By Lee Hester, owner of Lee's Comics of California.
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
SAN MATEO FREE COMIC BOOK DAY
(Regal) Ryan Brent, the manager of our San Mateo store just sent me these photos of his Free Comic Book Day crowd. As you can see, there was quite a turn-out! Check out our San Mateo location if you have a chance. Ryan and his great staff, have been making it better all the time.
Monday, May 07, 2012
CAPITOLA BEACH
In order to unwind a little, we loaded up the dogs and headed to the beach on Sunday. We were amazed that it only took us a little over a half an hour to get to Capitola beach from our home in San Jose. The traffic was excellent. We were also amazed to find a parking spot right by the beach. We took the dogs off leash and let them play their favorite doggy sport. We call it Doggy Football. You can see how it works in the photos below. Connie throws the Frisbee, and Molly (The little dog) runs like mad and does a spectacular catch, thrilling onlookers. Then Humphrey (The Big dog) grabs it out of Molly's mouth, and brings it back to the thrower, amusing onlookers. I soon took over for Connie in the throwing. Molly must have caught the Frisbee fifty times. In the evening, we headed to Pizza My Heart for a slice, checked out some of the great stores, and then got some Ice Cream. It was the perfect way to relax after a hectic Free Comic Book Day. I have a felling we'll be going back real soon.
Connie throws the Frisbee. Molly hauls out after it, with Humphrey trailing.
Molly caught it, but Humphrey has taken it away.
Humphrey brings back the Frisbee.
Hannah, Sophie, and Connie.
Connie throws the Frisbee. Molly hauls out after it, with Humphrey trailing.
Molly caught it, but Humphrey has taken it away.
Humphrey brings back the Frisbee.
Hannah, Sophie, and Connie.
CASH MOB!
Have you heard the new phrase, "Cash Mob"? It's like when a bunch of people organize a "Flash Mob", but instead of irritating onlookers with their lameness, they delight an independent retailer by visiting his or her store on mass and spending at least $20 per person.
Free Comic Book Day at Lee's Comics 2012 was like a Cash Mob! This was, by far, our busiest Free Comic Book Day yet. We haven't seen a single day of sales this good for many years! It didn't hurt that the Avengers opened the day before, smashing all previous box office records, and delighting nearly all fans and critics. A bunch of us Bay Area dealers got together and ran full-page color gang ads in the Mercury News and Metro newspaper to promote the event. I also ran an ad in the Daily Post, and did a mass mailing to my customers. There was also a great deal of Free Comic Book Day talk on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. I think it's safe to say that the general public likes comic book characters. Even when I was at the beach the next day, I saw many people were wearing a shirts adorned with their favorite Super-Heros. These characters seem to be here to stay.
There was a nice big line of people before the event began, and that line kept up for most of the day. As usual, I set up a stand outside to give out the free comics. My friend Mark Arnold assisted me as he has done every year. It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day here, and families were coming in by the carload. I like to give the comics away outside, so that everyone knows that there are no strings attached. You can take your comics and leave if you want. Amazingly, almost everyone went inside and shopped. For much of the day the line for the register wrapped all the way around the store. Everyone had a ball!
Artist Tom Rollinger showed up at noon and started sketching, mostly for tips. People really enjoyed his artwork. He was mobbed the whole time. This is his 2nd year here at Free Comic Book Day. He will be back again. We'll be making this an annual tradition.
Even though we upped out orders on comics, we totally ran out by 5:00 pm. This was unfortunate, but out advertising did advise that people come early for best selection. We substituted by letting late comers pick comics from the bargain bins. Next year, we will up our orders even more, but make sure to come early! Thank you to everyone who attended! I had a great time being entertained by everyone. Comic book fans are the greatest! Now for some photos from the event:
The line starts forming.
Assisted by the intrepid Mark Arnold.
The store is mobbed.
People loved the Lee's Comics Frisbees!
We were giving away 100 per store.
They were the first item to go.
Hundreds of people of all ages had a ball choosing their free comics.
Animation artist Tom Rollinger delighted the crowds.
