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San Diego Comic-Con 2018, July 18-22
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133 posts in this topic

12 hours ago, BakerFanOne said:

A few additional San Diego notes:

-a new edition of the Overstreet was being distributed on the floor hot off the presses.  I believe it was a special edition to raise funds for some comic-related charities.

- the room was really crowded and hard to maneuver.  Of course, this was not due to comic collectors but mostly families and Cos Play folks looking to get free swag or buy non-comic related merchandise

- some other cool books in the room:

-Cap 1, Cap 3 and some pre-Robin Tecs

-Daring Love 1 CGC 2.5 for $2400

-lots of LB Cole jungle covers but no Mask 1,2 or Startling Terror Tales 11 or Suspense 8

-some very cool artwork from Metro, Bechara and Anthony’s including some very nice Frazetta Johnny Comet strips

-Heritage, Comiclink, CGC and CBCS were all there.  heritage was displaying many books in the upcoming August auction and they were pretty.

-a few copies of Startling 49 and Brenda Starr 14(2) and sky high prices

-a large run of Atlas horror, but all trimmed severely were for sale at what seemed like multiples of guide!!!

- Terry had a cool run of very low grade Planets and Mystery Men

- every major dealer seemed to have a Hulk 1, multiple AF 15s and an FF1.  I am wondering if we have hit equilibrium on most Marvel silver age keys given their astronomic price increases.

-heard a lot of requests for 70s books like first Moon Knight and Iron Fist as well as New Gods and Forever People 1s.

-a few esoteric requests for Hansi and Bionic Woman 1

as a final thought, it is always a great feeling to be at San Diego as it is truly a spectacle.  But the hunt for rare and affordable comics is getting to be a real shoot at San Diego.  And given the costs that most dealers must incur, hard to blame them for jacking up the prices as many attendees are looking for deals.  And those deals are becoming farther and fewer to be had.  But if I can get a ticket again next year, I will be attending.  

Thanks for the run down on what you saw at San Diego.  I always ask myself is SDCC really worth the trip to find books - I think I am fine with going to Heroes Con next year, which will be a first for me.   I have noticed lately  at some of the bigger cons I have been to, like Planet and C2E2, that a lot of GA books are pretty pricey even for low grades.  At the same time I am feeing like I am also seeing fewer GA books at these cons and few if any at smaller regional cons.    

That said, something you said about those looking for 70s books, reminded me of a conversation I just had with @D Stuart about how SA books seem to be pricing themselves out of most peoples budget and so they are focusing on BA books before they get pricey as well.

Anyways . . . thanks for the report and hope to hear some more.

 






 

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15 hours ago, BakerFanOne said:

 

- every major dealer seemed to have a Hulk 1, multiple AF 15s and an FF1.  I am wondering if we have hit equilibrium on most Marvel silver age keys given their astronomic price increases.

 

as a final thought, it is always a great feeling to be at San Diego as it is truly a spectacle.  But the hunt for rare and affordable comics is getting to be a real shoot at San Diego.  And given the costs that most dealers must incur, hard to blame them for jacking up the prices as many attendees are looking for deals.  And those deals are becoming farther and fewer to be had.  

loved reading your take on this years SDCC, thank you! quoting you, i think you may have inadvertently answered your own question in regards to SA keys. if one looks at auction results, all SA keys are doing marvelously. some have shot up more than others, but they all sell easily on auction sites where competition exists. at these cons, where you noticed the understandably high dealer prices, why would anyone buy a key book? i’ve seen some competitive pricing at some cons from a few dealers, but overall i feel more comfortable that auctions reflect real market pricing, not dealers’ SDCC pricing. 

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I love CGC express drop off, though I wish the CGC signature booth wasn't located on the other side of the hall.  Also, its great seeing all the wonderful books displayed.  First time an auction house has displayed a book I have sold through them at a major con, one of my books on display at ComicLink.  Very cool to see it there for the upcoming Aug auction. :)   Beautiful weather down here for the show.

 

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This is going to be an incredibly n00bish/naive post on my part, so I'm just gonna apologize in advance.

