My story from Planet Comicon 08

[wallywest]

So this might be a little long because I am gonna take my time and enjoy this .

Planet Comicon is the biggest convention in the KC area every year. I haven't been in years because of....laziness, and not wanting to spend $15 on a convention. Anyway, this year I was determined to go. I hit the doors at 9:45 (15 min early admission for advance ticket purchasers...yeah right. the place was packed already). I found one of my acquaintances that is a KC dealer that I knew was going to have a ton of generally unsorted $0.50 boxes. It was a madhouse at his section. I went throught the S boxes hoping to find some V3 Shadowmans. It took forever. There was no alphabetation inside a letter. Worse still, S stands for Spider-Man and Superman, and that means Amazings, Web Ofs, Spectaculars and Actions were all in the S boxes. Anyway, I grabbed a stack of Amazings, Shadowman V1 #42, and some other stuff (~40 issues in all) and gave up after over an hour and a half of thumbing.

I walked around for a while, but I had this stack of books and the place was crowded, so it became a problem when I wanted to stop and look through boxes. I decided to walk out to my car and drop this first load off. As I walked out, I decided I was moving too slowly, so I decided to hit the food court first thing when I came back in and then try and focus. As I walked back in, the first place I walked by was a KC dealer named Frank. He has 3 stores and is the Diamond Distributor rep in KC. I go in his stores all the time, so I wasn't planning on wasting any of my time there. Plus, I was on my way to the food court first thing. But, something caught my eye.

He had a short box on the end that I was about to walk right by when I noticed a book sticking up about 2 inches higher than all the rest. It looked a little like a CEAR. I stopped in my tracks and backed up. Absolutely it was a CEAR. Knowing Frank, I figured he would have some outrageous sum on it, so my hopes were not too high yet. I looked at the sign on the box "Variants and Signed. 1/2 Off". I pulled the CEAR out...$15 sticker. So I pull it out and (in haste) start looking through the rest of the box. There are plenty of things in there that I know nothing about. There are some Valiant Golds priced too high even for 1/2 off. I pulled out a Harbinger Blue TPB. I passed on Rai #9 VVSS and Gold. Then I was stopped dead in my tracks by a Unity Diamond #1 . I calmly walk up to Frank and ask him where he got these, as he knows I collect Valiant. He says, "That box got kind of lost in one of the back rooms at one of the shops. I don't know how long it has been since we brought it to a show." So after a little dickering, I got the three for...well let's just say that I did alright .

The CEAR is CGC worthy. I am betting 9.6, but I think it has a shot at 9.8. Here is the best part of the story. I was so pumped about the whole thing I didn't realize until hours later (after I got home) that the CEAR is one of those special "Thank You" versions with Bernard Chang's sig at the bottom .

Anyway, I think I will ultimately be parting with the Unity Diamond and probably the Harby Blue if anyone wants to make an offer. I haven't decided for sure, but I could absolutely be persuaded if the offer is right .

[Dr. Solar]

Nice find! That is what we all hope of finding. It's worth it to take the time and look around. You can find some great stuff in the right places!

[Elveen]

Wow. Nice find. Great feeling.

that Diamond TPB is BIG $$$.

I am stoked for you WW.

[iggy101us]

[daydreamscomics]

i went through the same boxes of unorganized crap as you did, found nothing.

wish i had had the time to go check out the other dealers on FRIDAY!!!

i did find the regular unity trades for pretty cheap, and a valiant voice #16 for $0.50...but would much rather have had your find

[gavster]

Great find, your story brings back fond memories of searching through dealers longbox's, it really has been to long since I had the opportunity.

[wallywest]

i went through the same boxes of unorganized crap as you did, found nothing.

wish i had had the time to go check out the other dealers on FRIDAY!!!

i did find the regular unity trades for pretty cheap, and a valiant voice #16 for $0.50...but would much rather have had your find

Were you busy enough so you felt like you couldn't step away from your booth? If so, hopefully you did well enough to make the trip worth it. What did you have in your booth...I imagine I spent at least a little time there. Did you have/sell any Valiant?

