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| Disney has a "Nightmare Before Christmas" display that's cute, Radical has "Caliber" all over their booth, they have all the comic books and Sam is at the booth today!!! More later. |
| QUOTE (herestoyou @ Jul 25 2008, 03:39 PM) |
| Well I've never seen this trailer before!!! I love how that was put together---and the music, too! Thanks so much Karen..... :) -Donna |
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| 2008 San Diego Convention Report #1! Howdy! San Diego Convention Line on Thursday http://www.milehighcomics.com/sandiego/sdc...cline072408.jpg Some idiot deliberately ran into my rental van this morning. I wish that I could be more condemning of his foolishness, but after 45 minutes of sitting in gridlocked traffic in front of the San Diego convention center, all of us were getting more than a little frustrated. My friend Jimmy, a comics dealer from Chicago, had the exact same thing happen, as the road right in front of the convention hall suddenly narrows from three lanes, to two. As a result, a slew of people try to bypass everyone on the right, and then suddenly realize that they have no lane remaining. Rather than waiting for an opening in the traffic flow, these folks would sometimes simply drive into the side of your car, regardless of whether any space exists between you and the car in front of you. Blessedly, my rental van was already dinged on that side when I checked it out, but it can still be very unnerving to realize the extent that people will go to get into Comic-Con. I'm telling you about my driving difficulties because they are symptomatic of what is happening throughout the convention. Too many people, in too small of a space. Even worse, the level of greed and avariciousness among the attendees has reached unprecedented levels this year. What has prompted this incredibly rude and ill behavior is the practice of the large media companies who have invaded our convention to give away freebies. What started out as really cool exhibits of upcoming films has degenerated into an astoundingly dangerous free-for-all of masses of people fighting over the promotional items being given out by the media giants. I was unable to leave our booth last evening because of the very large number of fans who came to purchase books from us, but I heard several first hand horror stories of mass hysteria going on in the huge media booths to the south of our display. What was minor jostling for the free goodies in the past reportedly turned into actual pushing and shoving this year, with some people reporting to me that they actually left the media area because they felt completely intimidated by the pervasive crowding and aggression. Whoa nelly. What in the heck has happened to allow our wonderful comics convention to degenerate into this savage greed fest? Flat out, were they still under 16, I would never allow my children to attend the media end of the San Diego Comic-Con on a Wednesday evening. It is simply too dangerous. Never, ever, have I felt that way at any comics convention in the past. In case you're wondering, I do not have an answer to this problem. Freebies have become a primary reason why people come to the convention (and pay so much for admission tickets...), so I don't think that there is any way that we could (or should) outlaw them. I do believe, however, that some sort of regulatory overlay has to be created to prevent freebies from dominating the convention. Simply put, I think that the current environment of throwing open the doors to 30,000+ fans at 6 PM on Wednesday evening and allowing them to all simultaneously surge toward the freebies is a prescription for disaster. If this unregulated stampede ultimately results in injury to someone, or worse yet to someone's child, this is a lawsuit that could cripple the convention. Wiser heads than mine really do need to think about this issue when planning for next year's convention. Chuck http://www.milehighcomics.com/sandiego/sdc...chuck072408.jpg In other convention news, I spoke with 30-40 dealers this morning about their Wednesday evening sales. So you know, the convention is open on Wednesday evening from 6 PM - 9 PM, only to 4-day ticket holders. This is a program that I helped to create because I saw it as a way to reward those who support the show, and to simultaneously provide dealers with a 5th revenue day to help cover our massive expenses of setting up at the convention. That having been said, Wednesday evening has become a really important bell weather of how the show is going to turn out. The initial reports were mostly pretty good, with dealers in the front of the hall saying that sales were either "good" or "great" last evening, and dealers further back in the room reporting "fair" to "good" sales. The only group that seemed to not do as well were the high end Golden Age and Silver Age dealers. The "big money" Golden Age buyers did not show up last evening, and there is a lot of pessimism as to whether they will come at all. Most guys who want to spend $2,000+ per comic book are not too keen on having to fight huge crowds, especially when the Golden Age offerings at San Diego have been diminishing steadily for the past five years. Where this is all leading is that San Diego is about to lose its crown as the top comics show in America. With fewer than 100 real comics booths left in the entire show, this convention is now a primarily media event. After years of completely failing in any way to aid or encourage comics dealers to set up at the convention, critical mass has been lost. In the meantime, the Reed Exposition folks in New York have cleverly worked to wrest San Diego's crown away by hiring teams of very smart marketing folks who cold call every comics dealer in the country before their convention, seeking to sign up as many new dealers as possible, and thus make their New York convention the best comics showcase in the world. Well folks, the battle is over. The people on the San Diego committee