ComicConMen

Here’s a nice interview i did with Jesse James Comics, which ran on the BLEEDINGCOOL.com site.

I talk about #Comicmarket, convention exclusives/ variants, and of course the AMAZING ARIZONA COMIC CON.

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/01/19/questions-and-answers-with-jimmy-jay/

Enjoy!

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SoCal Comic Con

 

On Sunday Novermber 18, Southern California had yet another comic gather.  This time an Oceanside industrial park was the location of the one day comic show.

 

In the previous blog entries, we have discussed the crowded convention calendar in the region: Wondercon Anaheim in the spring and San Diego Comic Con are the most obvious tentpoles, but you can also add several events that had mixed results in the last quarter-from the surprise hit of Comikaze Expo in Downtown LA to Lackluster Long Beach Comic Con.  There was a nostalgia Silver/Golden Age show further south in San Diego Mission Valley, before this mini show in North County San Diego.

 

Lots of events to attend.

Hard to split hairs on which event to attend.  there are obvious redundancies in events, which ones are different enough, which are dynamic?  Ultimately this is something that the public decides, although the organizers can influence this with their guests and how they market and promote their specific show.

 

Which brings us back to SoCal Comic Con-

Organizers Joel Elad and Rey Reyes are fanboys, turned comic dealers, turned show promoters.  Their event reflects what these collectors enjoy about cons.  A small room filled with bins of old and new comics.  There weren’t many toys or statues.  No tower of T-shirts dominating the floor.  Just lots of dusty boxes of books…. about 30 or so dealers in the room.  And a good number of comic book creators- about 20 or more- looking to make a last cash grab on prints and sketch commissions before the holidays.

 

Marc Silvestri was the headline talent at the show.  The marketing for the event was centered around him, and his body of work at Top Cow.  There were exclusive Darkness comics available to further cement the branding of SoCal Comic Con.  IDW, Boom, and Aspen had tables on the floor.

 

And while previous events were held at the Boys & Girls Club in Oceanside, this year the event moved to fall dates at a tucked away industrial park.  Facilities were very small, but professional in appearance.  Many of the creators were provided 4 foot tables, which is considerably less space than other events.

 

Attendance of the show was as expected, a couple of hundred buyers.  Lots of familiar faces that populated one or more of the other Comic Convention events.   A few dozen customers lined up well before the doors opened, perhaps hoping to be a part of the free sketches that were promised from Silvestri.  Most of the crowd filtered through in the first hour of the show, with a slow trickle until early in the afternoon, before the show slowly wound up by 4pm.

 

The flavor of the show was mostly a comic book meet-up.  Creators were chatting with each other, more than sketching or signing.  Vendors were mostly buying and swapping stock with each other.  And there was the occasional fan breaking up the monotony.  This event reminded me of the local sports card shows that popped up in the early 90s, and the sci-fi collector cons later in the decade, all of which are now largely extinct.  Joel and Rey should be commended for attempt to revive the mini one day local format, and I’m sure with tweaking the formula, they can eventually build a viable model which attracts a larger, motivated crowd.

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Long Beach Comic Con Report Part 2

#Comicmarket Retail Report

 

Last weekend, JayCompanyComics.com exhibited at the Long Beach Comic Con.  The Guest List and Buzz waned in the hall, diminishing yet again compared to previous years.  You can read more about this in my previous postings,  With that said, the LBCC is still a viable place to close out convention season for our retail business, as we set up with 4 booths, and 2 end cap locations.

 

Attention for consumer and retailer dollars has never been this competitive in recent memory.  The attention span for buyers following big events and marketing stunts by the BIG TWO is at an all time low.  Given the heavyweight bout between Marvel and DC for overall marketshare, the companies seem to blitz one big crossover and relaunch after the other.  What was considered “hot” last month. often has a diminished return in the #comicmarket now.

 

I spent significant amount of time in Part 1 of my Long Beach report talking about Guests at a convention.  Because big personalities are vital in their influence over consumer spending at a comic con, and especially at a small local show such as LBCC.  Without a headliner causing buzz, motivating consumers to seek out more work by those popular pros, retailers then are reliant on the overall #comicmarket buzz, or their grosses are determined heavy product discounting.

