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n2wdw's Tales of the Comic Book Room
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1,369 posts in this topic

My SDCC Dilemma

I have been to the San Diego con 10 times.  I'm not an old timer at the con, as my first one was 2000.  When I was younger I could never afford it (since I live on the east coast), and then once I started making more money, the wife and I started making babies so that put a damper on any west coast con jaunts.  But once I started to go, I went almost every year.  I went in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014.

As we all know though, going to SDCC now is a pain.  Getting tickets is a pain.  Getting a hotel room is a pain.  The crowds are a pain.  Getting into panels is a pain (and I'm not even talking about the big Hall H panels).  Also, it's expensive for people on the east coast, if you consider flight, hotel, and food.  That all adds up to a pretty nice comic from one of @Ricksneatstuff sales.

On top of that, comics are no longer the main event at the con.  There's an active thread right now about how Bud Plant is not attending the con https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/433181-bud-plant-quits-sdcc-after-48-years/.   This follows Mile High quitting last year.

So given that context, here's my dilemma.  Should I go to this year's SDCC?  My dilemma is exacerbated because I only have a Thursday ticket.  Well, I actually have a Thursday and Sunday ticket, but the only day I can possibly go is Thursday.  So do I fly in Wednesday, attend Thursday, then flight out on the Thursday night coach back to the east coast?

I actually did this crazy schedule once already this year, to Terry's con.  So while exhausting, it's doable.  But, Terry's is a low maintenance con.  The biggest controversy was the long line to get in (although the 30 minute wait pales to anything SDCC related).  SDCC is far from low maintenance.  Everything about it is a hassle (see above).

Having said all that, I'm leaning towards going to the con.  My thoughts on the con (as it presently exists) were nicely summed up by  @40YrsCollctngCmcs in the previously mentioned Bud Plant thread:

While I no longer attend due to the value proposition of the cost of the ticket / food and transport for about eight to ten hours of show; I've always found something of interest at the show. In fact in later years I decided to spend most of my time away from the comic sellers and actively look at what else was on offer. I found a tremendous amount of interesting comic related material with great passionate fans.

That's what I'll do, if I go to the con.  I'll hit the comic dealers, but mostly I'll focus on everything else.  I'll immerse myself in all things SDCC.  And the fact I have only 1 day is good enough.  In the past, the way SDCC used to be, I needed Thursday-Sunday plus Preview Night to get through it all.  Now I just need 1 day. 

I'll close out this post by showing a few pictures from my first SDCC back in 2000.

SD2000-12.thumb.JPG.4acc1685deaa26d4f66c8f8f5f33e6b5.JPG

SD2000-18.thumb.JPG.f66595ff887d707342a29328da47efd9.JPG

SD2000-07.thumb.JPG.e7bc837ad8ae05b9d3f7afb152a6109b.JPG

SD2000-03.JPG.d9f3dd36edbee688e4373cd316ab14c1.JPG

833505771_SD2000-24MarieStevenson.thumb.JPG.6359c58315134162d439a9d09763ac36.JPG

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Mike,

Go to SDCC, even if it were for one day.  You will not regret it and have many happy memories plus sore feet.

I last went in 2014 and the prior 24 years, but was no longer enjoying myself.  I can always get a ticket, since I know enough vendors, but don't like paying the nosebleed hotel prices.  As a attendee, it cost me $4k before I even walked in the door (tickets, hotel, my friend's flight).  I helped my vendor friend set up Tuesday.  My vendor friend got vendor passes for me and a close friend, so that we could avoid the long lines.  My vendor friend also got me a vendor hotel room at the Marriott next door, but I had to pay for six days of accommodations.  I said that once I was no longer enjoying myself, I would not attend.  I did attend Terry's show, NYCC, and OAFCON last year, but had to skip Wizard Chicago, since it was Mom's birthday.

 

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5 hours ago, BitterOldMan said:

Mike,

Go to SDCC, even if it were for one day.  You will not regret it and have many happy memories plus sore feet.

I last went in 2014 and the prior 24 years, but was no longer enjoying myself.  I can always get a ticket, since I know enough vendors, but don't like paying the nosebleed hotel prices.  As a attendee, it cost me $4k before I even walked in the door (tickets, hotel, my friend's flight).  I helped my vendor friend set up Tuesday.  My vendor friend got vendor passes for me and a close friend, so that we could avoid the long lines.  My vendor friend also got me a vendor hotel room at the Marriott next door, but I had to pay for six days of accommodations.  I said that once I was no longer enjoying myself, I would not attend.  I did attend Terry's show, NYCC, and OAFCON last year, but had to skip Wizard Chicago, since it was Mom's birthday.