Free Comic Book Day at Lee's Comics 2012 was like a Cash Mob! This was, by far, our busiest Free Comic Book Day yet. We haven't seen a single day of sales this good for many years! It didn't hurt that the Avengers opened the day before, smashing all previous box office records, and delighting nearly all fans and critics. A bunch of us Bay Area dealers got together and ran full-page color gang ads in the Mercury News and Metro newspaper to promote the event. I also ran an ad in the Daily Post, and did a mass mailing to my customers. There was also a great deal of Free Comic Book Day talk on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. I think it's safe to say that the general public likes comic book characters. Even when I was at the beach the next day, I saw many people were wearing a shirts adorned with their favorite Super-Heros. These characters seem to be here to stay.
There was a nice big line of people before the event began, and that line kept up for most of the day. As usual, I set up a stand outside to give out the free comics. My friend Mark Arnold assisted me as he has done every year. It was a beautiful, bright, sunny day here, and families were coming in by the carload. I like to give the comics away outside, so that everyone knows that there are no strings attached. You can take your comics and leave if you want. Amazingly, almost everyone went inside and shopped. For much of the day the line for the register wrapped all the way around the store. Everyone had a ball!
Artist Tom Rollinger showed up at noon and started sketching, mostly for tips. People really enjoyed his artwork. He was mobbed the whole time. This is his 2nd year here at Free Comic Book Day. He will be back again. We'll be making this an annual tradition.
Even though we upped out orders on comics, we totally ran out by 5:00 pm. This was unfortunate, but out advertising did advise that people come early for best selection. We substituted by letting late comers pick comics from the bargain bins. Next year, we will up our orders even more, but make sure to come early! Thank you to everyone who attended! I had a great time being entertained by everyone. Comic book fans are the greatest! Now for some photos from the event:
The line starts forming.
Assisted by the intrepid Mark Arnold.
The store is mobbed.
People loved the Lee's Comics Frisbees!
We were giving away 100 per store.
They were the first item to go.
Hundreds of people of all ages had a ball choosing their free comics.
Animation artist Tom Rollinger delighted the crowds.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
NEW FOR FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!
Everyone at Lee's Comics is looking forward to a fabulous Free Comic Book Day!
To add to the fun, were giving away free Lee's Comics Frisbees at both stores.
100 per store. One per family, while they last.
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
AUSHENKER DOES SIMPSONS!
I was very happy to see my pal Michael Aushenker hit the big time! He's the writer of the feature story on Bart Simpson Comics, which is now on sale at Lee's Comics. They don't hire just anyone to write the Simpsons, you know. This very issue also features the great Sergio Aragones. Grab your copy while they last!
Thursday, April 26, 2012
NEW DC LOGO
Just for fun, I created my own version of a vintage DC Logo. Am I an internet Meme, yet?
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF COMICS
When I was a kid, my favorite time of the week would be when Walt Disney's "Wonderful World of Color" would come on TV. The whole family would rush to the sofa, just like the Simpsons do, to enjoy an hour of delight. I thought about this, because I just got back from the WonderCon, which moved to Anaheim this year. It was held in the convention center, right across the street from Disneyland. The original name for WonderCon was "The Wonderful World of Comics", but they shortened the name over the years. I just realized the connection.
I took a couple of years off doing major conventions, and quite a few people stopped by to remind me that I swore them off. The reason I got back, is that my stock of vintage comics has grown tremendously. I work on back issues pretty much full time, and I have a full time staff member, Nik Houser, assisting me with them. Richard Garcia is constantly pricing back issues for me, and the rest of the staff is busy packaging them up between sales. I've got about 10x the stock since I last did conventions. I've mostly been selling the back issues on my ebay store, but I wanted to see how they would do at a big show.
I'm keeping my return to conventions lean and mean. I did the WonderCon, and will be doing the San Diego con out of 1 booth, rather than the 2 I used to take up. My only staff member is my son. The idea is to keep the booth simple, and keep expenses down. We had 3 different items categories that we were displaying. We brought the "Wall Comics". Those are all the back issues with a value of $20 or over. We brought the Pure Hero shirts. We brought about 20 boxes full of $2 vintage comics bargains.
Despite the weather, It was an easy, pleasant ride both to and from the convention. The weather was very cooperative. It wasn't raining there or back. Set up was easy. We drove up behind the convention center and unloaded the van. Everything fit on 1 palette, which was quickly forklifted in. We spent the day getting the displays and merchandise set up just right. I think we got just the right mixture of display. We also had enough room to move around the booth comfortably, which is a feature that is often overlooked in booth planning.
