Down @ NYCC 2008 with Eric Nocella Diaz
It doesn't take a stretch of the imagination (nor further need for speculation) that I live my toy/comicbook/movie/pop-culture-life vicariously thru other folk's direct experiences (thru thy humble weblog and broadband-connection), and artist/creator/toy-sculptor-extraordinaire Eric Nocella Diaz of Goldmane Entertainment has graciously consented to my request for a Q&A (along with his generous snaps) about his own experience as both Exhibitor (Xmoor Studios Booth) and "walkee" at this year's New York Comic Con, which ended the weekend just ... included also are a number of con-pics, to share with all, as well as letting me have a wee "taste" of the festivities that I one day hope to experience for myself :) ... CLICKETH TO READ
TOYSREVIL: (i know this read nigh ignorant of me, but) did you set up shop @ NYCC in previous years? if so, how does this year's compare?
END: Yes. Robert Garrett (Writer /Creator of Galtow) and myself set up in Artist Alley for year one of the NYC con. Year two they claimed to have lost our application and we could not get the situation rectified in time to take part in the NYC con 2 (last year). We attended that con as "walkees" - but manged to show face and have a great time.
Every year the NYC con gets bigger and better. This year there were so many events and big name guests it was a bit overwhelming. Having a Xmoor Studios Exhibitor Booth on the main floor was well worth it for us this year - at times the crowd got so big it was a little difficult to get around at times. We actually laughed when the aisle we were in got so crowded you could barely walk through. We were like - "now this - is a real comic convention!"
[left-right: Xmoor Studios' Robert Garrett and Steven Harris of Nstevenworks]
TOYSREVIL: daymn - that sounds cool - wish i could've been there to add to the mob LOL - how was the booth action last weekend?
END: We very busy this year and moved a lot of the Galtow books, made some new fans, collectors. People were sold once we opened up the books and they saw the quality of the products we were selling. It was like "hey that's pretty darn good for a indy publisher". There was also a lot of repeat business from previous cons we attended plus I gave out a bunch of free posters to all the little kids that walked by the booth to show our support to them for making to the con. Seeing their faces light up was priceless.
TOYSREVIL: always a joy to put a smile on someone else's face, IMHO - what about the con this year did you enjoy the most? did you also do walkees besides manning your booth?
END: I liked the fact that there were other publishers there that I've never seen or heard of before with fresh new products. The con was very family friendly and the kids looked excited and happy buzzing around. I made the rounds here and there but still missed out on a ton of stuff. It's funny when you have friends, clients and associates at the con and you just never link up or miss each other. This was probably our busiest year so far - with the Galtow fan base growing even faster now the booth did get crowded up quite a bit.
TOYSREVIL: "crowded is good"! ... now, was there anything about the con that you did not enjoy? and why? (or possibly "what do you think they could improve upon next year?")
END: The costs for the booths were a bit pricey. This is a comic book convention for crying out loud and not everybody has endless resources like the big two comic giants. You'd think they'd have some adjusted rates or con deals for the smaller publishers that want a booth and not a Artist Alley table. The Small press booth space seemed a bit small for the price as well.
The other thing is Artist Alley - the first year they wrapped those tables around the whole con and it kept the crowd traffic flowing and not bunched up in one area. The second year it was waaay too small up on another floor and that was terribly over crowded and they almost doubled the price for them.
The wrap around format was the best and they should consider going back to that. The Artists are really what drive the cons anyway. I also liked watching the ESC Toy booth get mobbed up. Erick Scarecrow was a busy bee with the new stuff he dropped at the show. Got to see my good pal Kano and clients Manny Galan of the Dookie-Poo fame and Jared Deal of Carnival Cartoons.
[top-row: Erick Scarecrow from ESC Toy / KaNO
bottom-row: Manny Galan & Euralis Weeks / Soko Toys]
TOYSREVIL: *sweet*- even from covering both Erick's and Manny's goodies on my blog via pictures and im drooling_sweatin' like a wee geekfan LOL ... what did you score, Eric? (im living vicariously thru other's toy-experience LOL)
END: Nothing. I spent all my money on the Exhibitor Booth and coffee (more expensive than the booth!!!) .....actually - I picked up a regular Dookie-Poo for my wife, but that was it.
TOYSREVIL: hey, now that's a cool-score, IMHO! cheers for your time and trouble to entertain my curiosity, Eric LOL - in closing, what are your personal overall impressions and comments?
END: It was sheer exciting fun. This year we had good weather, faster moving lines and lot of smiles on all the kids faces. In spite my little complaints the powers that be did a great job setting up this years show. Each year it gets bigger and better and every effort is made to make it the biggest event for comics on the East Coast.
I look forward to the day the show takes over the entire Jacob Javitts Center - just thinking of that gives me goosebumps. We'll definitely be back next year (so Rob and I better start saving now, LOL). A big THANK YOU!!! goes out to everybody that stopped by our both and supported and our projects.
[ToyTokyo Booth]
[ALL images taken by Eric Nocella Diaz - thanks duder!]
