Contributed by collector and Overstreet Advisor Art Cloos
Photos by Alice Cloos

Like nearly all comic conventions, John Paul’s New Jersey Pug Production family of local one day comic shows spent months closed down due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Paul’s show schedule remained canceled until August 16, 2020, when New Jersey began relaxing restrictions, allowing J.P. (as Paul prefers to be called) to hold his first comic con since early March.

The Wayne Comic Book Expo returned to its traditional home at the Wayne/Pompton Baymont by Wyndham Hotel in Wayne, New Jersey. To ensure the safety of his vendors and collectors, he moved the show from the first floor to a 5,000-plus square-foot space on the second floor of the hotel. The hall was divided into two separate rooms with dealers lined up around the walls. Vendors were spaced at least 6 feet apart and all collectors were required to maintain that distance as well. Masks were mandatory and anyone not wearing one was denied entry and anyone removing their mask was to be removed from the show. Hand sanitizer was available. Capacity limits for each room were strictly enforced. Everyone had their temperature taken with a touchless thermometer before entry. No one with a temperature of over 100.4 was allowed in. Neither was anyone permitted in who was considered a risk. Most of the show’s regular dealers returned for the event as did a number of its regular attendees.

That August show was so successful that J.P. booked another show on Sunday, September 13 at that same Wayne Baymont By Wyndham Hotel. The same ballroom was used and once again, it was divided into two separate rooms with the dealers lining the walls of each room and one dealer set up in the middle. All vendors were spaced 6 feet apart against the walls of each room.

One thing that can be said about a New Jersey Comic Book Show is that it’s all about the comics. You will not see cosplayers at one of J.P.’s shows nor will you see a lot of the non-comic book items such as jewelry, t-shirts, food items, etc. that have become part of the large comic con experience. There was a very nice variety of Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Modern comics offered for sale. And that variety went from superhero to horror and mystery to funny animal and humor books. Original comic book art was for sale as were books about comics. Prices ranged from dealers who offered dollar boxes and other dealers who had keys on their racks that cost considerably more than a dollar. That is one of the great things about any of his shows, you literally do not know what is going to be offered for sale each month. The fans who come to them are knowledgeable about what they collect, and you will find many spirited discussions going on between attendees and dealers both. 

The show was open to the public from 10 AM to 4 PM and no early bird admissions were allowed. Admission was just $5.

There was a set of rules that applied to both vendors and collectors for the September show which included that everyone had to wear a mask or face covering over the nose and mouth anywhere within the hotel. Anyone who was not able or willing to do so was not permitted in.

As with the August show everyone was asked to try to maintain a 6-foot distance from others whenever possible since capacity limits had to be enforced. Attendees were asked to avoid bringing anyone that did not need to accompany them. One person over the limit in the room meant one more person that had to wait to get in. Temperatures were taken with a touchless thermometer before entering and the staff reserved the right to refuse entry to anyone that in their opinion posed a risk to others. Bathrooms were of course available and frequent hand washing was encouraged. Hand sanitizers were also available.

In normal times, J.P.’s New Jersey shows run an auction but for now there will not be any auctions going on to prevent people congregating too closely. Vendors were asked to both not bring additional tables unless requested and to not alter table layout. If a collector at a table exhibited unsafe behavior vendors were given the right to ask them to move on.

It must be said that J.P. ran a tight ship for both shows and Allie and I did not hear a single complaint at the September show about that, rather just the opposite. We felt very comfortable being there and in fact Allie pushed back our lunch reservations so we could spend more time at the show.

It seemed to Allie and I that everyone, dealers and buyers both, were very happy to be back at a real comic book show. Regular dealers Gary Platt, Mike Williams, Anthony Snyder, Zapp Comics, and others reported good sales and Allie and I found some nice pieces for our collections.

More information on the New Jersey Comic Book Shows, including dates and times of shows in Wayne, Clifton, Hasbrouck Heights, and Old Bridge, can be found at www.njcomicbookshows.com.