Aberdeen Pavilion / "Cattle Castle"
Hours: 10am to 4pm
Admission: FREE
Attendance - 800 - 1,000.
I went to an Ottawa comic convention for the first time. As described, it was a Card show/Comic convention with a rough 50/50 split between the two types of dealers. Some of the card dealers had more than cards, it was not uncommon to see boxes of sport magazines of various types and other paraphernalia.
When I came in, I was handed a magazine titled The Want List that was all about hockey cards with a few side articles. There was one comic related thing and that was Todd McFarlane Toys bit about his adding a "collector level program" to identify the supply/difficulty in getting their various figures.
Comic dealers had your standard back issue box and wall display of pricey back issues. There were plenty of trades to be found, but all of the dealers had them in long boxes and not on a bookshelf like some dealers do at other conventions.
There was a mix of material there from all the ages and even some trades of indy stuff. I saw Brad MacKay of the Doug Wright Awards there recommending dealers to friends who had some of the more high art/lit publishers books available. The biggest creator name with a table was Alvin Schwartz, Golden Age DC Comics writer, best known for writing Superman and the 1st Bizarro story.
Alvin Schwartz
There were a couple of small press comic writers there as well, they were Jimmy Suzan and Brett Kelly.
Jimmy Suzan
Anne-Marie Frigon and Brett Kelly
Not set up but walking around was Tom Fowler, better known for his Mad Magazine work.
I showed up a bit after 11am and stuck around after the show to help a dealer friend load up his van. The convention was never too crowded which was nice. A few folks who've been to multiple conventions in the city said they liked the place they were in this time. The building had a very high ceiling and lots of high windows letting in lots of natural light. There was plenty of room to expand too. As it was the middle of November they had the heat turned on but it was fairly warm outside and the extra heat was not needed. By 4pm it was pretty warm, especially for those loading up their booths.
I went around towards the end of the show and asked the comic dealers how the show went. Most of them said it was slow, not as bad as the last show but not as good as they were expecting. I noticed some card dealers were packing up and leaving at 3pm which is typically not a good sign. Most comic dealers began to pack up around 3:30-4pm-ish. Another nice thing about the building was that dealer vehicles could pull right in on to the floor, or up close to a different set of doors. This made set up/tear down and getting in/out much quicker and easier.
I enjoyed the convention as it was laid back and I could browse the long boxes without feeling cramped or rushed. The demographics was primarily male, but I did notice some younger women buying back issues of Looney Toons comics on a budget. I picked up some books for myself and some friends. Dealers were selling at discounted prices and there were some good deals to be had. I'd be willing to go again in the future.
Regards,
http://www.TheGraphicNovels.com
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