 

In previous years, great events hit at the same time as the Long Beach convention rolled.  In the first year of the show, all things Blackest Night were in full effect, and consumers responded.  Even last year, DC52 was in its early phase, and fans aggressively filled in their collections.  This year however, the closest thing to Buzz Books were the Batman crossover Death of the Family.  Clearly these books sold the best off our tables, for the strongest prices.  Unfortunately it has been several weeks since the latest official crossover piece, so fan response wasn’t as strong as it could be.  While i expect Batman/Joker to get another huge shot in the arm in a couple of weeks when the next batch of chapters are released, this line could have been supplemented.  With that said, Batman 13s sold good quantities at $10, Catwomans for $15, and bargirls selling out at $25.  Variants all sold for premium prices as well.

 

Perhaps capitalizing on the Batman Buzz was BEDLAM from Morning Glories/Thief of Thieves writer Nick Spencer and artist Riley Rossmo.  This book from Image Comics is a darker take on the traditional Joker archetype.  Fans responded to this violent tale with books disappearing from the con floor routinely over cover price just days after release.  #PhantomVariant generated interest- seems like consumers are following internet trends closer while looking for the “Next Walking Dead” phenomenon.

 

On the flip side Marvel’s big push with AVX seems to have run its course.  While back issues sold moderately to folks looking to fill in gaps in their collection, the variants were priced so low in the room, as retailers looked to cash out.  This also extended to Uncanny Avengers follow-up as #1s filled the bargain bins at many tables.  Looks like stores over ordered on this one, even if marvel incentives made the launch still slightly profitable.  This was not the home run the #comicmarket was hoping for.

 

Exception to the Uncanny Avengers rule were the Deadpool variants.  JayCompany sold out by mid saturday slightly above cover price, with other exhibitors buying our stock out to mark up for $15+.  If they can get those prices, more power to them.  The overall implication of this last point is that there is significant buzz building for new DEADPOOL series launching from Marvel Now.  Fandom have embraced this character, as Deadpool was the most cosplay’d costume on the show floor.

 

Without Superstar guests or a legitimate well timed event in #comicmarket, Long Beach Comic Con became a heavily discounted show.  At this year’s LBCC show, there was a big influx of Brick & Mortar stores from LA, OC, Riverside, and more displaying exhibiting on the show floor.  The majority of their stock was dead inventory, blowing out overstock out for cost or even loss.  Conventions are a viable avenues to cash flow ordering mistakes, and realizing the end profits of bulk buys.  Price Points can be a motivating factor for consumers.

 

For a Long Beach Comic Con Retail Report, the influx of brick and mortar retailers was a significant sub story.  Either exhibiting at a convention is just a quick influx of revenue or the B&M stores are dependent on additional income in a tough economy.  Whether moving sunk ants cost inventory or trying the hustle of a hot book game, B&Ms left this convention game with their eyes wide open.

 

It will be interesting to see how Long Beach adapts to greater #comicmarket in the future.

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Long Beach Comic Con

 LBCC is a local convention that JayCompanyComics.com exhibits with 4 booths, 2 endcap locations.  Unlike true blockbuster events like San Diego Comic Con or even Wondercon, the necessity for going with large display isn’t necessarily to capitalize on hoards of fans walking through the doors.  Instead it is an opportunity to clear out remnants of inventory, and put a few bucks in our pockets at the end of a long convention season.

 

 

The Long Convention Season is the key term here.  The marathon starts with excitement at January’s Amazing Arizona Comic Con, and continues with a packed spring season of Emerald City Comicon, Wondercon, C2E2, and others.  The peak is Comic Con International in July, but there are other good events in the fall such as Baltimore and the ever growing New York Comic Con.  JayCompanyComics.com exhibits at many of these shows, as well as several of the Wizard World and other regional cons too.  The Bottom line, there are a ton of great comic con style events.

 

Long Beach just happens to be at the very end of the line.

 

Compounding the actual impact, Southern California itself has many events in addition to Wondercon in Anaheim and San Diego Comic Con- there’s Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo in Downtown LA in the fall, as well as a twice weekly warehouse pop culture swap at Frank & Sons Collectible Show.

 

And once again Long Beach is at the very end of the line.

 

For the Long beach Comic Con itself- at its best, it’s a cute, local show.  One of the LBCC employees, Mike Scigliano keeps an online journal at Publisher’s Weekly, often talks about the thrifty spending practices. While keeping it local, most studios and talent in attendance also make numerous store signings in addition to being at all the events listed above.  The guest list is more of a local showcase than anything else.

