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Howdy!
This newsletter is being written in great haste, as the convention has
just closed, and the union men are starting to roll up the carpets. I
normally try to get my newsletters written far earlier in the day, but
this day has been a madhouse. For the last three hours of the show not a
single one of our computers were available for me to be able to write to
you. I thought the crowds were large yesterday, but Sunday's attendance
soared to levels unprecedented in the history of the San Diego
Comic-Con. Rumors floated around the convention that the final count of
fans attending the show was nearly 80,000, but I think that number may
be exaggerated. My guess would be slightly over 70,000, which is still a
20% increase over last year. After a slow start, this convention was an
incredible hit!
I spent five hours today walking the hall from one end, completely to
the other. In all that time, I still wasn't able to view more than half
of the booths. I found out later that my estimate of 250,000 square feet
of booth space that I mentioned in yesterday's newsletter was too low!
The convention actually used about 400,000 square feet (40,000 square
meters). If you have any thoughts of coming to next year's convention,
plan in advance to spend the full five days. There's simply no way that
you can see everything unless you allow yourself that much time. I also
highly recommend that you take out a small loan for spending money at
the show. After 30 years in the business I thought I had seen just about
everything, but there were hundreds of items that tempted me during
today's walk-through. This is such an incredible show that there are
cool collectibles for everyone. Everything costs, however, so it is a
great idea to bring far more cash than you think you need. It's sad to
be broke by Saturday afternoon...(click on image for large view)
One factor driving the increase in attendance was the steady growth in
comics sales during the past year. I had a conversation with one of the
Diamond executives yesterday, and he revealed to me that their advance
orders for comics are up 13% this year, while advance orders for trade
paperbacks are up an astounding 32%! It's such a nice feeling to know
that the comics industry is back into a growth mode!
As regards last evening's Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Auction, we had
a great time! I auctioned off the 32 items for a total of nearly
$10,000, with the Edgar Church cover bringing $1,750.00. With that level
of success, we're planning another auction, perhaps at Mid-Ohio Con, in
November. If we do one there, I'll contribute another piece of Edgar
Church art.
That's it for this last report from the convention, as I'm running out
of time. I wish I could have written more for you, but even in ten more
pages I'm not sure that I could have have put into words how wonderful
this convention can truly be. I do have some more pictures for you,
however, of many of my friends at the convention. Pam wasn't able to get
them labeled with individual names before the convention closed (our
booth was so busy she couldn't get to a computer!), but we'll try and
get them labeled on the website later this week. In the meantime, you
can see a nice cross section of the professional attendees of the show.
Everyone in the world comes to San Diego! We hope you'll join us next
year!
Happy collecting!
Chuck Rozanski,
President - Mile High Comics, Inc.
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Alberta Severino from Bud Plant Comic Art
The team from Motor City Comics (Detroit)
The guys at Michael Carbonarro's Neat Stuff Collectibles
S. Clay Wilson and Dan O'Neil
Jamie Graham of Graham Crackers Comics (Chicago)
Comics Historian Michelle Nolan
Spilled Milk Creator Parker Smart
Sergio Aragones!
Scott Rosenburg - Founder of Malibu Comics
Brian Froud and Family
Flaming Carrot's Bob Burden
Comics Guarantee Corporation Head Grader - Steve Borok
Jhonen Vasquez and Roman Dirge
Steve Leialoha
Young and Old Sergio (Kirby Shaw)!
Scott Shaw and Kirby Shaw!
Road to Perdition Author Max Allen Collins
Lou Ferrigno and Carla Ferrigno
Matt Hawkins (Top Cow) and DC's Vince Letterrio
Bud Plant and Philip Plant
The Mile High Comics 2002 Crew!
The Three Geeks....(Sean, Chuck, Will)
Mike Kunkle with wife Danielle, and kids Alec and Leigha
Colin Turner (Last Gasp!) and Rowan Rozanski
Havey Toys!
Daniel and Amy Baker
Rowan Rozanski with Billy Tucci
Fletcher Chu-Fong and Patty Jeres of DC Comics
Chris Claremont and David Brin
Chris Claremont and David Brin
Bob Wayne DC Vice President of Marketing
Chuck's best friend Ken Krueger
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