I grew up in Plano, Texas, far from the halls of San Diego Comic Con or the premieres in New York and LA. And for a long time, before the internet, I thought I was the only one who liked Star Wars or comic books or watched special features.
I was seven years old the first time I walked into the Plano Centre, making my parents pull over because I recognized the name “BILLY DEE WILLIAMS” flashing on the marquee sign on the side of the road. I walked out of there with a C-3PO bookmark and a new mission: to go to as many of these conventions as I possibly could.
These conventions at the Plano Centre and the Richardson Civic Center, both only a couple miles from my childhood home, became my first steps into a larger world. From there I jumped into daily visits to Rebelscum.com and TheForce.Net, finding fans like me … and the knowledge that I wasn’t alone.
Mark Walters, along with Ben Stevens and Philip Wise (of the aforementioned Rebelscum.com), became one of the pioneers of, what is now, a very robust pop culture scene in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. Without Mark, and Dallas Comic Con and Fan Days … I definitely would not be the type of fan I am today.
The hope is that this article becomes a living document, as time goes on, with interviews from past guests and attendees creating a history of what has become an important part of comic history. But, for now, we leave you with our in-depth interview with Mr. Mark Walters (editor-in-chief of BigFanBoy.com and show director of DCS), who is currently promoting this weekend’s Dallas Comic Show, taking place in the Richardson Civic Center this weekend, just like the conventions I remember so fondly.
This interview has been slightly edited for brevity and clarity.
SUPER KAIJU: Thanks for taking the time, Mark. Let’s talk about the initial inception of your involvement with the convention scene in Dallas. It had been happening for a long time, whether with Southwesterncon or D-Con, but Dallas Fantasy Fair seems like the time it really got kick-started.
MARK WALTERS: It was definitely the Dallas Fantasy Fair.
It’s funny, I was never into comics as a kid, I used to read MAD and Cracked Magazine, or movie mags like Starlog and Fangoria, but it wasn’t until I was in high school (summer of 1990) that I fully discovered what I had been missing. I went with a friend of mine to Lone Star Comics and I was actually there with the intent of browsing movie stills and press books, but I looked up on a shelf and saw an ALIENS comic book, with beautiful airbrushed artwork by Denis Beauvais … and that was it.
I told my friend “They made a comic book about ALIENS? And it looks awesome!”
It was like pulling fruit from a tree, I starting grabbing dozens of books – a Punisher comic, an Uncanny X-Men comic by Jim Lee, an Amazing Spider-Man by Todd McFarlane … it was a good time to get hooked, lots of cool stuff on the shelves.
And I caught up with a vengeance.
At the time Lone Star has quarter comics in the store, leftover back stock they sold for 25 cents each, and I was buying books like crazy. Within a month I had amassed 20 long boxes of books. It was nuts.
Then I discovered there was a convention in town: the Dallas Fantasy Fair. So I went, and loved every second of it. At the very next one I decided to set up as a vendor, clear out some of the excess books I had. I made decent money doing that and so I started to do it more and more, getting to know the guy running the show: Larry Lankford. After a few years, I started working for Larry, doing small jobs to help out at the shows in exchange for free admission. Then there was a show where Adam West came and I ended up pulling a crazy lady off him, while everyone else stood around and watched. Adam was apparently impressed and told Larry, who then pulled me aside and said “Why don’t you be my head of security?”
Within three years, I was co-chairman of the show, booking guests and managing the events. All of this happened within the span of six years and, in truth, I was still just a “kid” among men. Sadly, in 1996, the Dallas Fantasy Fair went under due to money issues.
SK: From there, what was the next step for conventions in Dallas? How did Dallas Comic Con and Dallas Fan Days come about?
MW: I was still very much in touch with a lot of industry pros, going to San Diego in the summer for Comic-Con. Several people would ask me “Why don’t you do a show in Dallas? You know how!”
And so, in the summer of 2000, I hosted my first event, with Michael Turner, John Cassaday, and some other awesome folks. I followed that with a show during the fall that had Tim Bradstreet, Adam Hughes, Kevin Eastman and more. These were small shows, with a thousand fans. But, on the side, I got to know Ben Stevens, who was organizing sci-fi events in town, and we became friends.
