So Long and Good Luck to Dragon*Con!

Well, for anybody that has cruised by here over the last year knows that Walkin' Willie's Comix is pretty much getting out of trades and hardcovers (unless they are in a collection) so it is with mixed feelings that I say so long and the best of luck to the venerable Dragon*Con going on this weekend. Anyone that has ever attended Dragon*Con knows how special the show is - your truly has been to at least 16 or 17 of them.

The deal is that you really can't sell single issue comics very well at Dragon*Con anymore like you could in the early '90s when all the big dealers like Showcase New England, Motor City Comics, etc. would show up with all their shiny stuff. The show has morphed into a multi-media pop culture event in which comics is only one of something like 34 programming tracks. Dragon*Con gets pretty darn good comic book guests every year but very, few comic book dealers. I think I counted seven comic book dealers in the room last counting myself. But I digress....

I learned about five years ago that the only thing you can really count on selling at Dragon*Con is trades/graphic novels/hardcovers - well, comic-wise that is... And we did a boffo business doing just that the past few years. Thing is, Dragon*Con is only once a year and it is nearly impossible to sell trades online unless you find them in collections or Marvel Comics does one of their WAY too regular blowouts (after dealers have already paid full wholesale three months before..). Go to Amazon and check out the lists of trade paperbacks and graphic novels at HALF of wholesale price or LOWER. That's just not a place in which I chose to compete.. um, because I just can't and there are too many other more lucrative areas of comics to sell online anyway (CGC books, out of print hardcovers, discount books from collections, etc.).

Still, I miss the show - there is SO much going on and the attendees are so creative in their costumes. But I sure don't miss the setup or the tear down or closing at 7:00 p.m. each day. Heck, by the time you got back to the hotel after securing your booth, counted your money and took a shower, it was nearly 9:00.

So as far as dealin' at Dragon*Con, I can't see that happening ever again unless I run into the trade paperback collection of all time. One of these days I'm gonna go down there as just a fan.... yeah, I'll show 'em.

Finally, thanks to all the wonderful folks that stopped by the booth over the years - you are what makes Dragon*Con so special.

Anyway, got a nice little batch of comics going on eBay next Sunday (9/11/2011) and some more of the CGC stuff, Marvel Premiere Classic Variants and Marvel Masterwork Trade Paperback Variants going up tomorrow night (9/4/2011). Will talk about next Sunday's eBay stuff at the beginning of the week - it's worth a blog article for sure.

Thank you Heroes-Con and Dragon*Con!

And that thanks goes out to both the convention organizers and volunteers as well as the attendees!

Heroes-Con is probably one of the most "pure" comic shows in the country - especially for a three day show. What I mean by "pure" is that 90% of the dealers are comic dealers. Oh there are a couple of video and t-shirt dealers out there but all in all, it is pure comics. This year was my second best Heroes-Con ever and again, we thank the customers. Hopefully, the dates for next year's Heroes-Con will be announced soon.

Dragon*Con is a whole different animal - it bills itself as the "largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the US." - and yes they are... They have well over 32 programming tracks and comics is only one of them.

Dragon*Con has expanded into four huge hotels now and - in my opinion - their biggest challenge is managing their growth. People that have gone to Dragon*Con for years now have kids that have grown up with it and they are telling their friends and... well, you get the idea.

Now as far as Walkin' Willie's Comix is concerned, this year's Dragon*Con was by far our best yet. We had a great setup as can be seen on the left and we have plans in place to improve it even more.

Right now, we are planning on four major shows for next year. Right now, Mega-Con, Heroes-Con and Dragon*Con are definites and we are looking for one more. Obviously, it will depend on the dates and how far it is from ol' Swannanoa, North Carolina.

More to come - we have a fairly huge announcement coming on January 4th, 2010!

eCrater, eBay & Dragon*Con.....

This is probably the busiest August Walkin' Willie's Comix has had in a long while. Dragon*Con is only 21 days away (that's 23 days for attendees) and it has become our biggest show of the year. Obviously, a large amount of time will be spent preparing for that extravaganza - that show has really grown a ton over the last few years. There are not a whole lot of comic dealers there which is a shame. All the bigtime dealers used to come to Dragon*Con back in the late 1980's through the early 1990's. Now it has become more Sci-Fi and Fantasy oriented with only around seven or eight comic dealers there. Comic dealers that do well at Dragon*Con have merchandise with low price points - folks will buy bargain bin books, $10 (or less) Silver and Bronze age and discount trades. They will not buy $5000 CGC books.