 

For whatever reason, there is a lack of a true SUPERSTAR headliner on the show floor.  When LBCC launched just few years ago, Stan Lee was at the ribbon cutting, Geoff Johns and the Blackest night crew had a gang signing, Geoff Loeb and Simone Bianchi were promoting Wolverine/Sabertooth run, Jim Lee had a meet and greet with the fans, Deadpool Creator Rob Liefeld generously drew pictures. While these names didn’t return in following years, events like the DC52 propped up their guest list with many local creators involved.

Stan Lee & Jeph Loeb cut the Ribbon at 1st LBCC

This year was another story- a thin guest list to begin with, LBCC’s biggest headline talent- David Finch backed out of many of his fall commitments such as Las Vegas Comic Expo as well as this event.  Given that there was no big comic market event to rally around to mask the lack of star power, there wasn’t a true buzz on the show floor motivating fans and retailers.

 

Perhaps the way to sum up the event: Fans, talent, and exhibitors in SoCal are simply fatigued.

 

Convention staff have teased that they will be bringing Mark Millar/Grant Morrison reunion, and other European talent to the December 2013 Long Beach Comic Con.  Here’s hoping this small market operation, run in an overcrowded market can turn the ship around.

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One of the most infectious personalities I’ve had the pleasure to meet on the convention circuit has been Judy Wood.  She has been a strong part of Phoenix/East Valley artistic community, ever present to Poetry nights, book readings, gallery openings and more.  Now add “Comic Cons” to that ever growing list. A couple of weeks back Judy sent me fairly simple Q&A list, but this lead to a fun conversation, which she posts on the Geek News Network/GNN…

http://gnnaz.com/2012/08/20/interview-with-jimmy-jay-of-jay-company-comics-part-i/

Sure i ramble about some goofy comics I collected as a second grader, and share the crazy family drama that lead to our lives in comic industry, and who the favorite Jay has always been at JayCompany.com

Enjoy!

 

 

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I’ve been a few days late with the convention reports this summer.  It’s extremely difficult putting all your effort,; all your hustle crammed in a 4-day period, and then bounce back and catch up with the rest of your work, and life…

So without further ado, here are some observations about–

Wizard World Chicago Comic Con 

 

*Lots of people through the door, and yet, two opposing forces meeting in Rosemont for 4 days of Comic Madness.  On one side you have Lots of newbies and lots of families.  This is the growing demographic of people coming to a comic con.  The heavy pop culture aspect of the Wizard World Conventions attract a VERY civilian crowd, much more so than the “Wednesday Warriors” at a local comic shop.  But the Chicago Comic Con is a 30-year tradition of sorts- predating Wizard’s eventual buyout in the mid 90s.  Therefore this event has become a summer tradition of sorts of fanboys of Midwest Meet-ups. Therefore a more of dynamic representation of comic books are on the show floor: as characterized by plethora of comic book vendors, and a large sized artist alley of hopefully pro-am types present.  One person remarked, for those wishing SDCC was much more simple, something better in mid 1980s, this might be the perfect…

 

With a big attendance count, it seems that the Wizard has beaten the online pundits- it’s difficult to naysay when people are coming through the door and pay for the product.  Even THE BEAT who has been harsh in her criticism of previous Wizard endeavors seem to have given the event a pass, thus enforcing the point- Box Office Trumps All

 

*More Comic Books sold here than perhaps any other show I’ve gone to the past 12 months. Fans at Wizard World Chicago Comic Con were greeted with bins and bins of bargain comics.  Lots of Bronze through the present, mostly Marvel and DC runs of popular icon characters and the obscure D-List.  With prices starting at less than a buck at many tables, it became a virtual four-color schmorgesborg.

 

I believe there are two types of comic buyers at a convention, much like there are two types of dining experiences- you can get the all you can eat buffet, or you can have the nice sit down steak dinner.  At the Wizard World Chicago Comic Con, it was definitely the former.  Because of price and inventory, folks walked out of the room with long boxes of single issues.  Premium Stock such as new graphic novels, key modern back issues all took a back seat to bargain priced merchandise.  And while these items did in fact move, the retail story of from the convention floor was that MORE IS MORE, QUANITY OVER QUALITY.

