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 turing 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!

The Idiocy That Is South Carolina....

The announcement came out in yesterday's papers - the ACC is taking its baseball tournament out of Myrtle Beach, SC and moving it to Durham and Greensboro for the 2011 - 2013 editions. You can read it here or in The State - Columbia, SC newspaper.

The bottom line is that the tournament is being moved because the South Carolina Chapter of the NAACP didn't sign off on the tournament being held in Myrtle Beach. The NCAAP didn't sign off on the ACC baseball tournament - just as they haven't signed off on any pre-determined NCAA, SEC or ACC championship held in South Carolina - because the Confederate Flag is still flown on state capitol grounds.

If you can, try to forget that flying the symbol of a treasonist cause on state capitol grounds is wrong enough, just imagine all the tourist revenue South Carolina is missing out on by losing the ACC Baseball Tournament for three years. There were 39000+ fans that attended the 2009 tournament in Durham, NC. Now that most likely is not 39k different individuals but if you assume a moderate 8,000 middle-class fans with disposable income coming in to your town for five days or so over three years, that is a LOT of economic impact. That isn't counting the eight teams with their players, coaches, administrators, etc. needing hotel rooms, food and such - that's a bunch of moolah too...

Also figure that Durham, NC is not exactly a tourist hotspot and the prospects of higher attendance at tourist-mecca Myrtle Beach surely had the ACC head honchos salivating at the money they too would rake in for the event.

All the SC State Legislature needs to do is just take down the flag... do it quietly without fanfare and most likely, no one - or not many - will really even care or even notice. The fact that they won't do it is somewhere between idiocy and gutlessness. After all, it isn't like South Carolina is one of the more affluent states - they are perpetually at the bottom of nearly all economic and education statistical categories. By keeping the flag flying, what cause is the SC Legislature supporting? The right to do stupid - or thoughtless - things regardless of the consequences?

One definition of idiocy is continuing to do the same thing and expect a different result. Does the SC Legislature think that if they keep flying the flag, conference tournaments and NCAA championships will eventually tire of saying "NO" and come back running, arms extended, to South Carolina to hold their events? Not likely....

Read the articles linked above and better yet, read some of the comments posted at the bottom of each one and then make your own conclusions....

Will promise to write something comic book oriented next time... just had to get this off my chest.

2009 Orlando MegaCon 2009 - Our First Experience....

If any of you got the chance to see the photos from the post below, you will know that a LOT of folks had a LOT of fun at the 2009 Orlando MegaCon. My thoughts were if Heroes-Con and Dragon*Con got married and had a baby, it would be MegaCon.

You had the convention center environment and the large call for Golden Age, Silver Age and Bronze Age books that you get at Heroes-Con along with all the people dressed up and wierd stuff for sale that you see at Dragon*Con.

What really surprised me was the number of customers wanting the old stuff - I sort of went in thinking it was a more modern and anime/manga type show. Well, yes it is but if I had a "do over", I would have brought more old stuff than some of the dollar boxes I brought. We still did well and we are looking forward to next year's show - although....grrr... it is the same weekend as the ACC Basketball Tournament.

It was also my first time in Orlando... I know, I don't get out much... Really interesting city - sorta like "build it" and they will come. Since it is in the middle of Florida, there are no beaches but it comes off as a sun & fun type place. Convention center was huge - supposedly the second largest in the country. You are on the outside of the city proper so didn't get a real good look at downtown except for what we saw from the highway. Maybe one day I'll get to go to Disney World....

Anyway, we're starting to get a few shows on our schedule - HickoryCon in Hickory, North Carolina on May 9th, AdventureCon in Knoxville Tennessee on June 12-14, Heroes-Con in Charlotte North Carolina on June 19-21 and Dragon*Con in Atlanta on September 4-7 - will probably add a few more one day shows to the mix.

One of the shows we are looking hard at for next year is the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (or C2E2 for short) on April 16-18, 2010.

I'm in a writing mood so hang on - a lot of posts in the next few weeks....

Orlando MegaCon 2009 - Photo Gallery!

This was my first MegaCon and it certainly was well worth it. I'll write a blog entry in a couple of days with my observations. But until then, feast your eyes on Walkin' Willie's Orlando MegaCon Photo Gallery!

 

Walkin' Willie's Comix at Orlando MegaCon!

That's right! Walkin' Willie's Comix will be at The 2009 Orlando Megacon on February 27th through March 1st.

We are in booths 1124 and 1126 close to Artist Alley - click here to see a floor map - right click and click on "Zoom In" - we are on the right side.

This is the first time we have done this show and we are looking forward to it! Beat those winter blues and c'mon down to sunny Orlando, Florida!

The Secret Behind The Secret

It's almost as if one was a hermit if one hasn't heard of "The Secret" by Rhonda Byrne which provides a wonderful starting point for The Law Of Attraction. Now, if you don't know what The Law Of Attraction is, here is a Wikipedia article to help get you started. It is controversial - half of my family thinks it is great and half of them do not.

I only know one thing: It works for me.

Since I started using The Law Of Attraction in February 2007, I have found the love of my life and obtained 15 pounds towards my perfect weight (we don't say "lose weight" with the Law Of Attraction as "lose" is negative). I am also doing what I love and that is selling comic books on the internet and at comic conventions. I'm now back to living in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina. All that has happened in less than 2 years. Thing is, I'm not even trying very hard. Maybe The Law Of Attraction is nothing more than just being more focused in getting what you want..... I think it is a lot more than that.

I'm not going to deliver a sales pitch but if any of you out there want to get into The Law Of Attraction, here is the way I would do it if I were to do it again (I left out #2 below in my Law Of Attraction familiarization process).

1. Watch "The Secret" video - this is the best place to start and it's fairly entertaining to boot.

2. Check out some of the free stuff on the web like these Law Of Attraction videos by Michael Losier on YouTube or go to The Secret website and click on "Gifts For You" for a number of free Law Of Attraction goodies. A couple of really great PDF files there...all for free!

3. Listen to The Law Of Attraction CD by Esther and Jerry Hicks. This is a deeper treatment of The Law of Attraction and also includes The Law of Deliberate Creation and The Law of Allowing. My sister turned me on to this one.

4. Read Dr. Eric Amidi's The Secret Behind The Secret. This is a nut and bolts method for learning how to properly manifest your desires. This takes all the concepts used above and boils it down to practical application. Not only that but Dr. Amidi sends out a weekly newsletter with practical manifestation examples, affirmations and more.

There is so much more to The Law Of Attraction than can be put in a single blog entry but the resources are there.... all it takes is a little of your time and - if you get into deeply - very little of your money.

As usual, comments are welcome and solicited.

Normally I Don't Do This But....

Regardless of which side your on, this is a great campaign video...

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die