 

Thanks for your advice.  I just bought my flight, so I'm going! 

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16 hours ago, Silver said:

Nice Showgirls! I actually have my whole set on its way back from CGC. #4 - 8.5, #1 - 7.0 and #2 - 6.5

Took me a ridulous amont of time to put all three together.

 

Great achievement, congrats!

For me, just moments ago I lost out on this one.  It closed at more than 50% over my max bid. Congrats to the winner though, it's a beauty.

s-l1600.thumb.png.b351d38b9ed836bb2f91f2fa7b4c1a07.png

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9 hours ago, n2wdw said:

My SDCC Dilemma

I have been to the San Diego con 10 times.  I'm not an old timer at the con, as my first one was 2000.  When I was younger I could never afford it (since I live on the east coast), and then once I started making more money, the wife and I started making babies so that put a damper on any west coast con jaunts.  But once I started to go, I went almost every year.  I went in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014.

As we all know though, going to SDCC now is a pain.  Getting tickets is a pain.  Getting a hotel room is a pain.  The crowds are a pain.  Getting into panels is a pain (and I'm not even talking about the big Hall H panels).  Also, it's expensive for people on the east coast, if you consider flight, hotel, and food.  That all adds up to a pretty nice comic from one of @Ricksneatstuff sales.

On top of that, comics are no longer the main event at the con.  There's an active thread right now about how Bud Plant is not attending the con https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/topic/433181-bud-plant-quits-sdcc-after-48-years/.   This follows Mile High quitting last year.

So given that context, here's my dilemma.  Should I go to this year's SDCC?  My dilemma is exacerbated because I only have a Thursday ticket.  Well, I actually have a Thursday and Sunday ticket, but the only day I can possibly go is Thursday.  So do I fly in Wednesday, attend Thursday, then flight out on the Thursday night coach back to the east coast?

I actually did this crazy schedule once already this year, to Terry's con.  So while exhausting, it's doable.  But, Terry's is a low maintenance con.  The biggest controversy was the long line to get in (although the 30 minute wait pales to anything SDCC related).  SDCC is far from low maintenance.  Everything about it is a hassle (see above).

Having said all that, I'm leaning towards going to the con.  My thoughts on the con (as it presently exists) were nicely summed up by  @40YrsCollctngCmcs in the previously mentioned Bud Plant thread:

That's what I'll do, if I go to the con.  I'll hit the comic dealers, but mostly I'll focus on everything else.  I'll immerse myself in all things SDCC.  And the fact I have only 1 day is good enough.  In the past, the way SDCC used to be, I needed Thursday-Sunday plus Preview Night to get through it all.  Now I just need 1 day. 

I'll close out this post by showing a few pictures from my first SDCC back in 2000.

SD2000-12.thumb.JPG.4acc1685deaa26d4f66c8f8f5f33e6b5.JPG

SD2000-18.thumb.JPG.f66595ff887d707342a29328da47efd9.JPG

SD2000-07.thumb.JPG.e7bc837ad8ae05b9d3f7afb152a6109b.JPG

SD2000-03.JPG.d9f3dd36edbee688e4373cd316ab14c1.JPG

833505771_SD2000-24MarieStevenson.thumb.JPG.6359c58315134162d439a9d09763ac36.JPG

That’s nice. The first expansion they were still working on in your photo was my parking place before they broke ground for many times over the years. San Diego now in 2018 is so different than it was back in 2000. Downtown SD is way more built out now and there’s many more new projects breaking ground this year.

Edited by N e r V
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7 hours ago, BitterOldMan said:

Mike,

Go to SDCC, even if it were for one day.  You will not regret it and have many happy memories plus sore feet.

I last went in 2014 and the prior 24 years, but was no longer enjoying myself.  I can always get a ticket, since I know enough vendors, but don't like paying the nosebleed hotel prices.  As a attendee, it cost me $4k before I even walked in the door (tickets, hotel, my friend's flight).  I helped my vendor friend set up Tuesday.  My vendor friend got vendor passes for me and a close friend, so that we could avoid the long lines.  My vendor friend also got me a vendor hotel room at the Marriott next door, but I had to pay for six days of accommodations.  I said that once I was no longer enjoying myself, I would not attend.  I did attend Terry's show, NYCC, and OAFCON last year, but had to skip Wizard Chicago, since it was Mom's birthday.