[daydreamscomics]

i went through the same boxes of unorganized crap as you did, found nothing.

wish i had had the time to go check out the other dealers on FRIDAY!!!

i did find the regular unity trades for pretty cheap, and a valiant voice #16 for $0.50...but would much rather have had your find

Were you busy enough so you felt like you couldn't step away from your booth? If so, hopefully you did well enough to make the trip worth it. What did you have in your booth...I imagine I spent at least a little time there. Did you have/sell any Valiant?

we were running a bit behind travel-wise, and my manager wanted to have everything as ready as possible by the time we left on friday night (which makes sense from a business stand point)

it's all good, you win some, you lose some...

i was set up in the top right island near artist alley. jason aaron and mark texiera were across from me. had a corner set up, with $ boxes and silver ae stuff in front, with a wall of trades behind that. we had a wall of toys next to silver/golden age books, with some cgc stuff across the top. af #15 was up there next to a 9.4 asm #129. we were also the only booth selling anime/manga plushes, if that rings any bells

[Daniel Jackson]

Man, lots of great finds lately.

[Elveen]

Man, lots of great finds lately.

Totally.

DJ you gotta get back out to a LCS, forget the high gas prices..... get digging through those back issues bins.

[Daniel Jackson]

Man, lots of great finds lately.

Totally.

DJ you gotta get back out to a LCS, forget the high gas prices..... get digging through those back issues bins.

I was just thinking that as well. All of these bargains are giving me the "fever" again.

[MedicAR]

My experience was similar except for the part about the great deals.

I arrived at about 0900, so I was a part of the massive crowd that got in early. My goal was sketches on Fallen Son covers, so I hit Artists Alley pretty quickly. Most of the artists hadn't had time to set up yet, so I perused some of the booths instead.

I've been collecting for 20+ years, so there isn't a whole lot that I'm left looking for other than high-end goodies. My goal this year was either an FF #2 or Avengers #1. In years past Avengers #1 was almost a common book, any booth with any significant Silver Age stuff had a copy and most had multiples in various grades. This year, I found exactly 3 copies. One was pretty except for the corner box being removed, one was beat and one was about right for me in VG but with a lot of gloss and eye appeal. It was priced at $300 and being early, I decided to look around rather than commit.

I picked up some random variants that I had missed though the years, mostly at fair prices. None of the prices were anything to brag about, but not ridiculous either. I came across a booth that had wall-style rack with about four rows of books displayed on it. That was the entire booth. He had some ECs and picked what I thought to be a cool robot cover and asked what he wanted. This book was Weird Fantasy #6 and is gorgeous. I haven scrutinized it yet, but FN/VF easy. I figured it was pointless to ask, but who knows? He pulled his list, looked it over and said "$100." I tried to contain my school-girl like giddiness and scratched my chin a bit and looked over the other books. I finally snapped it up! My only regret is that I didn't get the two Tales from the Crypt that he had, I didn't price 'em, but they had some sweet covers too.

The aritsts were finally set up, so I got in line for Angel Medina and got a sweet Black Spidey head sketch on the back of a Comic Oasis variant of Amazing Spider-Man #539. Eric Powell had a huge line at first, but it thinned fast and I got a Goon and a Franky head sketch on The Goon #9 as well as a Cap sketch on a Fallen Son book. I got Jeremy Haun to do a sweet FS book, too (he painted it!). Phil Moy and Jeff Moy each did one, too. I'll try to get some scans up, as they have to be seen to be believed. Rich Burchett did a FS cover, too. And I got David Finch to do an Iron Man on a FS cover to go with the Cap that a friend from the CGC board got done for me last year. Funny story about Finch, he had a looooong line all day. I was still waiting for another sketch to be finished Satuday at 1630 (the show ended at 1700) when I glanced over at Finch's table. There was one guy there, one. I waited while Finch signed four books for him then got my sketch with no waiting at all!