I've never been SDCC.  Heck, the only comic con i've been to was Sacramento Comic Con which was just a one day event.  And even then, I only bought some prints, and a blank Infinity Gauntlet cover for sketch purposes.  As a lifelong comic fan, I've always wanted to go because the idea of it sounds like something I would do.  But I've been thinking, is it something i should do?  Most books I buy are from my weekly pull list.  I'm not a GA/SA collector (asides from a handful of key issues).  And I'm not a collectible (read: Funko) collector.  I guess what I'm trying to say is i'm not the big spender type.  It sounds like most of the keys tend to be overpriced anyways.  Now, a few SDCC exclusives appeal to me each year.  And getting sigs and having small interactions with the creators would interest me.  And I love buying up cool prints (simply because OA is out of my price range).  But outside of the major Hall H panels, the smaller ones didn't immediately catch my attention.  Is it worth it to go to SDCC if you don't plan on buying a whole lot?  Do you find there is plenty to do over the full 4 days (5 if you include preview night)?  Are you of the state of mind that someone should go at least once?  Every year?  Or that the show isn't for everyone and can be passed up entirely depending on what a person is looking for?

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1 hour ago, ExNihilo said:

Is it worth it to go to SDCC if you don't plan on buying a whole lot?  Do you find there is plenty to do over the full 4 days (5 if you include preview night)?  Are you of the state of mind that someone should go at least once?  Every year?  Or that the show isn't for everyone and can be passed up entirely depending on what a person is looking for?

To put it simply: yes. The beauty of SDCC is that there's something for everyone.

There is not nearly enough time to do everything you want during the 4.5 days of SDCC. I'm a GA collector, and I travel to many cons just to buy comics, but oddly enough I spend most of my time at SDCC doing "everything else" that I'm into: attending panels, getting creator signatures, artist alley and small press. 

Just chasing down creators to meet them or to get sigs takes up A LOT of my time, especially since a lot of the creators have fixed signing schedules and not everyone has an artist alley table that they sit at all day. There are also SO MANY panels to see. This year I went to a bunch of creator panels including Jim Lee, Geoff Johns, Humberto Ramos, and Adam Hughes, as well as panels for Marvel Comics and DC Comics (comics panels, not movies). I also tracked down a lot of modern variants and SDCC exclusives. So as you can see, most of my time was spent doing things other than digging for vintage comics. 

SDCC is the king of all cons, but if you're only interested in ONE thing/activity (i.e. only shopping for vintage comics) then it's not worth the time, cost and effort. However if you're interested in multiple things (comics, art, panels, artists, sigs, celebrities, events, artist alley, small press, exclusives, cosplay, pop culture, whatever) then it can't be beat. I look forward to attending every year.

Everyone should experience it once, especially those who've never been yet somehow manage to have an opinion on it :facepalm:

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10 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

This is going to be an incredibly n00bish/naive post on my part, so I'm just gonna apologize in advance.

I've never been SDCC.  Heck, the only comic con i've been to was Sacramento Comic Con which was just a one day event.  And even then, I only bought some prints, and a blank Infinity Gauntlet cover for sketch purposes.  As a lifelong comic fan, I've always wanted to go because the idea of it sounds like something I would do.  But I've been thinking, is it something i should do?  Most books I buy are from my weekly pull list.  I'm not a GA/SA collector (asides from a handful of key issues).  And I'm not a collectible (read: Funko) collector.  I guess what I'm trying to say is i'm not the big spender type.  It sounds like most of the keys tend to be overpriced anyways.  Now, a few SDCC exclusives appeal to me each year.  And getting sigs and having small interactions with the creators would interest me.  And I love buying up cool prints (simply because OA is out of my price range).  But outside of the major Hall H panels, the smaller ones didn't immediately catch my attention.  Is it worth it to go to SDCC if you don't plan on buying a whole lot?  Do you find there is plenty to do over the full 4 days (5 if you include preview night)?  Are you of the state of mind that someone should go at least once?  Every year?  Or that the show isn't for everyone and can be passed up entirely depending on what a person is looking for?