 

*AS SEEN ON TV

The Wizard World brand of conventions is less “Comic Con” and more “pop culture con”.  That’s not to say there’s not a bunch of funny books in the room, or there’s a lack of folks in the artist alley.  Quite the contrary.  But the Wizard World Brand is a pseudo- celebrity con of actors and TV Personalities.  From Nostalgia Acts of Erin Grey to top tier wrestlers and Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus being a rock star on the show floor- TV is where its at with Wizard.  Here, entertainment personalities get top billing, best placement on the floor, and the market support of the convention promotions.  While I’ve written about this before, I think it’s interesting to note- several years ago, while Chicago was transforming into this model, there was a year or two of co-opt with CREATION CON.  It seems like Wizard learned everything they could from their predecessors, tweaked the formula, and are implementing the new plan with their nearly dozen of shows each year.

 

*AS SEEN ON TV Part 2

I’ve written many times over the past several convention seasons that COMIC CON CULTURE is on the rise.  So much of this has been covered in mainstream TV/News/Media/Internet coverage of the San Diego Comic Con International, and it trickles down to other conventions.  A main feature- whether from magazines such as Entertainment Weekly, G4’s complete SDCC Coverage or Joe the Blogger- is a costume parade of photos.  Fans at Chicago got bit by the cosplay bug this year, but it might be a while before fandom truly “gets it” here.  With a few notable exceptions, most of the costumes seemed to be haphazard, made at the last minute variety rather than a lifestyle endeavor that other conventions experience.  Judging by photos, most of costumes seemed to be of the DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN Closeout variety, coupled with duct tape.  And while that statement might sound as catty as Michael Kors Project Runway critique, but I think the growth of Cosplay is indeed a promising sign.  The Wizard World Chicago Comic Con is evolving from a swap meet style marketplace model into something more of a complete fan experience.

*WHERE ARE THE COMPANIES?

For several years now, the company booths have been largely absent from Chicago, let alone the Wizard World tour.  Marvel and DC don’t come here, but the mini majors such as the various studios of Image Comics, Boom, IDW, ASPEN, Dynamite/Dynamic Forces and Zenescope can’t be found as well.  This is a missed opportunity.  While it doesn’t seem that Wizard will put ANY comic book publisher on a pedestal (there’s no room next to retired Baywatch starlets right?!), there are still monster attendance numbers.  If industry pundits talk about outreach to a largely civilian audience on Free Comic Book Day and other events, it seems like Comic Conventions are the single most concentrated place to convert pop culture aficionados into weekly customers.

 

It should be noted that BIG DOG INK set up block of booths and Artist Alley tables, and really took advantage of its competitors NOT being in the room.  The indy company stood out by giving away books, meeting fans, doing sketches; as a result, their booths were packed the entire con.  Just imagine what an ADVENTURE TIME booth could do, or GI JOE/Transformers/Dr Who/Turtles Booth, etc?  While Wizard isn’t going to do any favors by rolling out a red carpet (well there is NO carpet-red or otherwise at a no frills Wizard show), they will put people through the doors at its marquee events like Chicago.

 

*EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

I have to hand it to Wizard in that they threw out the floor plan, which had been largely in place in the near 20 years since JayCompanyComics.com has done the show.  They changed the entrance to the show in being the middle of the hall, funneled attendees towards the plethora of TV/Entertainment personalities.  While this reinforces what I said above, with Wizard’s complete emphasis on the Creation Con model, they did create a Comic Ghetto of sorts at one end of the hall.  If you wanted comic books, this is where you spent most of your weekend in Rosemont.  While the comic section was near the only sanctioned exit of the convention floor, the strategy did force civilians to at least casually walk through the comic portion of the hall.  If this lead to more sales can certainly be debated, but at least this EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP attempt is to be commended.

(Now it would only make sense if they did create this ghetto, that they put the best comic book guests in this section.  This was recommend to Powers that be at Wizard, and we’ll see if they can implement this logical response)

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Last Week, while recovering from the San Diego Comic Con, I posted on facebook that I was about to start a new comic book venture.  After doing some preliminary groundwork, I’ve taken a position at the upcoming Las Vegas Comic Expo.  This comic con style experience takes place September 29-30 at the Alexis Park Resort Hotel.  You can find out more about the convention here.

While the 2012 Las Vegas Comic Expo is not owned by JayCompany, I’ve known Dr. Charles Lee and most of the staff, for several years.  As the dates approached for their September event, I was invited and hired to step in and lend my experience to their freshmen outing.