Back to the hunt.....Graham Crackers had a sweet booth with tons of great old books. They had a FF #2 that was absolutely beat, but I had a look at it anyway. I said it was just too bad for me to buy, then the owner said that he had another one in the hotel room and he'd bring it in the next morning. I told him it would probably be out of my range but asked a ballpark figure on it so he wouldn't have to hunt it unecessarily. He said $400-500, but that it presented nicely. I said fine, I'd at least look at it. Sunday morning, he had it and aside from a tan line across the top (sun spot?) it really does look good! I told him my wife would kill me and made sure he knew my father-in-law was standing next to me. My father-in-law got distracted and I told Jamie Graham I'd be back to get it when I could ditch my partner.

It took four hours, but I finally got away and got the book! Again, nothing fancy, but a cool book that I've wanted for a long time.

It was also my son's first show, so we got lots of pictures of him with the folks in costumes, and ironically, in Daydreams' booth! I think he must have been the only dealer that I didn't ask about the Valiant boards. Well, aside from the ones that I knew from years past.

I missed Chuck Rozanski from Mile High, even though I saw him several times, he was always busy. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but I like Chuck. His company is hit and miss, but the man is always warm and gracious and more than willing to share anything he knows about comics with anyone who will listen. If you get the chance, just say hi sometime.

I'm sure there's more, but I can't come up with it right now.....I'll try to get some pics up soon!

[daydreamscomics]

My experience was similar except for the part about the great deals.

I arrived at about 0900, so I was a part of the massive crowd that got in early. My goal was sketches on Fallen Son covers, so I hit Artists Alley pretty quickly. Most of the artists hadn't had time to set up yet, so I perused some of the booths instead.

I've been collecting for 20+ years, so there isn't a whole lot that I'm left looking for other than high-end goodies. My goal this year was either an FF #2 or Avengers #1. In years past Avengers #1 was almost a common book, any booth with any significant Silver Age stuff had a copy and most had multiples in various grades. This year, I found exactly 3 copies. One was pretty except for the corner box being removed, one was beat and one was about right for me in VG but with a lot of gloss and eye appeal. It was priced at $300 and being early, I decided to look around rather than commit.

I picked up some random variants that I had missed though the years, mostly at fair prices. None of the prices were anything to brag about, but not ridiculous either. I came across a booth that had wall-style rack with about four rows of books displayed on it. That was the entire booth. He had some ECs and picked what I thought to be a cool robot cover and asked what he wanted. This book was Weird Fantasy #6 and is gorgeous. I haven scrutinized it yet, but FN/VF easy. I figured it was pointless to ask, but who knows? He pulled his list, looked it over and said "$100." I tried to contain my school-girl like giddiness and scratched my chin a bit and looked over the other books. I finally snapped it up! My only regret is that I didn't get the two Tales from the Crypt that he had, I didn't price 'em, but they had some sweet covers too.

The aritsts were finally set up, so I got in line for Angel Medina and got a sweet Black Spidey head sketch on the back of a Comic Oasis variant of Amazing Spider-Man #539. Eric Powell had a huge line at first, but it thinned fast and I got a Goon and a Franky head sketch on The Goon #9 as well as a Cap sketch on a Fallen Son book. I got Jeremy Haun to do a sweet FS book, too (he painted it!). Phil Moy and Jeff Moy each did one, too. I'll try to get some scans up, as they have to be seen to be believed. Rich Burchett did a FS cover, too. And I got David Finch to do an Iron Man on a FS cover to go with the Cap that a friend from the CGC board got done for me last year. Funny story about Finch, he had a looooong line all day. I was still waiting for another sketch to be finished Satuday at 1630 (the show ended at 1700) when I glanced over at Finch's table. There was one guy there, one. I waited while Finch signed four books for him then got my sketch with no waiting at all!

Back to the hunt.....Graham Crackers had a sweet booth with tons of great old books. They had a FF #2 that was absolutely beat, but I had a look at it anyway. I said it was just too bad for me to buy, then the owner said that he had another one in the hotel room and he'd bring it in the next morning. I told him it would probably be out of my range but asked a ballpark figure on it so he wouldn't have to hunt it unecessarily. He said $400-500, but that it presented nicely. I said fine, I'd at least look at it. Sunday morning, he had it and aside from a tan line across the top (sun spot?) it really does look good! I told him my wife would kill me and made sure he knew my father-in-law was standing next to me. My father-in-law got distracted and I told Jamie Graham I'd be back to get it when I could ditch my partner.