In the summer of 2002, after my fourth show, a situation came up where I saw an opportunity to partner up with Ben, to pool our resources and audiences, and the Dallas Comic Con was born: October 2002. That first DCC brought in 5000 attendees, which was a big jump for both Ben and me.
SK: This seems like a perfect time to talk about your partnership with Ben Stevens (as well as Philip Wise of Rebelscum). The C2 Ventures / Official Pix partnership with Lucasfilm also gave significance and, well, a level of “officialness” to events like (some of my favorite events of all time) Star Wars Fan Days.
MW: It was interesting. We mostly kept the show stuff separate from the Official Pix stuff, unless it was necessary for them to cross over. But it did offer fun opportunities, like working the Star Wars Celebration events, since Official Pix brought in all the guests for those (until this last one.)
In the beginning, when we started working together, I made the decision to become an “employee” of the event rather than a “partner,” which I will now forever regret. But I was tired of putting my own money into these things. I just wanted to do what I was good at and make some cash while doing it…
We never dreamed back then that one day the show would be bought out for big money 12 years later. But yeah, the Official Pix angle did help greatly with Lucasfilm and doing things like Star Wars Fan Days. There was a nice trust level there: Lucasfilm knew we were doing things right and by the book, so it created this great mutual respect between parties.
I miss those days, they were fun. And I got along well with Ben and Philip: it never felt like I was working “for” someone, more like we were all working together, and we’re still good friends.
SK: Who were some of your favorite guests over the years? I remember those huge gets through all the shows, like Michael Keaton, Patricia Arquette, Stan Lee (that first time was the biggest deal for me) …
Stan was pretty awesome, I must say, even though he and I already had history through the Dallas Fantasy Fair. Not kidding, I took Stan to his first Hooters back in the 1990s. It was a different time then, he could walk around unnoticed, whereas now he’d be mobbed.
But favorites, eh? I’d say Rocketeer creator Dave Stevens because he was a hero to me … and Bernie Wrightson and his wife Liz became very close friends. Tim Bradstreet and Steve Niles are good pals too, as is James O’Barr.
Herb Trimpe used to credit me with bringing him “out of retirement,” after I called him at home and, after an hour, convinced him to come to our show, even though he had sworn off cons at that time. He did so well at that convention that it sparked more con appearances for him, and he even started getting new work.
But it’s hard to play favorites with the comic guys, especially since I’ve been fortunate enough to become friends with many of them outside of the cons: Mark Brooks, J. Scott Campbell, Frank Cho, John Cassaday, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner … to name just a few.
For celebs, I’d say Michael Keaton was very cool, and Patricia Arquette is a good one, though I only got her because we had Thomas Jane and they were together at the time … she’s only ever done that one show. Carrie Fisher was always a treat, because she was crazy and embraced that, but I loved working with her. But honestly, still the highest honor for me is a tie between Patrick Stewart and Leonard Nimoy, who were both awesome behind the scenes.
SK: I remember sitting front row for that last convention Leonard came to … it was one of my best memories at a con.
How has the convention scene changed over the past few years, with the advent of “Walking Dead pricing” and long lines. What do you think was the initial cause?
MW: Well it’s definitely more money-driven now, which I think is unhealthy.
The big box shows with the huge guests are multiplying, but they’ve turned into assembly line events that cost a fortune to attend. What boggles my mind is how the same people who complain about the rising costs and long lines just keep going back for more. Those prices will never go down as long as the fans keep lining up.
As for the cause, I think pop culture media and the advent of social media has fed into it. There was a time when the stars were just folks we saw on TV on in the movies, but now you can meet them face to face, and they’re out there promoting where they’ll be.
As for rising costs in autographs and photo ops, it’s basic supply and demand. Fans are constantly crying out for bigger guests, but those bigger guests come with BIG price tags, so the end result is pretty telegraphed. Personally, I would rather meet someone where I had time to chat a little with them and felt like the interaction wasn’t being rushed. (I’d also prefer to have a little money left so I could meet someone else at that same event without taking out a loan to do it.)
