Big Apple Con
Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City
January 19 & 20, 2007

My main reason for attending this show was to distribute cards for the Mid-Jersey Comicon, the one-day comic event sponsored by me and Redhead Fangirl. Usually I would just mail a stack of cards to Brendan Faulkner, a dealer friend, and ask him to put them out. I hadn’t seen Brendan or his wife Robin in months, and admission to this show was free. What the hell? I decided to attend the show.

Big Apple Con is conveniently located across the street from Penn Station. Don’t become too accustomed to this – one of the dealers remarked that the Hotel Pennsylvania might be demolished within two years. If so, a true New York City landmark will be sacrificed in favor of a luxury high-rise apartment building. Hotel Pennsylvania played host to Glenn Miller’s weekly radio broadcasts in the 1940s, and its telephone number (the oldest business number in the city) was immortilized by Miller’s hit tune “Pennsylvania 6-5000.”

Several comic dealers were hawking new and vintage comic books, and offering substantial discounts. One dealer at my Mid-Jersey Comicon has remarked that he LOATHES the concept of “dollar books,” and believes that they “degrade a show.” Judging from the number of discount boxes at Big Apple Con, the Dollar Books have become a fact of life. I wonder how many dealers depend on these discounted gems and dregs to clear their expenses.

A complete 4-issue set of Tarzan: The Lost Adventure (Dark Horse, 1994) set me back by six dollars. These issues originally cost $2.95 each, and were later compiled in a hardcover edition. One dealer had magazines for 50 cents each. I purchased an issue of Starlog from 1989, featuring a Julie Newmar interview, and an issue of Playboy, featuring a pictorial of the woman who seduced Frank Gifford.

Prices seem unreasonably high of other comic books. One dealer had a high-grade copy of The Shadow #1 (DC Comics, 1973) for seventy-five dollars. If you’re patient, and settle for a less-than-perfect copy, you can probably find this for five bucks. Silver-Age copies of The Amazing Spider-Man ranged from somewhat high to outrageous – an issue from 1972 could range anywhere from $20 to $65. Once more, if you settle for “fine condition” you might get these same issues for five bucks each, but then these books aren’t being marketed to people who actually want to read them.

The Special Guest is the section of the convention area where non-comic guests sign autographs. Usually, this is where you’ll find actors, wrestlers, and former porn-starlets, but this section was nearly deserted on Friday. Even the tumbleweed stayed home. My pal CJ Henderson, who has written more books that you have read, was located downstairs, tucked away by the escaltor. Honestly, there were so many empty tables upstairs, they could have allowed him to set up on the main floor on Friday. It’s probably difficult to turn down a table at Big Apple Con, but when you’re safely hidden from view, what’s the point?

There were a few illustrators scattered among Artists Alley, but most of them were unfamiliar to me. Some artists were established pros who hadn’t reached superstar status. Other artists were struggling indie creators aspiring to “established pro” status.

Some of the dealers were making money, but many were hoping that business would pick up on Saturday. Alas, I would have gone back to Manhattan for the second day, but I was loathe to spend another twenty dollars on the round-trip train ticket. It’s unfortunate, since I wasn’t able to hang out with some of my comic pals … and because I missed an opportunity to meet my original heart-throb … Gwen Stacey, the first and only woman for Peter Parker.

But I’ll elaborate upon that later ...