Comic Conventions are my life.  I talk about them, I write about them, I make my living from them.  You may know me from being the top retailer on the comic con circuit.  Or perhaps you have attended one own shows that we have produced.  In the last year and a half I have organized and promoted three extremely successful comic conventions, from the ground up.  The Amazing Arizona Comic Con made its debut January 2011, and was followed with our second annual show in the desert the next year, January 2012.  One month later, I put together the 20^th Anniversary event, The Image Comic Expo.  This was a huge undertaking as we went from announcement to a blockbuster event with worldwide exposure in just over three months.

Right now, the JayCompanyComics.com staff is prepping an ambitious 2013 Show Schedule with additional AMAZING COMIC CONS, starting in January with out signature event in Phoenix.

Charles Lee and his staff have put forth an exciting Comic Expo.  They have brought in a diverse pool of international comic talent. With guests from Europe to the Far East, to Canada, and all over the US, this should be a first class Artist Alley.  Here you will find creators working on a variety of projects from Marvel, DC, Image, Aspen, IDW, Boom, and more.  Panels and other activities will be announced shortly on the official website.  A main goal of the show is to involve the fans as much as possible.

My role with the company is to ensure their months of groundwork are pulled together for a fun weekend.  The job title given to me is the “Operations Director”, but if you have ANY questions about the event- from booking exhibitor space, artist alley, or what you should do when a dealer has 16 at the blackjack table, please email.  I will be rolling up my sleeves during this home stretch and making the Las Vegas Comic Expo run as smoothly as possible.

In the mean time, you can find out about all the latest news about the Las Vegas Comic Expo by visiting the official site.  We have a FACEBOOK page that we hope you “like”, and of course you can find real time conversations going on with twitter @LVComicExpo

 

Your pal-

Jimmy S. Jay…

Director of Operations, Las Vegas Comic Expo

Twitter:  @JimmySJay

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San Diego Comic Con-

Notes Part #2 from #1 New Comic Retailer on the show floor

 

Last week I posted some retail highlights from the San Diego Comic Con #Comicmarket.  No surprise Walking Dead dominated, Batman’s only competition was with other Batman books, Before Watchmen was greeted with open arms, AVX is playing itself out in the funnybook world while Marvel Movie News is muscling out competition, Mark Millar’s brand is still strong, and Deadpool got another shot in the arm with a buzz worthy trailer.

 

Whew.

 

And here is a list of secondary observations of note:

 

*Where’s the NEXT Walking Dead?

Dozens of people came to the JayCompany booth to express their regret of passing on Walking Dead #1 when it was $15 book, or a $100 book, or a $500 book, as prices are now fetching $1500-$2000 on convention floors.  These big cash jumps are leading to comic collectors to evaluate their purchases today, basing them on potential.

 

CHEW from John Layman is already the second most requested behind TWD. Prices for Walking Dead 60- 1^st appearance- are shooting up, #1 1^st prints sold for $500 on my back wall, with the Larry’s Comics Sketch variant kissing just shy of $100. Glow in the Dark Variants from SDCC, the Image Expo Chocolate/Butter alternates, and the new foil Poyo books are commanding good dollars.

 

So what else are people sniffing around?  THIEF OF THIEVES went from being largely ignored until AMC TV news was announced quadrupling prices if not more so, while sending each issue into multiple prints. Some requests for Fatale.  But the quickest climber is SAGA- 1^st prints jumped from $10 on the floor to $20, as we sold dozens.  Quite simply people are willing to spend a little more cash now not to regret missing out on something that has the potential to be big money later.

 

*Momentary underperformer- Adventure Time

Adventure Time has been a gem book from Boom all spring.  While JayCompany initially missed the initial blitz at Wondercon and Emerald City Comic Cons, we jumped on the bandwagon, and it has been a sweet surprise at weekly Frank & Sons set-up and other regional shows like Phoenix Comicon and even the sluggish ABQ Comic Expo in New Mexico.

 

So is Adventure Time now played out with the comic community?

I highly doubt it.  Boom studios had a plethora of Adventure Time product, competing directly with retailers exhibiting at SDCC.  Add to this, there was a huge Adventure Time Scavenger Hunt on the show floor also sucking interest away from comic retailers.  Mentioning this isn’t to crying foul play though- quite the contrary- Adventure Time SDCC show variants as well as back issues have been some of our biggest movers SINCE Comic Con.  This points to a bright long-term future

 

*Most requested book that JayCompany did not stock:

GET JIRO by Anthony Bourdain and Vertigo.

