Mile High comics not returning to SDCC

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by CKinSD

over the years this has been the case for most vendors of comics at
SDCC. i know quite a few that used to get 6 booths and have great displays and almost anything you could need but now have dropped to one or two booths or have decided to no longer do the SDCC monster. It is NOT a comic convention any longer. it is a convention for multi-media. Chuck was always there though and is one of the big names in LCS stores still.

Sing of the times. The only thing that hasn't changed is the name of the convention, which is now misleading, I suppose. A buddy of mine who has owned and operated a comic shop for nearly 25 years, says he can't rely on comic sales alone to pay the bills. Gaming, cards, and merchandising is now a huge part of it. Thing is, all that costs lots of money. It's hard to buy that much stock on spec. All this to say I don't think we can point to variants as the main reason why Mile High was 10k in the red at the end of SDCC. I think the number of people buying back issues has plummeted too. My thinking is that the person looking to buy silver age Hulk #2 isn't the same fellow looking for a variant of New-52 Batman #3. However, there's definitely something to be said about the publishers hogging all the variants for themselves.

[Spazzy]

It has been a few years since I had gone to a con, and about 5 years since sdcc (went 10 years in a row before that) I noticed a very steady decline in comic booths which is a bit sad, I think booths there are around $5k which I just don't see a lot of comic stores making it worthwhile to attend. I went to dallas comic con a month or so ago and I was actually looking for books and there were not too many booths selling and it wasn't a huge show, I came out of it disappointed as most books I was looking for were way overpriced, I am not basing it off of auctions but the average prices they sell for on ebay and other online shops.

People will always go for what is new and pretty and back issues aren't just as popular anymore especially since you can get collected versions for much less and convenience of space.

I remember years ago Before ebay I had a blast hunting at cons, ebay definitely makes it a bit less personal.

[Bullseye]

The fact that it's almost impossible for first timers to go anymore means it's dying a slow death unless they change.

[Underdog07]

It certainly doesn't help mile high that they over price most of their books. I stopped looking at there comics ages ago due to that issue.

As for variants - I am shocked that a book sells just because it has a different cover. With the.internet, you can always look at the variants so owning them plays into the completist mentality.

[Underdog07]

Originally Posted by Bullseye

The fact that it's almost impossible for first timers to go anymore means it's dying a slow death unless they change.

With being at capacity and having over 100 thousand attend and people lining up days in advance to get in, I do not see how they are dying.

[Simplyrob]

Doesn't Mile High have their own exclusive variants?

[ReplicantSavior]

Originally Posted by Underdog07

It certainly doesn't help mile high that they over price most of their books. I stopped looking at there comics ages ago due to that issue.

I only buy from MHC when they have stuff on sale. That's normal price then.

They need to update their website too. It's hard to find stuff unless you type it in exactly as they entered it with the publication date.

Originally Posted by Simplyrob

Doesn't Mile High have their own exclusive variants?

Yep. Which makes the article kind of strange. And I looked and didn't see exclusive comics from Marvel and DC on the SDCC site. So I don't know who MHC is talking about specifically.

[joefixit2]

That's why I go to Heroes every year, it is just about comics and comic fans.

[risingstar]

Originally Posted by ReplicantSavior

Yep. Which makes the article kind of strange. And I looked and didn't see exclusive comics from Marvel and DC on the SDCC site. So I don't know who MHC is talking about specifically.

He may have meant/included exclusive toys and other comics-related memorabilia. For example, there was a cool Infinity Gauntlet glove toy exclusive at the con which is now selling for $150 on the bay. There was also a neat Jabba exclusive. Hasbro put out some interesting stuff this year at SDCC.

Mile High comes off a bit entitled. He can't compare SDCCs 40 years apart. While I can certainly understand the frustration in seeing companies produce their own exclusives and choosing not to share them with dealers, it's not like it's a law to do so. Yes, it is poor form to exclude dealers from the exclusives, but that's what happens at these bigger cons. It's hard to resist the cash grab, especially since the cost in reserving space is so high. If everyone had the exclusives, there would be no buzz about them too.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/SDCC-2014-HA...item1e8f4650c0


http://www.ebay.com/itm/SDCC-2014-Ha...item2a3dcb9550

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hasbro-Star-...item46243c7857

[carlito1978]

fascinating read:

http://www.milehighcomics.com/tales/cbg12.html