 

I have a friend that doesn’t like to walk far and has scored rooms (for 2) around $250.00 a night in the Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt all next to the convention center. He waits for after the first rush for rooms to open up and he’s been super successful doing that if you don’t mind rotating hotels every day or two. I think last year he got one night in the Hilton and three nights in the Hyatt for 2 people at around $1000.00 total.

Edited by N e r V
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17 minutes ago, N e r V said:

I have a friend that doesn’t like to walk far and has scored rooms (for 2) around $250.00 a night in the Hilton, Marriott, and Hyatt all next to the convention center. He waits for after the first rush for rooms to open up and he’s been super successful doing that if you don’t mind rotating hotels every day or two. I think last year he got one night in the Hilton and three nights in the Hyatt for 2 people at around $1000.00 total.

Hey, thanks for the tip.  I just got onto the hotel website and got a room at the Hard Rock Hotel.  It was only available for that 1 night I'll be there, but it's perfect, as it's in Gaslamp and right across the street from the con.  I never thought I'd get a hotel as good as this.  Now I'll be able to enjoy the Gaslamp experience in addition to the con.  Thanks again!

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On 5/13/2018 at 11:00 PM, Ricksneatstuff said:

GREAT brunch and bar food at Werewolf there in Gaslamp. :foryou:

Werewolf looks good.  Can't beat a burger with pork belly and a fried egg.

My go-to restaurant has always been Greystone for their martinis and steaks.  I also like Cafe Sevilla for tapas and Asti for Italian. There's a lot to check off when I'm in Gaslamp.  I try to get a drink at Whiskey Girl, and sit at the bar at Gaslamp Tavern for a beer and to watch a baseball game.  The Dubliner is a favorite too.  I also like browsing the antique cars at that exotic cars showroom.  I'll only have Wednesday and Thursday though, so I'll see how many of my haunts I can check off while I'm there.

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4 minutes ago, n2wdw said:

Werewolf looks good.  Can't beat a burger with pork belly and a fried egg.

My go-to restaurant has always been Greystone for their martinis and steaks.  I also like Cafe Sevilla for tapas and Asti for Italian. There's a lot to check off when I'm in Gaslamp.  I try to get a drink at Whiskey Girl, and sit at the bar at Gaslamp Tavern for a beer and to watch a baseball game.  The Dubliner is a favorite too.  I also like browsing the antique cars at that exotic cars showroom.  I'll only have Wednesday and Thursday though, so I'll see how many of my haunts I can check off while I'm there.

Try going to Little Italy at some point for food. Lots of great choices there...

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David Nakayama

I collect a lot of stuff, and most of it isn't golden age.  In fact, I only really started getting interested in GA a few years ago. This was after I mostly finished my modern, bronze and silver runs; this makes up the bulk of my collection, which is about 26,000 comics.  Back then I was a completist and mostly collected full titles.  After collecting for over 40 years, now most of the titles I want are complete.  At this point in my life, I don't have the energy to start collecting new titles.  I've thought about EC or Marvel pre-hero, or Journey Into Mystery or DC war, but the prospect of starting big projects like that is daunting and, frankly, doesn't sound like much fun to me.  So nowadays I'm more of a cover and key collector.  That's where my interests are.  And I collect GGA from all eras. 

One of my favorite modern GGA artists is David Nakayama.  I met him in NYCC last year, he's a nice guy.  Here are some examples of his work from my collection.

269869871_1001ArabianNightsTheAdventuresofSinbad6CGC9.6.jpg.1146dfca159450e49902b8b0faf7259f.jpg

96768258_GrimmFairyTalesBeyondWonderland5CGC9_43.jpg.d577ea6358a06ec2bf812ddadc914eec.jpg

1105312438_GrimmFairyTalesReturntoWonderland2CGC9.8.jpg.2bbdab929c4dfee498808a612f1482be.jpg

587989327_GrimmFairyTalesReturnToWonderland2DavidNakayamaOriginalArtCover2007400.thumb.jpg.f864546f865eb7ec2bd5abee3779bb5a.jpg

Edited by n2wdw
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7 minutes ago, N e r V said:

Try going to Little Italy at some point for food. Lots of great choices there...

Yes, I've always wanted to go there, but with the limited time I've never made it out of Gaslamp.

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Great story Mike. Pretty hard to get one over on Carbo but I have done it. Usually on non-comic books. His knowledge is a little less than mine on that stuff. I let him think he is fleecing me. It makes him feel better.

