The fourth installment of the highly popular Borderlands Comic Book Show will be held this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sportsmans Clubhouse at City-County Park in Russellville. Attendees can buy, sell or trade their collectibles at the show, or just enjoy all the history involved. This is the story of the show written by its founder and organizer, David Guffy, who works for the Russellville City Schools.
The show started in November 2016 as a one-day-only swap meet for a group of friends who deal in comic books and attend shows around the area. Everyone had a great time and asked when we would do another one and could they invite more people.
The inspiration for doing it was a friend of mine who used to run a small comic book store in Bowling Green, James Miles. James put on many shows in the 1980's and 1990's until he retired to his native Logan County.
Initially I was only interested in having comic books, but it seems most people that are into comic books also sell toys and other items so I've been calling it a comic book and toy show. I've actually started keeping some toys myself for the show.
The "big thing" in collectibles these days is action figures called Pops! that are made by a company called Funko.
The next show was held in May 2017 and with some word-of=mouth advertising we had a crowd of about 150 to 200 folks show up. At that time I decided that I would make it a semiannual event and try to focus on just comic books as much as possible and not charge admission for anyone to attend. Most shows charge anywhere from $10 to $25 and up for a weekend pass to get into the door. I also wanted to keep the cost to the vendors low because setup at larger shows is usually $150 to $175 minimum.
As the show has evolved, I've decided I'd like to keep it as something that would be fun for anyone that wanted to come and look at comics and toys or set up and sell and trade.I don't want to compete with any large show for vendors or attendees. I just wanted an event that was low key and as fun as possible for everyone who attends. As such, admission is free and dealer tables are $35 and $60.This covers the facility rental, supplies and advertising.
Our third show was held in November 2017 and I moved it to a larger venue, the Sportsman Club inside the city park. We once again had around 200 people that came from as far away as Evansville, Louisville, Owensboro and in-between. The only downside is that although I drew this great regional crowd, very few local people seemed to know that the show was going on. I had several people in November approach me and say they just found out by accident so I'm working to get the word out locally for this show on May 19..
At the show in November a local gentleman caused quite a stir by showing up with the comics he bought when he was a boy in the 60's. He had a lot of highly sought after comics from that era, including a copy of the original X-men #1.
I think it's great for Russellville to have something like this. It seems like it might be for a very specific audience but you'd be surprised at how many people find something that they didn't even know they had any interest in until they saw it at the show.
For some it's nostalgia for an old comic or toy that they had as a kid. For others it could be a particular character that's been made into a Pop! figure or comic book. It could also be a t-shirt that appeals to them. With the folks coming in from out of town hopefully some of the local restaurants and businesses will get some benefit from the extra people in town on the day of the show.
For more information on the Borderland Comic Book Show, go to: to https://www.facebook.com/borderlandcomics/ or. www.borderlandshow.com.