The $2 vintage comics were popular, and we sold around 3 boxes full. That probably paid for the booth. We sold a few shirts, probably enough to pay for the gas we used getting to and from the show. Most of the volume came from the Wall books. Sales on them were good, but most of the sales did go to dealers. A notable sale was an Avengers #1 CGC 4.0 (very good), which sold for $1,100 to a dealer who was set up right across from me.
I thought the show was pretty good, and enjoyable. What I heard from the dealers I talked to is that they felt that they would have done better in San Francisco. I was right next to the huge T-Shirt tower, and I didn't see nearly the number of people swarming around it as usual. The vibe I get is that most people did slightly better than break even. I think that the convention folks should work on getting this show back to the Bay Area where is is better established. Since they did okay in Anaheim, they might want to add a show there to take care of the San Diego overflow.
Anyway, it feels great to be back home.
Lee IV and Me at the Booth. Photo by my pal Oscar Benjamin.
Here's a beach towel I bought at a nearby gift store. Comics culture is now mainstream culture.
Here's a detail from a tower of posters at the convention. A fan favorite Neal Adams cover. These posters are from large poster companies. Comics culture is now mainstream culture.
I've got to admit, the posters from Before Watchmen look mighty cool.
The WonderCon had a very large artist's alley.
There is always a little sadness when the glittering weekend world you knew is heaving it's last sigh.
I took a couple of years off doing major conventions, and quite a few people stopped by to remind me that I swore them off. The reason I got back, is that my stock of vintage comics has grown tremendously. I work on back issues pretty much full time, and I have a full time staff member, Nik Houser, assisting me with them. Richard Garcia is constantly pricing back issues for me, and the rest of the staff is busy packaging them up between sales. I've got about 10x the stock since I last did conventions. I've mostly been selling the back issues on my ebay store, but I wanted to see how they would do at a big show.
I'm keeping my return to conventions lean and mean. I did the WonderCon, and will be doing the San Diego con out of 1 booth, rather than the 2 I used to take up. My only staff member is my son. The idea is to keep the booth simple, and keep expenses down. We had 3 different items categories that we were displaying. We brought the "Wall Comics". Those are all the back issues with a value of $20 or over. We brought the Pure Hero shirts. We brought about 20 boxes full of $2 vintage comics bargains.
Despite the weather, It was an easy, pleasant ride both to and from the convention. The weather was very cooperative. It wasn't raining there or back. Set up was easy. We drove up behind the convention center and unloaded the van. Everything fit on 1 palette, which was quickly forklifted in. We spent the day getting the displays and merchandise set up just right. I think we got just the right mixture of display. We also had enough room to move around the booth comfortably, which is a feature that is often overlooked in booth planning.
The $2 vintage comics were popular, and we sold around 3 boxes full. That probably paid for the booth. We sold a few shirts, probably enough to pay for the gas we used getting to and from the show. Most of the volume came from the Wall books. Sales on them were good, but most of the sales did go to dealers. A notable sale was an Avengers #1 CGC 4.0 (very good), which sold for $1,100 to a dealer who was set up right across from me.
I thought the show was pretty good, and enjoyable. What I heard from the dealers I talked to is that they felt that they would have done better in San Francisco. I was right next to the huge T-Shirt tower, and I didn't see nearly the number of people swarming around it as usual. The vibe I get is that most people did slightly better than break even. I think that the convention folks should work on getting this show back to the Bay Area where is is better established. Since they did okay in Anaheim, they might want to add a show there to take care of the San Diego overflow.
Anyway, it feels great to be back home.
Lee IV and Me at the Booth. Photo by my pal Oscar Benjamin.
Here's a beach towel I bought at a nearby gift store. Comics culture is now mainstream culture.
Here's a detail from a tower of posters at the convention. A fan favorite Neal Adams cover. These posters are from large poster companies. Comics culture is now mainstream culture.
I've got to admit, the posters from Before Watchmen look mighty cool.
The WonderCon had a very large artist's alley.
There is always a little sadness when the glittering weekend world you knew is heaving it's last sigh.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
