Wednesday, July 29, 2009

SDCC What is your day job, new post Aug 1st (UPDATED Nov 2011 with video added)

I can never seem to find a way to really capture the Con experience... however there is a You Tube video by a group called "Big Time Attic" that gives you some idea...

They interview attendees in costume and ask them "What's your real life day job?"

One of my favorite parts of the con is the fun and talent of the "cos players" wandering the convention hall... and outside...

Click arrow below to play this clip.....




I also just discovered a documentary on You Tube about the Heroes Convention in NC. This video gives you a glimpse of the con from the artist and fan POV, with interviews with the artists, including my personal favorite, John Cassaday. This clip titled "Heroes Documentary - Part I" shows the world of comic artists for whom the comic world is their day job...



Also seen at SDCC 2009...

Pixar artsits Enrico Casarosa and Ronnie del Carmen at the Red Window booth:


Enrico was also selling t-shirts with sketches of him trying to do yoga. The shirt was very popular... not only at his booth, but I actually saw people wearing the shirt during the con.

Here is artist Bill Plympton stopping by our booth and looking at Peter de Seve original art.

Spongebob! According to a recent survey, not everyone knows who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, but we all know who lives in a pineapple under the sea :)

The Chris Sanders Booth, right behind us....
this snap is from load-out after the con closed.. the only time I managed to see Chris's booth. I love his sketchbooks!!! If you like his animals, also check out the art of T.S. Sullivant.

Behind the Scenes at Stuart Ng Books 7/29, we're back from Comic Con

JUST ARRIVED WEDNESDAY.... NOW IN STOCK. Wendling "Daisies" sketchbook:









We're back from Comic Con....Here's our banner from booth # 5012.







And here are some views of the booth interior....


We we so pleased to debut our new publication... Claire Wendling's "Daisies." This stunning all new sketchbook of Claire's most recent work was at the printers during the con... we were able to have one box air shipped to us during the show... and it sold out so fast I didn't even get a picture of it. Not to worry. The rest of the print run is en route to us now. In the snap above, you can see an original from the sketchbook hanging above the rack of Wendling books.



We are unpacking boxes this week. Watch here and on the NEW ARRIVALS page of our website for titles and prices of artist sketchbooks. Many, many artists contacted Stuart and asked him to handle post-con sales of their books. We are so grateful for the support of these artists and our patrons.



Below is a view of the booth interior.. near the front entrance...







The exterior grid with Posters of books in stock and coming soon...






And here's Stuart inside the booth. On the grid is one of the special Peter de Seve prints with an individual remark original drawing...























Thank you to everyone for your kind comments and support. Many people let us know how happy they were with the stock and booth set-up.





We do limit access to the booth via bag check and other policies designed to provide a safe and comfortable environment for you and our staff. We appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience. We have already seen posts online that describe our booth as an "oasis" from the convention crowds. By Sunday especially, many patrons were glad to be able to unload their burden of backpacks and bags while visiting us. Not to mention the chance to shop without being battered by someone else's luggage :) Our booth is large enough to provide access for wheelchairs and our team is happy to assist with shopping. I am very sorry that, with this convention, we came to realize we can't accommodate patrons with strollers or young children. This is a safety consideration for everyone at the booth.... the kids, our helpers and the other patrons. We appreciate your understanding.





Your comments are welcome. We are always looking to improve the benefits we bring you at Comic Con...





The office is closed today.... so I will be adding a long series of posts tonight to bring you up to date. Thanks for all your calls and emails... but we aren't able to make appointments right now. You'll see why shortly....





Tuesday, July 28, 2009

why we aren't open yet...

Please be patient. We're answering inquiries ASAP in the order rec'd. Here's what our showroom looks like right after the con....


We brought back fixtures, overstock... and new books.. but the truck was emptier....


Here's our friend Russ who showed up to help unload the truck...


Here I am carrying a bookcase...I use 2 hands and I wear gloves...



Stuart uses one hand, no gloves..



Here's a snap of your SNB crew...Mary, Steve, Stuart and John.

some before and after images of the booth

One of the highlights of this year's con..... There's a LION COFFEE store coming soon to the corner of 1st and Market! They had a small stand out front and sold coffee from 7AM - 11AM. The store opens in August. Next time you're in San Diego, enjoy this taste of Hawaii! The store is an easy walk from the convention center, so you get some fresh air along with your java.




Here's what our booth looks like BEFORE we build our 50 foot book alley..



And AFTER... a grid with the rare Travis Charest Captn. America portfolio. We are the only US source for this French import and we hand carried these back from France. Also on view, a Shane Glines original:

Another BEFORE view... yep, we've moved all those boxes ourselves...


and AFTER... here's a row of Comix Buro sketchbooks and other french imports in flip boxes for easy viewing..

Eric Goldberg signs his 1st ever sketchbook

We are delighted to publish the first ever sketchbook from Eric Goldberg. "Enjoy it While You Can, Kid" shows yet another side to this multi-talented artist. Eric joined us last year to sign his highly anticipated instructional book "Character Animation Crash Course." Eric's heart, graciousness, humor and skills make him one of the great masters in his field.

His signing was hosted by Tina Price and our friends at Creative Talent Network. They are also the force behind the upcoming CTNX --- animation Expo in Burbank this November.



We are so lucky to have our friend Darcy to assist us with the artist signings!



