Rinker on Collectibles

RINKER ON COLLECTIBLES — Column #1446

Batman and NYC ComicCon: Another Event Checked Off My Antiques and Collectibles Bucket List

When I became the editor of “Warman’s Antiques and their Prices” in 1981, I made a list of antiques and collectibles collectors’ clubs, events, flea markets, and shows that I wanted to attend at least once during my career. I did not realize my career would span four decades and that I would visit some of these venues dozens of times.

The venues I visited were badges of honor, talking points with others in the trade when we swapped “war stories.” I visited many of the venues in their prime. Some, such as the Ann Arbor Antiques Market, I attended long after its glory days. Tragically, I watched the slow decline of several fabulous shows. Atlantique City, Arlington Park Antiques Show, and the D. S. Clark show circuit are examples.

As new events, flea markets, and shows arose, I added them to my list. My antiques and collectibles bucket list is now very short. Number One on the list was to attend a ComicCon, ideally in New York City or San Diego. I crossed this off my list on Thursday, October 9, when I attended the New York ComicCon held at Javits Center in New York City.

As my regular readers are aware, I am a member of the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC), a group of 15 individuals appointed by the Postmaster General to advise him on the subjects and designs of United States postal stamps. Having served on CSAC for three years, I have the privilege of witnessing the release of stamps in which I had a voice.

CSAC members are invited to attend First Day of Issue (FDOI) ceremonies. In the past, I attended the FDOI ceremonies for the Rosa Park stamp, the Charlton Heston stamp, and the Korean War Medal of Honor stamps. When the United States Postal Service announced that the FDOI ceremony for the Batman: 75th Anniversary stamp pane (sheet) would be held prior to the opening of the New York ComicCon, I had to be there. Participation in the FODI ceremony included a one-day admission to ComicCon.

[Author’s Aside: The new Batman: 75th Anniversary stamp pane is spectacular. Designed by Greg Breeding of Journey Group using artwork supplied by DC Entertainment/Warner Brothers, the stamp pane honors four different Batman eras – golden, silver, bronze, and modern. Each of the four Batman images is supplemented by the Batman symbol appropriate to that era. The symbols also are stamps.]

The FDOI issue ceremony featured comic book artists Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, co-publishers of DC Comics. Jim Lee’s artwork is featured on one of the Batman stamps. Following the ceremony, Lee, DiDio, and Breeding joined others involved in the FDOI ceremony at an autograph table in a United States Postal Service booth in which a host of FDOI Batman material was offered for sale. Although I promised Linda my collecting days were over (do not believe this for one second), I secured two FDOI posters signed by all the ceremony participants. I blame Linda for my digression. She asked me to pick up something for two of our grandsons -- Ian and Marzelo. As it turns out, Ian and Marzelo will be getting copies of the FDOI poster but not the signed examples. Opa (Grandpa) is keeping these for the time being.

(left to right): Dan DiDio, Jim Lee, and Joseph Cochrane, U.S. Postal Serivce Chief Information Officer and Executive Vice President, sign autographs in the USPS booth following the dedication ceremony for the Batman stamp pane.

The FDOI autograph session ended around 11:45 AM. The doors to ComicCon opened at noon. When I arrived for the FDOI ceremony preliminaries at 8:45 AM, the line already wrapped around the Javits Center and beyond. I can only image its length by noon.

When the doors opened, the stampede to enter the show lasted over one-half hour. Although the crowd consisted of individuals of all ages, it was dominated by the 18 to 45 age group. Some parents decided their children would learn more at ComicCon than at school. While true, what they learned is open to interpretation.

ComicCon was nothing like I expected. I credit this to my (1) naiveté and (2) being too focused on collecting and not enough on character fascination. I expected to see rows and rows of comic book dealers and some sellers of comic book related merchandise. I looked forward to intellectual discussions with some of the dealers relative to the current state of the comic book and comic book collectibles market. It did not happen.

Metropolis Comics' booth -- what I thought ComicCon would be like.