I dunno if the book is legitimately a hot item, or if civilians sucking up to a snarky super chef on the show floor fueled interest.  While there is a ton of foodie Outakus in the comic industry I would suspect it’s the latter.  We’ll see if people request Get Jiro at Wizard World Chicago and other upcoming shows before rushing to judgment.

 

*Valiant Exposed

For the last decade a small but fervent fan base of Valiant faithful have been coming out to SDCC, requesting Pre-Unity and other incentives, variants and more from the publisher’s glory days.  Each year we interact with these fans, and it has been a positive experience-This fan base knows what they want, and are generally polite, not to mention enthusiastic.  The Valiant fans have been patiently waiting for the glorious return- they have sat through crazy litigation, saw partial relaunches with the Gold key characters from Jim Shooter and Dark Horse, but now the Valiant have a line to officially claim as their own, with the return of Valiant in early summer 2012.

 

While I was one of those kids that chased gold books at the start of the Valiant era, as a retailer I was on the fence about the new books.  There have been controversy of back room deals, and juking the print runs, but those rumors have never been my issue with the company.  Instead I wondered if a new generation of fans- ones that grew up on Marvel movies and the Walking Dead TV show- would embrace a barbarian wearing Tony Stark’s suit (X-O Manowar), X-Men First Class Lite (Harbinger), and a Kung Fu Odd Couple (Archer & Armstrong)?

 

I’ve read strong market reports for the variants and retail incentives on the Valiant books.  The upcoming Bleeding Cool print magazine has wrapped themselves in the flag much the same way the original incarnation was in bed with the then taste making Wizard Magazine.  Other retailers I respect have broken their formulas down on how they ordering and packaging the books.  I crunched the numbers too going into Comic Con, took a grab at the brass ring, and found retailing this line was a push at best.  The Valiant faithful visited the JayCompanyComics.com booths, spent their cash on new incentives, easing off the older keys.  While I can’t blame them to gravitating toward recent releases, the regular books are struggling to find any significant audience.  While cash wasn’t lost ordering these books because of the variants, I have a box of books that most people don’t care about…

 

So after claiming blockbuster launches, why did valiant opt not to have an official presence on the show floor, or have creator signings scheduled?  Missed opportunity, especially if all the engines are revving like they claim.  At least there was a small circle for an after hour poker game among the valiant faithful and upper management from the imprint.

 

*Another Self Distribution quick start—

Following the Twitter #COMICMARKET hashtag, much has been discussed about the success of self distribution, naming Comixtribe.com titles and the rise of creator Sam Humphries.  It seems that the mechanisms are readily available in 2012, much more than a decade ago when my own ARCADE COMICS imprint published Rob Liefeld properties written by Mark Millar and Robert Kirkman.  Joining this new wave of self distribution that is popping in price due to low print runs and quality work is BLINDSIDE by Marat Mycheals and Jon Goff.  Of course, a sexy J Scott Campbell floods cross over interest from the fanboys scooping up micro print Zenescope titles, opting for something that is new and potentially more collectible

 

 

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Overview-

 

My name is Jimmy S. Jay, and I run the biggest modern/new book dealership on the comic con circuit. This past weekend, the San Diego Comic Con was the Superbowl of our industry, with hundreds of thousands of people walking through the doors of the convention. JayCompanyComics.com was there with multiple booths, at multiple locations, and here are some quick observations from Comic Con–

 

*If you didn’t have Walking Dead, you had no business selling comics at the San Diego Comic Con… a bold claim, I know.  But factor this:  Huge presence onthe show floor from Kirkman’s Company- SKYBOUND. The AMC Hit TV Show having one of the coveted Hall H Panels. People waiting hours to get their picture taken with the Michonne Statue. And of course the Walking Dead Zombie Escape at nearby PetCo Park. This title was the most requested item of the show: from newbies picking up tpb or compendium, to casual fans jumping on with issue #100, or the hardcores sniffing around early & key back issues. Good news for JayCompany- we had multiple sets of issues #1-10, Michonne and Governor 1st appearances, and a boatload of the new issue hitting…

 

 