have been so busy sucking up to Hollywood that they let their core group of comics dealer support wither and die. Is it any wonder that they took the comics characters off of the banners they traditionally place on the lampposts around Sand Diego, and instead have a new motto of "Celebrating the Popular Arts?" That reminds me of when Marvel Comics changed their name to "Marvel Entertainment" during the mid-1980's. Why? Supposedly because the president of Marvel at the time was too embarrassed to admit to his buddies in the publishing industry that he printed comic books for a living. What a crock. Either we are proud of being in the comics world, or we are not. San Diego definitely needs to rethink their entire marketing strategy, and their street banners especially. Simply put, the New York Comic-Con is now eating their lunch. Our Crew - Steve, Lisa and Will http://www.milehighcomics.com/sandiego/sdc.../crewladder.jpg I could go on in far greater detail about my misgivings about this year's show, but I think that a balanced perspective is also important. While San Diego may have become second-rate as regards being comics show, it is still one heck of an experience. If you like toys, t-shirts, cards, and posters it simply cannot be beat for selection and diversity. This show is no longer for everyone, however, as the masses of humanity that seethe through (and around) the convention center can be quite overwhelming. Aside from all the hard work we that do in building and operating our booth, simply navigating the aisles long enough to reach the bathrooms and snack stands can be exhausting. In the end, we are so tired when we leave the halls each evening that we can barely drive. That makes the lengthy delays in exiting the parking structures (up to an hour...) particularly hard to bear. That having been said, the completely enveloping stimuli of this place are also totally addicting. I kee! p telling myself on an intellectual level that I should stop putting up with all this difficulty, and instead just stay home in Colorado during the month of July. Upon reflection, however, I keep coming back to the fact that I love this convention so much that I would miss it beyond all words if I did not come each year. After 36 consecutive years of exhibiting here, this convention has become ingrained into my spirit and soul. That is precisely what makes my criticizing what is presently occurring at the convention all the more painful. I really, genuinely, want the San Diego Comic-Con to be the premiere showcase for comics in the world. Sadly, however, the convention has lost its way, and no one (yet) seems willing to step up to help put it back on track. I remain cautiously optimistic, however, that a solution to the present difficulties can still be found. Stay tuned for further developments. That's it for today's convention report. I may provide you with another tomorrow, depending on whether anything of significance occurs. In the meantime, we are continuing our SANDIEGO 30% off Codeword Sale for you through this upcoming weekend. Our prices listed on our website are already dead cheap (far cheaper in many instances than what you would be paying here at the convention...), so taking the additional 30% off provided by the SANDIEGO codeword really makes shopping with us a fantastic bargain (please keep in mind that the codeword does not apply to new comics, Dallas Stephens comics, trade paperbacks, hard covers, supplies or statues). As an added benefit, you also don't have to pay the immense costs of attending the convention, so you can actually do far better by shopping from at home than anyone here in San Diego! Please enjoy this great sale with my sincere thanks for all of your many years of support. We really do appreciate your helping us... Happy Collecting Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. Advance Previews of next weeks comics from Marvel and Archie http://www.milehighcomics.com |
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| 2008 San Diego Convention Report #2! Howdy! Chuck with comic fans http://www.milehighcomics.com/sandiego/sdc...chuck072608.jpg I was quoted in the San Diego Union Tribune newspaper this morning. The essence of my comments were that I feel strongly that the balance of the focus at the San Diego Comic-Con has now shifted from comics to film, and that a great many of us who sell comics are feeling as though we are beggars in our own house. In reading my comments within the article, however, I came to realize that there was a key element of my own disillusionment that I failed to properly address. Simply put, I view this struggle for the heart of the convention as a last stand in the battle for the advocacy of reading. Thirty-nine years ago, when the first San Diego Comic-Con was held, there were as many (or more) science fiction authors who attended as guests as comics creators. The convention was begun by people who were avid readers, for the specific purpose of encouraging others to read. Prose or comics didn't matter, just as long as we encouraged others to read more. Since that very first convention, the San Diego Comic-Con gradually evolved into the best venue in America for introducing new comics and books to a rapidly growing audience of avid readers. The periphery aspects of the convention have certainly changed markedly over the years, as the original nostalgic components of the convention (such as old radio shows and pulp magazines) have been gradually replaced by more contemporary manifestations of popular culture, such as DVDs, Action Figures, and comics statues. At its core, however, the SDCC organizing committee never failed to remember to stay true to their core audience. Advocating reading, most particularly of comics and sequential art, has been the essence of San Diego's mission statement since day one. That is precisely why comics legend, Will Eisner, allowed the comics industry excellence awards given out each year in San Diego to be named after him. Watchmen TPB