It took four hours, but I finally got away and got the book! Again, nothing fancy, but a cool book that I've wanted for a long time.

It was also my son's first show, so we got lots of pictures of him with the folks in costumes, and ironically, in Daydreams' booth! I think he must have been the only dealer that I didn't ask about the Valiant boards. Well, aside from the ones that I knew from years past.

I missed Chuck Rozanski from Mile High, even though I saw him several times, he was always busy. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, but I like Chuck. His company is hit and miss, but the man is always warm and gracious and more than willing to share anything he knows about comics with anyone who will listen. If you get the chance, just say hi sometime.

I'm sure there's more, but I can't come up with it right now.....I'll try to get some pics up soon!

i'd like to see a pic of your son, just to see if it rings any bells as to your true identity

[doomtree]

Well I went through the 50 cent boxes like everyone else but I did it on Sunday. I had my son(5), daughter(10), nephew(11) with me. It worked out great for me because they had my pull list and I would say something like Captain America 233 and they would say yes and mark it off. I picked up about 200 Caps I needed. I did the long box for $50. I got 2 long boxes. I picked up about 100 Valiant I needed including Magnus 1-9 in near mint condition. I was able to get another 20 pre unity books. I got a run of Legion of Super Heroes, old and new also. I looked through every box but 10 to 15. I got the the last row and met Chuck there. He had pulled something like 40 plus boxes already. He must have been heard me ask my pull list from the kids because he put a stack of 50 plus Ultraverse books in a box. When we found them I said we hit the mother load and he laughed and said he was wondering when I was going to find them. I talked to him for around 15 to 20 minutes and he talked to me about Ultraverse and the history of it. Very nice guy. He pulled a few more books from his boxes that he thought I might need. He was right I did need them also. I thought the 50 cent boxes were pretty good for me. Nothing pricey but I hand picked close to 700 books off of my list.

As you can tell I have not been collecting that long. I am playing catch up. I went last year and had a blast. This year was even better.

I found another dealer going out of business and he had a sign that said a quarter a comic or 100 for $10. I pulled around 30 valiant I needed and then some Qausor that my daughter seems to like. I got about 40 of those. The other 30 were image stuff I thought my nephew would like.

I went to Clints and found about 86 comics. With most of those being Valiant, Supergirl, and a run of Ex-Mutants, New Humans and a few odd comics I always wanted as a kid but couldn't fine or afford.

My kids had a plast. My son walked around with his Mom(gotta love her) and got 19 sketches in his books.

My daughter went with me last year. She got 19 sketches last year and did even better this year. She got 32 sketches. Some great ones. She was kinda sad because Tony Moore wasn't doing sketches for kids this year. She was wanting a Female Zombie to go along with the Male Zombie from last year. Man that guy can draw.

My Nephew can draw. I brought him with us because he needs some male bonding and he has been in trouble a lot. I thought that since he can draw this might get him to focus on drawing than getting in trouble. I hope it works. He walked around with my daughter and got 39 sketches. I think there were less than 6 artist he didn't get. He really had fun and wants to come back next year. I told him if he stays out of trouble for the year I will bring him back with a pull list of mine so he can go on his own and pull them for me.

I walked away with over 950 books all from my pull list. I paid less than $200 for them. Next year I will budget for 4 long boxes and another $100 for some of the $10 to $30 dollar books I need to complete some runs.

I don't look for mints on most of mine. I do like them in great shape but I am getting most of these books to doing some binding projects. I really came away with a great feeling this year.

Next year I am going to try to get Tony Moore to do a sketch for me. I am going to try to get the Moy brothers to do some Legion sketchs for my new Den/Comic room.

I can't wait till next year. I think we are going to go to a Ohio con this year if I can talk my wife into it.

[400yrs]

Sounds like you had a great time with the family. Awesome.

Next year I am going to try to get Tony Moore to do a sketch for me.

If I had that opportunity, I would certainly take it. Tony Moore does fantastic work.