Eric enjoyed meeting his fans, who also enjoyed seeing Eric's unique approach to his sketchbook, full of humor and gags.






Greg Baldwin and Dave Guertin aka Creaturebox

Joining us for their first ever signing was the talented team of Greg Baldwin and Dave Guertin, creators of Creaturebox. If you aren't familiar with them... check out their website at www.creaturebox.com

Their first sketchbook sold out last year... and they debuted 2 new books at our booth for 2009. There was a line of fans waiting to meet and greet with these enthusiastic and talented designers. The signing was hosted by our friends at Flesk publications.


Greg (left) and Dave (right) provide a quick portfolio review for a fan...




The new books, Creaturebox 2 and Palindrone Robot Supply, are signed so the artist provided sketches.




Here are Greg and Dave with John Flesk and Stuart Ng Books colleague Darcy, who assists the artists for all our signings.







sdcc 2009 Peter de Seve part 1

Uber artist, charming, funny and a warm and wonderful friend..... Peter de Seve first signed at our booth back in 2005 and we were thrilled to welcome him again at this year's con. We were offering his Peter de Seve sketchbook as well as 2 versions of the Society of Illustrators call for entries print, one with a remarkable remarque drawing on each, as well as de Seve original art...

Don't miss out.... Peter will be attending the CTN Animation Expo in Burbank in November!



Our amazing friend Darcy handles artist relations for all our signings...here's Darcy with Peter and the poster for his upcoming art book... "A Sketchy Past, the art of Peter de Seve"



Here a patron is looking at one of several portfolios of originals...




sdcc 2009 Peter de Seve part 2

Special thanks to our friends at John Flesk Publications for hosting 3 of our signings! John publishes beautiful art books by some of our favorites, especially Bill Stout and Mark Schultz. The Flesk publications booth was across the aisle from us..


Peter was signing his sketchbook and there was a free poster offer with purchase. The poster is for his children's book "The Duchess of Whimsy", by author Randall de Seve (Peter's wife). The book will be available in the fall.. which is also the launch date for Peter's highly anticipated art book "A Sketchy Past". The promo posters for the art book, with the elephant image on the cover, were very popular.






sdcc 2009... SNB up and running

Here's the entrance with Stuart's cousin Dominic handling bag check... our friend Mando answering questions for patrons and Peggy in the booth...


Stuart on the left checking the database. We couldn't manage without all the friends who visit us... and our friends who man the cashiering station. Here are Maggie and Eduardo at their posts...



Typical view of patrons inside the booth during show hours.....


And outside booth... this was a line for one of the signings...





getting ready for opening on preview night

With our staff of four (Stuart, Peggy, Mary and myself), and our crew of friends and volunteers, we build the booth. It takes the full set-up time of nearly 2 days...

Here's Peggy organize the French books in flip boxes near the booth entrance. We have the import books in flip boxes and on grids near the front and through the middle of the booth.

Here you can see Peggy in her Doctor smock (we wear these because they were free and have big pockets). Steve's on the step stool (yep, we bring that too) hanging art work while Joel helps organize the bag check area...


It all has to be ready by the time preview night starts...


Here's the exit of the booth with the rare books on wooden shelves...






Comic Con 2009 booth set up

Ah.... here it is. Comic Con San Diego. 100,000 attendees. Sold out months in advance. This is what it looks like on the outside...


A convention on this scale is beyond anything you can imagine... both as an attendee and as a small exhibitor.

Here's a look at how a small business vendor gets to comic con and sets up a booth.

The routine I'll picture and describe here is the procedure for the core comic con vendors... the "little guys" who aren't part of the corporate pavillions. The huge displays from the large companies are fun and impressive... but they also have a mind-blowing budget and manpower to handle all the freight. The little guys don't.

Please remember this when you ask any small vendor for a discount on merchandise they have brought to a show. The sweat equity investment on inventory is a factor in the pricing... and it's also what the dealer is knocking off to help you out. They can't take back the money they spent to get the item... they can only cut the "profit" which is their compensation for their time and effort. A discount is like a gift... it's fun to get and it's fun to give... but sometimes it's just not possible to get every gift you want, or to give every gift you'd like to.

If Stuart Ng Books is only staffed by four people... who are the other folks wearing Stuart Ng Books exhibitor badges at the convention ? We are a small company, but it takes a lot of manpower to build and man 5 booths at comic con. We couldn't manage to bring you our booth without all the help of our team of friends and colleagues. This is the crew that helps us bring you the books you can't find anywhere else.

Once the truck arrives.... we must unload all the boxes and fixtures onto pallets. We do the unload ourselves....The pallets are shrink-wrapped and carried by forklift drivers to our booth inside the convention center. Here's a shot of forklifts moving booth fixtures...


Two more members of our volunteer crew.... John and Dave... hauling the heavy grids.


The convention provides tables for our booth. We bring and build all the shelves and grids. Here are Brandon and Long, two friends who volunteer to help us with this part of the con. They are engineers... and comic/popular arts fans.


Here's a view looking towards the end of our booth with our boxes on pallets.



Once the truck arrives.... we must unload all the boxes and fixtures onto pallets. The pallets are shrink-wrapped and carried by forklift drivers to our booth inside the convention center. Here's a shot of forklifts moving booth fixtures...


All the hard work you see here... it's isn't done just by us. This is the effort and time it takes any vendor to exhibit at this show.