New York ComicCon consisted of 31 rows, with booths on each side. Adding the total number of gold, silver, and bronze age comic book dealers together, they would be hard pressed to fill three of these rows. These comic book dealers were located at the far end of the show, the quiet corner. The comic book customers were considerably older than the crowd average, an example of an age based customer base. The majority of the attendees appeared to have little interest in gold, silver, and bronze age comics. The present is the “in” era.

Attending a Science Fiction (SyFi) convention is on my antiques and collectibles bucket list. After attending the NYC ComicCon, I am tempted to cross it off my list. I spotted Princess Lea and numerous Star Wars supporting characters. There had to be an equal number of Star Trek character participants, but I did not see them during the two and one-half hours I was in attendance. I lost count of the Lord of the Rings, especially Gandolf, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones characters. The only consolation was that only1 in 25 participants were in costume.

If comic book dealers comprised less than 10 percent of the available space, who occupied the other 90 percent of the convention hall space? The first group consisted of comic book publishers such as Dark Horse, main stream publishers such as Disney, Penguin Group, and Random House, specialized publishers such as MacFarland and Schiffer Publishing, and independent publishers, often promoting only one comic title. The second group was toy manufacturers, such as McFarlane Toys. Video game manufacturers and dealers selling video games were a third group. The fourth group consisted of individual artist or dealers selling original comic book art. The New York ComicCon featured an artist gallery where individual artists could hawk and sign their art and related products.

The wide variety of licensed products that accurately depicted characters did not bother me. The stuffed toys were an entirely different matter.

The two biggest groups were costume sellers and contemporary toy sellers. There were booths devoted only to wigs or masks. The focus was not on adult related material. ComicCon is not for kids. While I may mentally drift into a fantasy world on occasion, it is clear that more people than I ever imaged are involved in serious dress-up fantasy. Where? The Lord only knows. This costume material is not cheap. In fact, I left ComicCon feeling that everything was expensive.

T-Shirts and more -- what ComicCon was like.

For the sake of argument, I am including the T-shirt and logo material sellers in the costume seller category. Given their number, the T-shirt and logo dealers easily could be a separate category.

I was overwhelmed by the number of comic book, movie, and science fiction licensed product I saw. Even the most minor comic books, movies, and science fiction characters had licensed product. I failed to recognize more than half of the characters pictured on booth walls or placards.

I was disturbed my inability to identify many of the characters of the costumed participants. I had no trouble recognizing Batman, Superman, or Gandolf. The characters that most baffled me were the females, most of whom appeared to be wearing just enough fabric to avoid an indecent or public lewdness charge. I am no prude, but…….

The aisles were packed. Movement was possible only by extending one’s elbows and pushing forward. An attempt to linger and study the contents of a booth caused a traffic jam. When I talked with several individuals about the crowd, the standard reaction was: “This is nothing. Wait until Saturday.”

What did I learn from attending the New York ComicCon? First, I did not do my homework. I should have been better prepared to deal with what I found. Second, I need to revisit the secondary market for comic book, movie, and science fiction merchandise. While certain that interest in a majority of the characters will not last more than a decade, it is critical to understand the immediate, speculative secondary market.

Finally, I need a costume. Ballou the Bear (my secret ambition to play Ballou at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom) will not work. Gandolf is not me. I am way too big to play Yoda. Maybe Violator from Spawn is the answer.

Rinker Enterprises and Harry L. Rinker are on the Internet. Check out www.harryrinker.com.

You can listen and participate in WHATCHA GOT?, Harry’s antiques and collectibles radio call-in show, on Sunday mornings between 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM Eastern Time. If you cannot find it on a station in your area, WHATCHA GOT? streams live and is archived on the Internet at www.gcnlive.com.

SELL, KEEP OR TOSS? HOW TO DOWNSIZE A HOME, SETTLE AN ESTATE, AND APPRAISE PERSONAL PROPERTY (House of Collectibles, an imprint of the Random House Information Group, $17.99), Harry’s latest book, is available at your favorite bookstore and via www.harryrinker.com.

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