frenzy! http://www.milehighcomics.com/sandiego/sdc...chmen072608.jpg Beginning from the time when we first moved into the brand new San Diego convention center in the early 1990's, with its requirements for far higher attendance than what we were drawing at the old downtown convention center, a devil's pact was gradually forged between the convention organizing committee and Hollywood. In exchange for being given the best positions in the exhibition hall of the new convention center, film companies and major toy companies began paying a greater and greater amount of the overall operating costs of the convention. Being placed in this secondary position was a bit galling for those of us who had supported the convention for decades, but being realists, we accepted the fact that the convention needed these deep-pocketed media and consumer goods companies to participate if we were going to be able to continue to grow. In effect, we agreed to move to the back of the bus for the greater good of the convention. What has happened over the past couple of years, however, has shown how foolish we were to volunteer to step aside. What began as Hollywood participating in our convention has become a complete envelopment. Not only does Hollywood dominate the exhibit hall and the programming, but the entire mission of advocating reading has become lost. The immense marketing dollars available from the film companies have completely seduced the convention committee. In effect, this is now the "Sundance" or "Cannes" of comics films, with the comics themselves (and those who sell them) appearing completely anachronistic. Far more important today than the idealistic notion of advocating the reading the reading of comics is the test marketing of new comics film projects to a captive target audience. This really does beg the question of why (or if...) this is still a "Not-For-Profit" organization. If the convention staff and committee are going to be selling the convention to the highest bidder, ! where are the profits going, if not to advocate the advancement of comics reading? Maybe, just maybe, it is time for a little public disclosure of how the many millions of dollars that are now being generated by this convention are being spent. Let the costume contest begin! http://www.milehighcomics.com/sandiego/sdc...group072608.jpg I could go on much further on this topic, as I definitely will in future newsletters. I did want to close out today's column with one thought, however, which is that while my speaking out in today's San Diego newspaper about the alienation being felt by comics retailers at the convention may seriously ruffle some feathers among the powers-that-be, the bottom line is that if I don't speak out for the comics retailers, no one else will. Everyone is delighted to grab their share of the pie when we identify which new comics projects actually resonate with readers, but no one ever gives comics retailers any credit for the hard work that we do. Were it not for our ability, week after week, to present hundreds of new issues to readers, there would not be a HELLBOY or a TMNT to make millionaires of those who create films and toys. To find those winners, however, those of us in the comics retailing community often times have to accept the losses that accrue from the hundreds, if not ! thousands, of unsold comics titles that do not succeed. Under the present non-returnable comics distribution system, we have to pay for all comics that we receive, regardless of whether we are able to sell them. That being the case, we are really the most vulnerable part of the entire comics marketing chain, generally earning the least, and struggling the most. There are those among us, myself included, who have managed to find ways to succeed, but in general, most comics dealers barely get by. Even the least successful comics dealers still deserve our thanks and respect, however, as they are they ones who are taking the risks to build our combined futures. Giving them the bum's rush out of the convention that they built is criminal. For those of you who would like to read it, here is a link to the article in the San Diego Union Tribune www.signonsandiego.com/feature/comic-con/20080726-9999-1c26rowe.html http://www.signonsandiego.com/feature/comi...9-1c26rowe.html Happy collecting! Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. |
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| 2008 San Diego Convention Report #3! Howdy! After a beautiful, but wearying, trip across 1,100 miles of desert and mountains, I am finally back at home on my beloved farm in Colorado. After all is said and done, this year's San Diego convention will go down as an unqualified financial success for us, even though we actually ended up grossing less in our stand than we did in the same space in 2007. What made the difference this year is that we were a little less crazy in the discounts that we were offering on our trade paperback and hardback inventory, and that we concentrated a bit more on higher-margin out-of-print books. So, even though our costs were actually higher than what they were in 2007, our improved operating margins more than made up the difference. Improving upon our margins even further, and reducing our costs of travel and operating the stand, will be my primary considerations in planning for the 2009 convention. Chuck, Fae and Justin http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email...ustin072808.jpg Given that I am already beginning the planning process for 2009, it should be obvious that I made the decision at the end of the convention to sign up for my 37th consecutive year of exhibiting in San Diego. What put me over the top in my decision to reenlist for another year was the fact that Fae Desmond, the managing director of the convention, came by to see me on Sunday afternoon. She brought with her Justin Dutta, the actual floor manager of the dealer's room. This meeting was long overdue, because while Fae and I have known each other quite well for over 25 years and have oftentimes