Wow, so many SDCC shows... Hard to remember but I do got one. About the 3rd one I went to in the mid 1970's, I bought a Flash #1 for $250.  pretty decent copy. It was sooo tough to pull the trigger. It was more than half the money I brought but it was just so cool. This was in the $2.50 per hour minimum wage era and I had just moved out of my parents house so money was real tight. 

Stupidly, I sold it for a little profit a few years later...

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3 hours ago, Alzabar said:

     This thread has made me think about the several times I have attended SDCC and also the times I did deals with John Verzyl (R.I.P.)

      I first went to SDCC in 1994.  On the top of my want list along with an X-Men #2 was a comic from the 1930's.  I just wanted a book that old.  I ended up with a copy of Detective Comics #19.   It was a choice between that and a Tec 15.  I remember that the dealer even pointed out the Action Comics ad.  Looking back I can't believe I chose the 19, but if I remember correctly the 19 presented better and the 15 was more expensive.

     I was back at SDCC a year later and my interests had changed and this time one of the books on my list was a Batman 11.  I found a really nice restored copy at Four Color Comics and traded the Detective 19 and some cash for it.

    My next SDCC was in 1998.  This was just before CGC, the growth of the auction houses and the many many movies.  I think it was probably the best year I can remember for actually finding the comics that were on my want list.  At that time I was really into later issues of Flash Comics (86-104) and I was less keen on having restored books in my collection.  Enter John Verzyl.  He really was a great guy.  A great raconteur, honest, fair, and smart.  I think I had shopped the Batman 11 around a bit and there wasn't much interest.  I found a nice copy of Flash Comics #100 at John's booth.  When we started talking about a deal I brought out the Batman 11.  I expected him to pass, but he was interested and we worked out a deal and I had my Flash #100.

      I attended SDCC in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and most recently in 2010.  I always had a good time but over the year I found that I was able to find fewer and fewer books that I wanted and as everyone knows the costs went up and up and it became more and more difficult to get tickets.  I have never had to go through the current system to get tickets, but it doesn't sound pleasant.   

     When I did go, I would always stop at John's booth to see what he had.  He always remembered me.  Among the the many things he talked about, the one thing that sticks in my mind was him telling me about the value of Mile High books.  He made the argument that given their great state of preservation when the collection was discovered if they were stored well they would hold up over time better than a non Mile Highs even in a similar grade.  He also explained how he priced his Mile High based on multiples of NM guide.  I can't remember the multiples but it increased depending on whether the book was 9.2, 9.4, 9.4 or 9.8.

      I think the last book from John at SDCC wasn't a Mile High, but it is one of my favorites.  I think I got this in 2010 and by then as now, my main interest is Wonder Woman.  Here it is:

 

 

Sensation 35.jpg

 

What a great story, thanks for sharing.

In the 80s and 90s, I remember reading multiple stories in the Comic Buyers Guide about how you could find every important comic ever published for sale at SDCC.  So I had that mindset when I went to my first SDCC in 2000.  That mindset (and fantasy) were quickly dashed as I toured the dealer's room.  SDCC didn't have such a huge selection of comics for sale.  But then, even the internet today doesn't have that selection.

But still, the selection of comics at SDCC back then was pretty amazing, especially compared to the big conventions of today.  For example, at the SDCC 2001 that I got Sensation 1 and TOS 39, I also picked up Journey Into Mystery 83.  Even though it was 17 years ago, I distinctly remember shopping for it.  There were probably 10 copies for sale.  TEN!  Sure, I know this isn't a rare comic, but try finding even 1 or 2 copies for sale at today's cons. 

I remember walking back and forth through the big con floor as I compared the copies of JIM 83, and decided which one to buy.  I eventually settled on this one because it was decent looking and within my budget.

434731368_JourneyIntoMystery83CGC3_0300.thumb.jpg.83e57760800fbee2e96aa6555d74b028.jpg

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On 5/17/2018 at 8:22 PM, circumstances said:

Is there a consensus on what is currently the undisputed top convention for buying and selling gold and silver comics?

I'm not sure if there's an undisputed top con.  It's easier to X out the ones that are not: SDCC, NYCC, any Wizard Word Con.  These are pop culture cons.  Nothing wrong with that, they're fun, but their emphasis is not comics, and they are not comic friendly (see the many reports by Chuck R. at Mile High). 

I think 2 good ones are Baltimore and Terry's con in LA.  But really, the best con nowadays is the Internet (and this con is open 24/7 365 days a year).  I still like going to "off-line" cons as there's nothing like being immersed in comics and the visceral enjoyment of flipping through comics in a long box.  But, the best selection, prices and deals are found on the Internet.

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