Secondly, we are ratcheting up our inventory over at our eCrater store with literally hundreds of discount books loaded up in the past month. We will start putting up some old stuff this week - there is a little up there but not near enough. Basically, our Walkin' Willie's Comix eCrater store will have (and already has) a ton of single issues WAY below price guide prices. There are still some trades and hardcovers there but they will be moving to our own Walkin' Willie's Comix website website at www.wwillie.com

We are throwing a ton onto eBay as well. eBay is not the huge elephant in the room it once was but it still gets a ton of eyeballs and we are hoping we can move some of those eyeballs to our eCrater store and our own website. We have twenty auctions ending starting tonight and finishing tomorrow night and twenty more for next week (although that number will grow today). eBay used to be our main revenue stream but not anymore - too many other sales channels with better profit margins EVEN selling at steep discounts. eBay is now much, much better for BUYING than SELLING - you can really get some bargains there now.

Our long term strategy is to do shows for about five more years and then hopefully, we have developed the online relationships with customers to stay just online only after that. Maybe do a couple of shows with one table or booth once in awhile but mainly attend shows to BUY merchandise.

It's extremely busy around Walkin' Willie's Comix right now but that's a good thing....

Thanks to Adventure-Con and Heroes-Con!

Just want to pass my appreciation to the staffs at Adventure-Con in Knoxville, TN and Heroes-Con in Charlotte, NC - both were great shows.

Adventure-Con is a growing show and is a cross between comics and fantasy/science-fiction. The biggest thing those folks need to do is figure out their marketing and get more folks in the door. Scheduling is another concern as it was the same weekend as the Bonaroo Music Festival, just 167 miles away from Knoxville. Still, it was a nice show and hanging out in Knoxville was very nice and the staff at Adventure-Con was, again, top knotch.

Heroes-Con has been around for a looooong time and it is definitely one of the great pure comic book shows in the world. Tons of creators, fans and dealers attend and, listening to most dealers, everybody seemed to do well at this show. I know ol' Walkin' Willie's Comix had a fine show and looking forward to next year for sure. Shelton Drum and his staff know how to put a show together for sure.

Ol' Willie's has two more shows scheduled for the year - maybe one or two more in the fall. First up is the venerable Charlotte Comic-Con which is - in my opinion - just like they bill themselves: The best one day family friendly show in the country. Just comic dealers, creators and fans. It is coming quickly - Sunday, July 12th - so CHANGE your plans and come on down. This show has everything from the most expensive graded books down to the 3 for a dollar bins. We are somewhere in between - we will be bringing a decent Atomic Age collection, Silver and Bronze Age for sure and then - something new for us - 14 boxes of DEEP discount trades and hardcovers. Hopefully, we can draw some money off the floor - we'll see.... If not, then I'll walk around the room and see if their are any deals to be had. Doors open at 10:00 and it is only a six hour deal so plan accordingly.

Finally, Walkin' Willie's Comix is gearing up for Dragon*Con over Labor Day. This is turning out to be our best show of the year. I've said it again and again and again: If you have never been to Dragon*Con, you need to do it once in your life. It is one heck of a show....... more to come later

Hope to see you there!

It's Dragon*Con Time, Baby!

Very short post to let you know that Walkin' Willie's Comix will be at the 2008 Dragon*Con in Atlanta Georgia - which starts on Friday, August 29, 2008 and ends on Monday, September 1, 2008 (Labor Day).

This mega con covers 3 gigantic hotels and gets more than 40,000 visitors each year. I truly believe that every mortal soul should go to Dragon*Con at least one time in their life. There is art, film, music, comics, movies, contests, panels - well, 32 programming tracks in all (maybe more). Absolutely the best media convention in the world!

Walkin' Willie's Comix is bringing over 50 boxes of trade paperbacks and graphic novels - something for everyone!

C'mon down - it's one helluva party!