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1 hour ago, Kevin Boyd said:

Sorry, just sharing my perspective since we're talking Fan Days and Fan Expo.

Fan Days - I have little space or budget for comic guests, and I'm asked to focus on bringing the top talent to Expo. So you get a mix of a few out of towners, local pros and some indie creators plus everyone who books for Artist Alley. Honestly, I get ripped constantly for the guests at this show, but it's meant to be more of a dealer show with celebrities. Considering how many other shows in DFW have decided that they need to bring in guests as well with shows every 2-3 months it's never going to be that exciting on the comics guest side of things. 

Fan Expo - we do try to bring in a mix of superstars, legends and interesting creators. I don't try to pander to one specific age group like other shows do when booking. Snyder and Capullo are superstars who are always working and fans want to meet them. To me a creator like John Bolton who has never been to Texas is an interesting guest (he was there last spring). How many times a year do you want to see the same creators that do every show on the circuit?

We're way ahead on guest bookings for Fan Expo Dallas 2019, so I'm sure we'll have a little something for everyone. The overlap with FCBD was a huge mistake, and once the management was informed of the problem attempts were made to move the dates but we didn't have any luck. For the amount of space we need, we had to try to negotiate with other events to swap and no one was interested. To that end we had a meeting with a bunch of DFW retailers and some plans were shared to help them emphasize FCBD events at their stores and some ideas for linked promotions to get people to the stores and the show. Good thing is we've already booked 2020 and it's not on that weekend.

I thoroughly enjoy Fan Expo Dallas. I think you guys do a great job. As Ive said in the past the only issue Ive seen was amount of space because it gets crowded. I really liked in 2016 when you guys did the panels in that large stadium seating auditorium. Anyway, I cant wait until next year to see the guests. This year, you surely brought a few different big names that havent been to Dallas (at least in a while). I enjoyed it much more than Alamo City Con.

For Fan Days, I literally live across the street within walking distance. I havent gone the past 2 years. I am sure its tough to get comic artists since the season is near over and the venue is not as big (crowds). That said, that convention center has become a GREAT place for the surrounding businesses (Toyota Music center, bars, alamo draft house and restaurants). It hasn't been that good very long (I wouldnt be surprised if they increased the lease cost). I really hope to see some names next year that will get me to go to it.

Im probably a slightly different breed though since I get CGC SS books and only shop a little for actual comics. I end up leaving shows with some stuff for my daughter, maybe a couple celebrity autographs and mostly CGC SS for the comic guests.

I went to Alamo City Con this year for Jim Lee (he was at FXD last year) and Zabka (who had a decent size line). But, I probably won't go back just due to the drive. For celebs, I highly recommend getting Zabka and possibly some others from Cobra Kai (he said season 2 is in May). That would be a popular lineup (and a panel would be good too, if you can get Ralph M too).

Edited by kevhtx
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I haven't seen the FB comments about the show, but I can imagine they are warranted.  I went on Saturday, and I can honestly say I wish I hadn't bothered.  Here's why:

1. Previously, the ACCC was at the convention center, not the Alamodome, which is just a 50K seat in-door stadium. In the 5 years or so that ACCC has been around, they went from overnight success on par with San Diego 1998, and getting bigger, not smaller space in the convention center, to then getting even smaller space in the convention center, and now a football stadium across the street.  The show peaked in square footage and attendance 3 years ago, and is now contracting. Had to park half a mile away. Because this was at the stadium, they were stricter about security. I had to walk that half mile back to the car to leave my pocket knife.  Never had to do that before.

2. To make the same money, they crammed last years show into 1/3 the space. The aisles were too small and narrow, the booths weren't laid out well. No booth numbers, no row or aisles numbers. It was a crowded mess to navigate. There was no space between the celebrity area, artist alley, and dealers, it was all jammed together on a football field.  

3. All the comic dealers were the same dealers I see at any Texas show, hell any San Antonio show, minus myself, as we did not set up (we set up at 2 previous ACCCs) I'm glad Tony did well, and I know Rick did as well. There's no way not to with that many people compressed in a small space with no additional competition from any East or West Coast dealers. As an attendee though, I thought it sucked due to the crowd. I couldn't really look at anything or take my time. There was zero organization of the booths and vendors. ACCC spent no effort on programs, or anything tho help shoppers know who was there or where they were. Then they opened up table for $25 for the flea market dealer type stop set up willy nilly in the outer permitter where the concession stands were.  It was a total cluster. I will never go back as an attendee if it's at the stadium again, and I live here. For the same money I'd rather go to Comicpalooza.  80% of the people at these big cons are there for the celebs and cosplay, I get that. But the better shows have enough space to separate the celeb fans and celeb lines away from the vendors so both have room to operate. Not in this small a space.

4. I spent 4.5 hours at the show, and all I got was a beer and a headache. If I had flown or driven in and booked a hotel, I would be PISSED.

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11 hours ago, Cozmo-One said:

Any word on the show for this year?  Haven't  seen any dates yet...

Good question, they should have announced well before now based on past years. Nothing on their official Facebook or Twitter, but I found this on a random webpage after a Google search (can’t vouch for accuracy, but the dates seem right for this show):

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It's been quite a while since I've been to that venue, Sunset Station(used to be a nightclub), but I don't remember it being all that big.  It is right next to the Alamodome, and it shares a courtyard area I think.  This was from their facebook page:

"ACCC Halloween Edition is back this Oct 31-Nov 3, 2019 @sunsetstationsa & St Paul’s Square. We’re taking the party to the streets with concerts, comics, celebrities, live art, food trucks, & more!"

Michael Keaton will be there (my vote for the best Batman) 

Edited by Cozmo-One
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30 minutes ago, bug33fouf said:
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Interesting. On first look I missed that vendors moved as well. So this show has gone from convention center, to Alamodome, and is now a hotel show?

Edited by mysterio
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3 hours ago, mysterio said:

Interesting. On first look I missed that vendors moved as well. So this show has gone from convention center, to Alamodome, and is now a hotel show?

Wasn't this the show that was being compared to some of the top Cons in the nation after it's first show? What the heck happened. That artist list is pitiful.

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2 hours ago, boomtown said:

Wasn't this the show that was being compared to some of the top Cons in the nation after it's first show? What the heck happened. That artist list is pitiful.

It was a spectacular show a few years ago. Not so much the last couple. 

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