*Before I slowed down my twitter activity @JimmySJay a week or two before SDCC, much was made out over what was going to be the ALPHA DOG Batman book, between Court of Owls HC by Snyder and Capullo, or the Geoff Johns’ Batman Earth One OGN. Arguing over this is like picking Sham Wow in the Kentucky Derby over Secretariat- both Batman books are monster titles, and sold in the hundreds- Yes, the HUNDREDS- for JayCompany during 4+Days of SDCC. But pitting two Batman titles was further skewed- The DC52 Batman was originally released as singles, eliminating a portion of the audience, and the hardcover version was out about a month longer, shaving off a few more potential customers. Batman Earth One however was an original graphic novel meaning it wasn’t released as floppy singles, just the complete body of work. If you wanted to check out the buzz, this was the ONLY format you would purchase the books. So without all the handicapping, just talking pure numbers and buzz- it was the Earth One Batman that won the day, all copies disappeared from the convention floor by Saturday afternoon, with the few remaining copies that made it to Sunday hit ABOVE cover price…

 

(Actually scratch that- any retailer that took an aggressive position of each title won the battle of Batman)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*One So Cal B&M retailer snickered at us while we gave prominent table placement to the Before Watchmen titles at each of our JayCompanyComics.com locations, 

claiming that it was a waste give so much attention to this family of titles. My response before the show was that if you couldn’t sell Watchmen than you shouldn’t be in the business of selling comics. Sure enough we sold over 100 copies of each of the prequel issues, at premium prices. And thanks to DC incentives, we sold a few dozen Watchmen tpbs and absolutes, too…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*While I opened with a genuine “bow down” to TWD, another creator owned franchise did crazy numbers- KICK ASS. The new volume 2 hardcovers sold out of significant copies by first thing on Sunday morning, and I know we could have ordered/moved even more. Kinda kicking myself for that one, yet still pleased with the results. Kick Ass Volume one tpbs spiked too, and HIT GIRL was a surprise darling jumping from big sales at $5 to kissing $10 on the convention floor, selling out of all 80 copies we brought.  I often wonder what impact a Millarworld booth on the SDCC floor, furthering the Mark Millar brand of comics…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*And Back on topic of DC52 titles- Justice League was a big seller as both HC, and singles. Some of the recent HC releases however were slightly softer than expected- detective, batman & robin, batgirl, green lantern, etc. Do I think it’s doom & gloom for the DC52? Quite the opposite- the sales for SINGLES were big on DC52. More and more people are collecting the monthly adventures of their favorites rather than sheepishly trade waiting. This is a good sign for the industry as a whole, although I will have to burn out of my remaining books in the coming weeks…

 

 

 

 

 

*AVX from Marvel Comics was a powerhouse late spring through early summer for JayCompany, but at the San Diego Con, it was merely OK. Translated: we moved a dozens of copies of each issue, and some variants, but the overall frenzy wasn’t there for this title. While this was a solid hit at the show, AVX just was not the sales juggernaut we were expecting…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Perhaps Marvel’s Mojo is tied Movie franchises? JayCompany sniffed out rumors of Guardians of Galaxy and ordered cases of title, and made sure to have lots of Thanos/Infinity Gauntlet on hand. Puns aside, we made it easy to buy Avengers collections and Iron Man too. Perhaps its the “casual fan, pop culture junkies” outnumbering the more traditional, hardcore collectors at this event, but this is where the attention of the show as at.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Last Bullet point, on this posting– biggest surprise of the show—

 

Let me preface this with the claim that JayCompanyComics.com comes to the game prepared, with research and two decades of gut instinct– we haven’t been in business this long by being caught off guard. I don’t think we were truly prepared for the Sunday Onslaught for Deadpool. The buzz was huge for this hard R rated video game, and people came in and bought everything Deadpool- from collections to singles. Where the franchise may have seemingly hit a plateau, looks like New Mutants #98 and other keys may be climbing once again.Deadpool Video Game

 

 

I will have expanded on these retail observations later, but I’m still recovering from an intense week of selling comics at the San Diego Comic Con.  Please post your comments and email/share/retweet this blog entry.

 

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While the comicCONMEN.com blog primarily explores the proliferation of comic book conventions, and the comic con culture, I think it’s important to explore New readers and new collectors coming into the industry.  To that extent, i want to invite you to jump into the discussion set forth by my friend Karl Alstaetter about how comic MOVIES can be a more effective gateway to comic book readers and collectors.  Enjoy!

http://karlaltstaetter.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-about-comics.html

Enjoy this Post? Well, then buy me a beer!!