Contributed by collector and Overstreet Advisor Art Cloos
Photos by Alice Cloos
Since its first one in 2009, the New Jersey Comic Art Con has been a show dedicated exclusively to what the show’s promoter Joe Veteri said was, “a true American art form,” – that being original comic book art. The show does not have comic books and does not have the hustle and bustle one finds at the big cons either. This show is designed to be a gathering of comic art collectors to buy, sell, trade, network, and talk comic art and only comic art.
The 22nd installment of the show was held Sunday, April 8, 2019 at the Holiday Inn in South Hasbrouck Heights in New Jersey. The hours were 10 AM to 4 PM and adult admission was $10 with children getting in for free and there was no charge for parking as well.
Comic art enthusiasts came from around the world for what is the con devoted to original comic book art. The usual all-star line-up of comic art dealers were in attendance, including Anthony Snyder, Bechara Maalouf, Will Gabri-EL, Frank Giella, Hans Kosenkranius, Jim Warden, Rich Donnelly, Albert Moy, Brad Savage, Dan Pottick, Nathan Rose, Bill Richardson, Ankur Jetley, and James Phelps. Auction houses ComicLink and Hake’s Auctions were there taking consignments.
As I was going around the room, I very much appreciated the wide aisles that prevent the pushing and jostling found at most comic book cons. Of course as at every Comic Art Show the range of art was impressive with an amazing display of art from every time frame and genre of comic art. One will find the work of comic book or comic strip artists ranging from Kirby to Infantino to Schultz on comic book covers, interior pages, daily and Sunday strips and sketches with a very large selection of goodies to examine and buy. Allie especially noticed a lot of new art pieces that had not appeared at earlier shows.
One of the things I really look forward to as I check out the room is the kick I always get from looking at the displays on the walls and seeing pages from comics I bought and read (and still have today) going back to my earliest days as a collector. For example, I came across a page from Detective Comics #380 which introduced Ginny Jenkins into Batman’s continuity. Both Allie and I did manage to find some things that we did take home and what we bought were pages from comic books in our collections.
I got to meet up with my buddy Mike Carbonaro who was there (at times it seems he is everywhere) and said hi to Joe Mannarino of both All Star Auctions fame and now from Heritage Auctions. I talked to collector Rob Pistella who works with the Society of Illustrators, Brad Savage, art collector and dealer Ankur Jetley, and Albert Moy.
The Holiday Inn has a restaurant called Gabriel’s which is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with excellent food and friendly servers. For reservations, call (201) 288-9600 and ask to speak to the restaurant manager. The hotel also hosts comedy nights at Bananas Comedy Club on Friday and Saturday, with dinner and show combos. For lighter dining, the hotel is close to fast food restaurants and there is an excellent bar nearby.
The hotel is a short bus or train ride into Manhattan, which gives attendees the opportunity to do some sightseeing before or after Comic Art Con.
The next New Jersey Comic Con will be held on September 8, 2019 at the Holiday Inn located at 283 Route 17 South Hasbrouck Heights. More show information can be found at www.VeteriProductions.com.