Monday, January 26, 2004
Jim Crocker gets more than bargained for...
OK, the title is partly in jest and partly true. ;) Jim showed up to the party at a bit after 6:30 (when it officially started), and so there was already a lot of people in the room. He came in with a bunch of crates on a dolly, and immediately had a bunch of people swarming in, enough that he had trouble getting the dolly back out again!
After that he disappeared for a bit and then came back with a table and cash register (can't say he's not prepared). A table people were sitting at was moved out of the way and then he started to set up. Between putting up the two tables and arranging the crates (he literally did bring his entire manga collection), it probably took 15 minutes at least to get totally set up.
Here's a picture of the scene while he was still getting organized. Jim is in the foreground with his back to the camera and ponytail. Click to enlarge:
So there was this big crowd of people and they literally were waiting there the whole time he was setting up. And I am not making this up, but at one point the lady organizing the party had to stand inbetween the people and the tables saying (paraphrasing from memory) "Please everyone, you have to pull back and give him some room! He is still setting up."
Here is the scene a little while after he got finished setting up. Jim doesn't seem to be in the shot:
He seemed to do pretty steady sales all through the night. Here is the scene at 8:30, around almost two hours after setup. Jim's in center of the pic in the back:
So, it seems like it was a big success, and hopefully it carries over to sales at the store. He didn't have business cards that I could see, but the cash register's recipts had the name and contact info. He also provided prizes for the cosplay contest. The MC forgot to mention that, but thankfully Jim spoke up..
So, it was a fun night in general, and part of that fun was seeing Jim being slightly overwhelmed by hordes of manga fans. ;) Also, notice the girls present in all of the pics, along with a range of tiny people to a guy with grey hair...
Hopefully Jim will have some comments of his own in his blog eventually...
Next up, I'll need to get a gallery set up on one of my websites of the various other sights and people of the party (along with all the other pictures I've taken in the last couple of months). :)
After that he disappeared for a bit and then came back with a table and cash register (can't say he's not prepared). A table people were sitting at was moved out of the way and then he started to set up. Between putting up the two tables and arranging the crates (he literally did bring his entire manga collection), it probably took 15 minutes at least to get totally set up.
Here's a picture of the scene while he was still getting organized. Jim is in the foreground with his back to the camera and ponytail. Click to enlarge:
So there was this big crowd of people and they literally were waiting there the whole time he was setting up. And I am not making this up, but at one point the lady organizing the party had to stand inbetween the people and the tables saying (paraphrasing from memory) "Please everyone, you have to pull back and give him some room! He is still setting up."
Here is the scene a little while after he got finished setting up. Jim doesn't seem to be in the shot:
He seemed to do pretty steady sales all through the night. Here is the scene at 8:30, around almost two hours after setup. Jim's in center of the pic in the back:
So, it seems like it was a big success, and hopefully it carries over to sales at the store. He didn't have business cards that I could see, but the cash register's recipts had the name and contact info. He also provided prizes for the cosplay contest. The MC forgot to mention that, but thankfully Jim spoke up..
So, it was a fun night in general, and part of that fun was seeing Jim being slightly overwhelmed by hordes of manga fans. ;) Also, notice the girls present in all of the pics, along with a range of tiny people to a guy with grey hair...
Hopefully Jim will have some comments of his own in his blog eventually...
Next up, I'll need to get a gallery set up on one of my websites of the various other sights and people of the party (along with all the other pictures I've taken in the last couple of months). :)
