Contributed by collector and Overstreet Advisor Art Cloos

For over 20 years Charles Cerrito’s Hot Flips Comic and Collectible Show has been a source for collectors on Long Island and the New York area to purchase comic book and trading card supplies including mylars, backing boards, and acrylic display cases. His reach however extends beyond the region to a website and at comic conventions across the county from San Diego Comic-Con to New York Comic Con. His company also sells vintage sport cards, comic books, and collectible toys.

Now, Cerrito has taken his next step by organizing his own comic show. On Sunday, August 4, 2024, the latest edition of his show was held at the American Legion Post 94 in Babylon on Long Island in New York. Long Island has a growing comic collecting community and this is reflected in the fact that dealers came from across Long Island, New York City, and New Jersey to do his show. They included Mike Carbonaro, Michael Raphael of Spineworks NYC, Mark Pauling, Joseph Grayson, Steve Humble, Alpha Nerds, Neil Comics, Carlos Martinez, Qua Brot Comics, and others.

There was a good turnout of creators, including Keith Williams, Carl Paolino, Christian E. Santo, Eisner Award winner Kyle Baker, Buzz, Rodney Ramos, Richard Maurizio, Henry Martinez, Mars Art, Zeea Adams (Neal Adams’ daughter), and others.

Walking the aisles, Allie and I saw a nice selection of Silver, Bronze, and Modern Age comics, though not much in the way of Golden Age. There was original art and toys for sale too. Most dealers seemed happy and reported good sales. I was told that each one of them was already signed up for the next show, and there is a waiting list for dealers.

At every con we go to we run into old friends and this show was no exception. I had not seen Billy Kwack at a show for several years and it was nice catching up, and we saw art teacher and Superman collector Max Gottfried. I was also surprised to see several dealers from the New Jersey shows set up at the Hot Flips convention, which is a testament to the growing Long Island collecting community.

I have known Cerrito for a long time, but I did not know why he started his own con, so I asked him about it. He started by buying so many collectibles over the years that were taking up a lot of space in the warehouse, so he started taking them to conventions like NYCC, MegaCon and C2E2. However, it turned out with all that he sold at those very large conventions he was losing money, and he did not know why.

Then he decided to do John Paul’s one day convention in Clifton, New Jersey, and he made more money in that one day show even with reduced prices than he would have in one day at a three-day convention. That was an eye opener to him. He said John Paul really worked hard to try to give him as many tables as he could, but he needed more than John Paul could provide. He tried other promoters who run one day shows in the area and no one could provide even one table which he said was very frustrating.

He kept trying but then he finally realized that even if a one day show promoter could have given him 10 or 15 tables, he would have to pay for the dealer venue, the tables, and would not get any of the admission money. So that realization brought him to run his own show. He soon discovered there were a lot of local dealers that tried to get into other shows and who were left out. Within a year of starting his own show those people told him how they loved the idea that now on Long Island they would have a place to set up and sell. He said that John Paul is an inspiration to him, and he very much appreciates his help in becoming a show promoter.

It’s easy to get to the show from New York City or from eastern Long Island. It’s a short drive from the Southern State parkway and the Long Island Railroad has a stop one block away.

Tickets are $5 for adults and kids under 12 get in for free. The town is also a fun place to explore after the show and there are plenty of restaurants one short block away.

The Hot Flips Comic and Collectible Show is held at the American Legion Post 94 located at 22 Grove Place in Babylon on Long Island. Information on their next show in October is on their Facebook page.