I just finished my 26th year in a row and I love every day of every year I go. I am also not a big spender. Heck, SDCC to me is really just 4 1/2 days full of cheap impulse buying. I spent more money on T-shirts than anything! Plus a few more silly things for fun. For comics, no way. Outside of buying some cool TPBs or HCs at 50% off cover, or full price at some of the tables like Drawn & Quarterly and Fantagraphics for books that just looked really cool, I'm not buying any actual comics, new or back issues of any kind. The selection is not that great and prices are often terrible. If these dealers price high in order to haggle, sorry I'm just not going to do it. Most of the prices for anything I see are ridiculous, so I keep walking. I did go to a golden age Wonder Woman panel that was fantastic. More about the backstory at the office than the character. So anyways, after that I headed downstairs to look into maybe buying a GA WW book from the period I was after. No way. Terrible selection and terrible prices. In the airport on the way home I bought one on Ebay, fantastic CGC graded book and great price, and earlier today I bought another on Ebay. So no, I would not suggest going to SDCC if you want to buy comics, or at least not anything pricey. You go for everything else that has nothing to do with money. I love Las Vegas too, but I am not a gambler. It is everything else to see and do. I would highly recommend going to SDCC, but you certainly do not need to go to spend money. Just go for fun, but sure, have some cash to take advantage of all the fun things you'll see there that you just have to have, and those things you always wanted that you never knew existed before. Sorry SDCC comic dealers out there, but most of you guys price too high, and that is fine for some buyers, but unless I see a fair price clearly posted on the books you are selling, I'll keep walkin'. 

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Thanks for the input @shortboxed and @BassGMan.  The other part that gives me pause is the reputation for long lines and a lot of waiting around.  I imagine that is the case for the big Hall H panels, but is it the same with the smaller ones?  For example the Agents of SHIELD or panels related to TV shows?  It sounds like I'll definitely have to find a way to stop by.  The most difficult aspect is probably the fact that I work in finance and July is quarter end which happens to be one of the busiest months of the year for us so if anything I would probably only be able to attend Sat/Sun.

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10 hours ago, ExNihilo said:

Thanks for the input @shortboxed and @BassGMan.  The other part that gives me pause is the reputation for long lines and a lot of waiting around.  I imagine that is the case for the big Hall H panels, but is it the same with the smaller ones?  For example the Agents of SHIELD or panels related to TV shows?  It sounds like I'll definitely have to find a way to stop by.  The most difficult aspect is probably the fact that I work in finance and July is quarter end which happens to be one of the busiest months of the year for us so if anything I would probably only be able to attend Sat/Sun.

Keep in mind that every line at SDCC is completely voluntary. People often gripe about the lines, but they choose to be in them. My general rule is that if a line is going to take more than 15 minutes for anything, I won't stand in line. Yes that means I miss out on some panels and exclusives, but I'd rather have that time than give it up to see a panel, get an autograph or buy a toy. There was one exception this year. I knew the Hall H presentation of Better Call Saul was not filling up so I decided I'd go to that one. Once there I saw that line to get in wasn't bad at all, but now in Hall H they are using metal detectors and bags are searched just like at the airport. So I dealt with that slow 30 minute line by choice. Next to that the longest line I stood in was 10 minutes for some great fish tacos in the flag pavilion. Some of the other panels fill up and some don't. Yes, most of the popular TV shows fill up but not all. Better Call Saul was only half filled, and my guess is that even though it is a great show, it is probably not prime viewing for an SDCC crowd. In years past I have gone to plenty of Room 20 TV show presentations and with some I walked right in, others I saw a huge line and heard it was filling up, so I passed. There is always something to do or see when you can't see a panel you were interested in. Also, no line at all to get into the show as long as you arrive 20-30 minutes after the open. EVERY LINE at SDCC is completely voluntary. 

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There is also much to enjoy around the city of San Diego like the pier, tour of the sailship or Battleship, Little Italy, over 17 museums at Balboa Park and Zoo, Coronado Island, Gaslamp district restaurants and pubs plus temperate weather. A few more SDCC pics from Diamond's Scoop:

Click to enlarge 2018 SDCC pics

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