First Comics News: So Torpedo Collectors Con is for collectors of military hardware?
TorpedoCon: It will be the finest collection of vintage Torpedos the world has ever seen! Ha ha!
Joking aside, we’re a three day comic convention focused on gold/silver age comics, original comic art and other high end collectibles. That’s our home base. We love helping customers find their newest treasure with our two retail locations (One in Las Vegas and one in OC), and wanted to expand our ability to do that for people with this convention. The idea was: what if people could get a high grade Amazing Spider-Man 129, an original page AND a corn dog all in one place. Thus, Torpedo Collectors Con was born!
1 st: You are launching you inaugural TorpedoCon on the most popular week in comic convention history. What made this the right time for you?
TorpedoCon: So our inaugural show was actually in 2019. It was a one day event , and was solely focused on allowing attendees opportunities to find their grail pieces with the vendors in attendance. In 2021, we wanted to come back with a bang: more vendors and eight massive guests. For us, this weekend makes sense. It’s the time when fans are gearing up for convention season, peaking their heads out and looking for spaces to start hunting for books. We wanted to be a part of that.
1 st: Is this a one time event to fill the gap left by SDCC or is this the start of an annual event?
TorpedoCon: This is an ongoing event and we are extremely proud to say that.
1 st: What made the Hollywood Palladium the right venue?
TorpedoCon: For us it was a no brainer! The Palladium is a historic venue, right in the middle of the city and feels both connected to our California customer base and the glitz and glamour of our Las Vegas roots.
1 st: For anyone who doesn’t know what is the address?
TorpedoCon: 6215 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
1 st: As primarily a music venue, is it safe to assume the Hollywood Palladium has adequate parking?
TorpedoCon: That is a safe assumption, yes. Ha ha! The Palladium is a 3,800 capacity music venue, and has ample parking conveniently next to the venue.
1 st: What are the convention hours?
TorpedoCon: Friday July 23rd 2 PM – 9 PM
Saturday July 24th 10 AM – 5 PM
Sunday July 25th 10 AM – 5 PM
1 st: When you started contacting dealers and creators, what type of reaction did you get?
TorpedoCon: Pure excitement. For us, we remember a time where conventions were focused on the core of our industry: the comics. So there was a lot of positive feedback when dealers found out that it was a comics focused show, and wasn’t concerned with panels, television premieres or the like. We wanted to create an environment that was a collectors playground, you know?
1 st: How many dealer tables are you planning?
TorpedoCon: We are planning for space to accomodate 100 dealers tables
1 st: Are there any left? (If so please include how a deal books a table)
TorpedoCon: We have very little space left. Anybody interested in booking space should email info@torpedocollectorscon.com
1 st: Are there any publishers attending?
TorpedoCon: We have one that I’m pretty excited about: Stone King Productions. They are a really exciting publisher that produces innovative and terrifying horror material. They were founded in 2012 by Sandy King (who is a MONSTER horror writer) and her husband, director John Carpenter. Those two know how to craft a horror script, and work with incredible talent to produce bone chilling tales. If you couldn’t tell, we’re pretty stoked to have them at the show..
1 st: Will there be an artists ally?
TorpedoCon: No.
1 st: Who are the guests scheduled to appear?
TorpedoCon: Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Donny Cates, Frank Cho, Bill Sienkiewicz, Brian Azzarrello, Nick Spencer, Mark Brooks
1 st: Is that the complete list or are you holding back some surprises?
TorpedoCon: That is the list as it stands, but you never know with us!
1 st: Do you have to buy a separate VIP pass to get autographs?
TorpedoCon: Not at all! We offered a various number of VIP Passes for each guest. Most are ways for our attendees to “go hard” for their favorite creators and pre-purchase signatures at a discounted rate. I remember always wanting to get sketches at conventions, and both never knowing how to do that and always being too late on the draw. So our remarque packages were designed to help fans secure artwork from creators, and specifically creators who oftentimes don’t provide sketch/remarque opportunities at cons. I cannot wait to see what Frank Miller and Jim Lee sketch for fans. Their reactions are going to be golden.
That being said, the only event that requires a VIP Badge is Frank Miller. Guests must purchase a Frank Miller VIP pass to participate in his signings.
All other creators will be offering signatures to general admission guests, so there is no pressure to purchase VIP packages.
1 st: Is there a limit to how many autographs per person?
TorpedoCon: Nope! Guests are open to purchase as many signatures as they have books. We are limiting the number of sketch/remarque passes to two per person, as to allow a wider array of attendees to participate.
1 st: Will there be panels?
TorpedoCon: Not at this time
1 st: As a collectibles show is this primarily comics?
TorpedoCon: There will be a heavier focus on comic books, for sure. That’s not to say it’s exclusively comics. We have wonderful dealers coming that are bringing a ridiculous slate of original art–Jack Kirby pages ridiculous–and some dealers that are focused on graded video games.
The home base for the show is comic books, though.
1 st: Is this mostly modern comics or classic comics?
TorpedoCon: There will be a good mixture. With such a wide berth of tastes, our dealers are bringing the heat from all angles. Expect keys running the comics timeline. If you’re looking for something, this show is probably going to have it. For example, I just had a dealer contact me about bringing 30,000 raw keys and 4,000 graded books. That’s just for one dealer. It’s going to be insane.
1 st: Any exclusives planed for the convention?
TorpedoCon: Perhaps. Maybe? Why? Who told you?
1 st: When you are the convention promoter do you have to pay for the convention center in advance or is it a split on the ticket sales?
TorpedoCon: Every convention is set up differently, so it’s hard to give a general answer.
1 st: How does someone get tickets?
TorpedoCon: They can float on over to our website:
1 st: How many people will be allowed to attend?
TorpedoCon: Due to restrictions, we are capping the event at 1,000 per day.
1 st: San Diego ComicCon always sells out. Will there be tickets available at the door for TorpedoCon?
TorpedoCon: We’ve made sure that any fan wanting tickets will be able to get tickets at the door. It always sucks not being able to attend an event you were excited about.
1 st: For anyone unsure about the event, what makes TorpedoCon so cool no fan should miss out?
TorpedoCon: If you love comic books, this is the place for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re new into the space, or a greybeard like me, you’re going to want to come down and party with us. It will be an amazing assemblage of comics history, and over $50,000,000 of collectibles under one roof. There is going to be something for every collector, and an item that every collector goes “Wow, I’ve never seen that before!”
On top of that, you’ll have the opportunity to meet eight legends of the industry! It’s going to be a whirlwind three days! We really hope you come check it out
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