worked together for the betterment of the convention, we have not had an actual conversation in several years, and this is the first time I have met Justin in the five years that he has been in charge of the dealer's room. While I really think that I should have been engaged in an ongoing dialog with Fae and Justin for the past several years, what matters is that Fae and Justin did actually seek me out to see what could be done to resolve the many issues facing comics dealers, comics creators, and comics publishers at this year's convention. So what were we able to resolve during our discussions about the future of the San Diego convention? Nothing. We agreed to disagree on several critical points, not the least of which was whether the San Diego convention committee has sold the convention out to Hollywood and the big media companies. Having been in her role for a couple of decades now, however, Fae is both smart and flexible. She agreed to my suggestion that we hold at least one meeting in September between representatives of comics interests and the convention staff. As of this moment, the comics participants will be myself, long-time book dealer Bud Plant, and DC Comics Vice President Bob Wayne. In total, the three of us have about 100 years of experience of exhibiting at San Diego, so we bring a wealth of perspective to the table. That having been said, our wealth of experience pales in comparison to the actual wealth of those who are eager to co-opt our convention, such as LucasFilms and Mattel. While the convention staff may well be in philosophic agreement with our goals to refocus the convention on comics and literacy, the fact remains that several of the larger exhibitors from the film world could buy out all the booths in the entire building, without even having to break a sweat. It is their cash that pays for a significant number of the bills at the convention, so the convention staff is very leery of alienating them. On the flip side, however, the convention staff seems to have their blinders on about what is happening to the comics portion of the convention. I personally heard from at least a dozen comics fans who were long-time attendees of the convention who said they would never return to San Diego. That number is in addition to all the comics dealers who told me that they were not going t! o renew their booths. Clearly, there is a serious possibility that our convention will become "their" convention within the next couple of years. Rowan and Chuck http://www.milehighcomics.com/images/email...chuck072808.jpg At the end of the day, what made me renew my booths was a determination to not give up "our" house without a fight. Those of us who love comics have spent the past 39 years gradually building the San Diego Comic-Con into the premiere comics convention in the world. While that past glory may now be rapidly diminishing, I find it just a little bit too damn galling to simply roll over and let the big money boys steal our convention without first exhausting all of the possibilities. In my view, this situation is much akin to a personal relationship in which you find out that your lover has been cheating on you with someone who is far richer, and vastly more powerful, than you will ever be. If the opportunity to possibly reengage through counseling presents itself, why not take it? But no one should ever be so foolish or naive as to believe that passion and caring will necessarily triumph over wealth and prestige. The San Diego Comic-Con committee has now had their taste of forbidden fruit, and bringing them back away from that exhilarating world of power and glitter is going to be really, really difficult. At their core, however, everyone who is on the San Diego committee and staff is still a comics fan. That one simple fact is the only reason why I agreed to spend a considerable quantity of my own time and money on seeking to revitalize the comics portions of the convention. As to whether Bud, Bob, and myself will be successful, however, is yet another question. Wish us luck... Here on the home front, time is running out on the 30% off SANDIEGO codeword. Were this newsletter not going out a little later than usual due to my traveling, I would have ended it on Friday. As things stand, however, I will end this annual SANDIEGO blowout sale next Tuesday, at noon, Colorado time. (please note, codeword does not apply to new comics, Dallas Stephens comics, trade paperbacks, hard backs, statues or supplies) In the meantime, please do check out our New-In-Stock listings and $50+ New-In-Stock listings for this week. Monday hit a new record for a single day, with 9,880 individual items being added! This is a particularly noteworthy milestone since our two inventory team leaders (Will and Pam) were both out. Will was driving our second van back from California, and Pam had surgery on Monday to remove her appendix. Pam is already leaving the hospital today, and is doing quite well in her recovery, so we are all very pleased and relieved. That having been said, however, her team performed fantastically in her absence, so we thank them all very much for doing a great job! Do check out New-In-Stock, as it is genuinely amazing for today... That's it for today. I now need to drive our cargo van down to Denver, and unload all of the smaller booth items that I brought back from the convention. That should not be a big deal, however, as we sent back 15,000 lbs. of unsold books, and all of our larger fixtures, by freight. Those books will be added into our inventory next week, so you can expect that our trade paperback and hardback selections will be taking a very big jump in the near future... Happy collecting! Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc. |
| QUOTE (Elizabeth @ Aug 1 2008, 08:02 AM) |
| thanks for the information from Chuck also. Intersting to read and alot of it also!. love love love the comic con. RR said that some people thought he was johnny dressed up as jack sparrow?lol im hping to get out there ;) next year. |
