San Diego Comic Con Report

Overwhelming—if there was a word to describe the feeling of being at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con that is it. I have never been so exhausted in my life—but it was worth it. We came with a mission: to let as many people as we could know about Vampirella Revelations, Vampi’s return to comics this fall. We succeeded.

The staff discussed beforehand how many copies of issue #0 to bring. Appearing in comic shops this September, we had completed it early enough to bring with us to the Con. Since it was priced at 25-cents we thought we might as well just give it away—we didn’t want to be lugging sacks of quarters back with us on the plane back to New York. So remembering how we usually do at Comic-Con, we sent 2,500 copies fearing that might actually be too many. Well, our fears were unfounded. By early Sunday we had given them all away.

It was in small part due to the guests who joined us throughout the show. Revelations #0 interior artist Mike Lilly and cover artist Joe Jusko sat at our booth each day signing and sketching for fans eager to meet them. The highlight though may have been a visit by Forry Ackerman on the Saturday of the Con. Vampi’s co-creator was hosting a panel later that evening but made sure to stop by. Despite recent health issues, he still looked full of life and so excited to greet some fans, sign their books and check out what we were up to with his beloved character.

We took the opportunity of the con to sell some things we wouldn’t normally place on eBay or our webstore, hard-to-find Vampi merch that the most die-hard fan couldn’t do without: shotglasses, Christmas ornaments, busts, bronze statues and, of course, the Vampirella Limited Edition guitar. Just as with the #0 issue, we sold out of nearly everything we brought making for one of the most successful Cons in recent years. The best part of these shows is always meeting the fans. Sometimes in this industry the only way you can really know how well you’re doing is by looking at sales charts. But those numbers are just dead lines on paper, they don’t represent the devotion of fans that’s lasted for decades. And it’s only here at these Cons that you can finally put a face on those numbers. A countless number came by and wished us well with the new series, promising to promote it to their local comic shops. Many stopped and chatted with us about everything from past and potential future Vampirella movies to their favorite artists and writers to their favorite moments in Vampi’s history and on and on. By Sunday I got hoarse from talking so much with the fans. It was one of those golden moments when you realize, Hey, I’m not alone—there’s people out there with as much if not more passion for this than myself. And it was so great to see that. Can’t wait for next year! —Bon Alimagno