But again, it’s just about supply and demand.
SK: How do you hope DCS changes this, starting with the D/FW area?
MW: We’re trying really hard to offer the three “A”s – affordable, accessible and accommodating.
We really want to provide fans with a show that doesn’t cost a lot to go to, provide dealers with a show that doesn’t cost a lot to set up and fill it with fun things to do and awesome guests that come with affordable prices.
If you compare some of the pricing at our event to other comparable shows, it’s crazy how much cheaper we are … but we need the fans to show up and support it. We don’t get the big crowds, which makes it harder to grow. I see no reason why we couldn’t make these cons even bigger and better, but first you have to get the numbers through the door to make that happen.
I’m coming at this as a fan first: there’s no corporate mentality here and no one is getting rich off the customers. Ultimately, I want to have a show that I would go to even if I had nothing to do with it. But the only way things can change is if fans speak with their dollars and support this mentality.
They have a choice on where and how to spend their money … we just hope they’ll give us a try before making that choice next time.
SK: What makes Dallas continue to be an exciting spot for comics and pop culture? What do you think its place in the overall conversation could be, spread between LA, NY and Austin?
MW: I think Dallas has tremendous potential. It’s such a big city and very spread out. Even when I was involved with Dallas Comic Con events, it always amazed me how many people did not know about us.
So it’s all about spreading the word and the fans can help with that too. This is a city that’s constantly growing and changing and there’s a lot of exciting things happening here too.
Every week you see some cool thing that’s coming through town, which can make this sort of stuff challenging, as you’re trying to outshine the shiny thing of the week. But I do think Dallas fans need to be more selective with how they spend their money, try different things out.
SK: How did you begin to make your connections with some of the best and most talented comic artists and actors (I remember Tom Jane being a continuous, and nearly free, guest through the years)?
MW: Honestly, I think I’ve just been lucky, and in the right place and the right time on more than a few occasions.
A lot of it is how you talk to people, finding a comfort level to where you can get to know them as more than just a fan talking to a celebrity. I started doing a lot of celebrity interviews and then moderating Q&A sessions for screenings, and it just grew from there. Having that sort of work allows me to do interesting things within the convention scene too, as it crosses over quite frequently.
I met Sean Patrick Flanery when he was in Dallas for a promotional tour for Boondock Saints II, and we exchanged emails, and the next thing you know I had him at his very first convention. And I got to know Tom Jane through Tim Bradstreet. But as for it feeding into the shows, I already had the edge of working for the Dallas Fantasy Fair, so my “con savvy” was pretty strong, and that’s very important. You either have “con savvy” or you don’t, but it makes a tremendous difference when trying to do these events.
SK: Where do you see DCS going over the next few years? How has your partnership with local businesses, like screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse, help craft that story?
MW: The Alamo Drafthouse is wonderful: they’ve been very supportive and an important part of the growth process. Having that kind of local support is a big thing, but you have to constantly cultivate it too.
New businesses pop up every single day, and sometimes the familiar ones don’t feel the love they think they should from you. It’s a constant struggle to avoid damaging relationships while making new ones, but I do think it’s extremely important to involve the local scene whenever possible.
As for the show itself, I like having a nice mid-level size show. I don’t want thing to grow too big or too fast, I want to keep it manageable and fun. Right now, this event brings in a few thousand people. To me, if I got to where we saw 10,000 for a weekend, that would be great and really make things easier toward bringing in bigger talent.
Even though I’m at San Diego every year, I never want a show like that, because you lose the personal touch at that point. There’s something very gratifying about walking the show floor and having people stop me to say thanks, or just say hello, because they know me and know it’s my event, and they know I’m not doing it to get rich … I’m doing it because I genuinely love this stuff.
Again, this weekend is the Dallas Comic Show at the Richardson Civic Center. Tickets start at just $20 for the weekend, with guests from Star Wars, Twin Peaks and more.
Definitely come out to support another installment in the rich history of comic conventions in the metroplex, as well as one of Dallas’ finest.
