Saturday, February 21, 2009

New York Comic Con redux

It's long, and it's long overdue...and here it is.
A con like this in NY is special for a # of reasons:
1. There hasn't been anything of this quality & on this scale in NY ever!!!? Maybe the old Creation conventions came close (at least it felt that way to me as a kid), but i'm sure they weren't even half the size of this show. And Great Eastern Conventions...well the bigger they got the worse it got any body remember the Titanic?? or Hindenburg?? yeah, that sums up what happened there.

Bigger isn't always better, but in this case bigger IS WAY BETTER as there's very little overlap (for now) or insane repetition. Unlike the San Diego Comic Con where you have dozens if not 100's of vendors selling the same thing (t-shirts, toys, etc), NYCC is still managebly huge.
This is great for collectors of all types of comics/toy memorabilia, books, posters, etc. Enough variety and healthy choice to create a competitive selling environment. You can see it all in a day, but you could keep yourself occupied over the course of 3 days too. There are lots of artists attending, and the show is well run, and now that they're moving it to the fall of 2010 it's even better for tourists who want to enjoy the city more.

My only regret is that i'm too busy to run around and have more fun as a fan myself!!

2. Conventions in general, take me back to the beginnings of my dealing experiences. No matter how swanky they get there's still the old school feeling of setting up and putting out art, LOTSA ART, and no pretenses or "hoyty toytyness" (Ralph Kramdon be proud!!). The art's on the tables and on the walls just like i've been doing for nearly 20 years. Lots of chatting, meeting old friends and making new ones, and the action of the deal!! Making people happy. This is the way it's been done in markets since the beginning of time...and i'm happpy to be part of this tradition. This leads me to-

3. The inventory!!! For those of you unlucky enough to have never seen me at a show, you don't know what you've been missing. I bring 100x what i could possibly sell, 100x what i'll ever list online, and pieces from my personal collection (some of them 10 years or more), and items that will only be seen in person, and many of them only offered once! why? because that's how i do!! And you get my spiel (pronounced by me: shpeel) about what's so frickin great about this piece or that... or why i won't come down a penny in price because this one's from a museum collection, or that one's been in my collection for X years, or whatever. And that's how i've always done it. There's a lotta spontanaety and exciting energy at my table, half of which is me being amped up with little sleep and LOTS of coffee. Any thing can happen, here's an example: one guy, smitten by Ashley Wood's gorgeous art bought a couple of beautiful pieces online (a few days before) and looked forward to picking them up in person and seeing what else i had, when he saw what i brought he nabbed another fine piece and i gave him a nice deal on it too. A reward for jumping into the game feet first and making a big splash. This guy (he might be reading this ;-), came back later because the bug still had him and picked out a gorgeous little ink drawing (not expensive) and was digging in his pocket when i stopped him and said Take it!!! on the house. Don't ask me why. I don't know. What i do know is the live con is just on another level. does that mean you'll get the same treatment?...it all depends on the piece(s) of course and the moment. The spiel is guaranteed!!! ;-)

Don't get me wrong, the online experience is amazing and many of you out there have gotten the great treatment from me, but at a con...when it's all live, and i've lugged this all out and busted my ass to do this to make a big exhibition and all this work, well it means i'm ready to do some deals. And they get done!!! One thing tho, looking is free!!! this is a unique opportunity to see masterpieces by many extraordinairy artists! and i'm happy to have people lavishing their attentions on the art even if they can't afford to buy.

All in all, the con experience is truely unique and one that i put great effort into.

SO....make sure you see me at a CON!!!! ok?
This weekend i'll be in San Francisco WonderCon: Booth #1022 - Feb. 27-Mar. 1, 2009

come out and see me.