Megacon - Watch Out for all the Picture Takers
Moderators: Daniel Jackson, greg
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400yrs
- Am I Too Old to be Licking This?
- Posts: 11484
- Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:55 am
- Valiant fan since: A&A #0
- Favorite character: Shadowman
- Favorite title: Harbinger
- Favorite writer: Dysart
- Favorite artist: Lapham
- Location: #champabay
Megacon - Watch Out for all the Picture Takers
Just got back. Will get a report up later maybe.
-
400yrs
- Am I Too Old to be Licking This?
- Posts: 11484
- Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:55 am
- Valiant fan since: A&A #0
- Favorite character: Shadowman
- Favorite title: Harbinger
- Favorite writer: Dysart
- Favorite artist: Lapham
- Location: #champabay
Oh no, on the weekend, I'm sure it's going to be way more crowded with japanimals. Try not to step on any tails. The annoying thing is that 50% of the people are dressed up like that and then most of the other 50% want to take pictures of every single one. So there's lots of stopping and waiting for pics.
Deals - There were alot of $1 boxes and half off trade stands. I looked at most of the trades but not too many of the $1 boxes.
Deals - There were alot of $1 boxes and half off trade stands. I looked at most of the trades but not too many of the $1 boxes.
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400yrs
- Am I Too Old to be Licking This?
- Posts: 11484
- Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:55 am
- Valiant fan since: A&A #0
- Favorite character: Shadowman
- Favorite title: Harbinger
- Favorite writer: Dysart
- Favorite artist: Lapham
- Location: #champabay
Valiant report:
I didn't dig too much through the $1 boxes, but when I did, I didn't notice much in the way of Valiant. One dealer I talked to said it wasn't worth bringing and I can't blame him.
There were a few dealers that had Valiants on their wall:
- A harby pink for $80
- Magnus 0, Psilords 1 gold, CEOG 1, and another crappy gold for $20 each.
- I saw a copy of Unity 2000 #1 in a box for $20
In the way of Valiant, I didn't pick up much. I got another X-O #1 for $2 and a well centered Rai 4 for $5.
Digging through the $1 boxes may have produced more.
Getting to the con:
For Friday, the doors opened at 1pm for regular folks unless you had a pre-sale ticket which would get you in at 12pm. Therefore, I decided to set out early to go to a Colisseum of Comics store on the way to get a pre-sale ticket to avoid the lines and get in a bit early.
The Colisseum of Comics store in Kissimmee was where I went. Nice stuff, decently priced and not all cramped. From quickly looking at this store, I picked up:
- RASL vol 2 oversized tpb for half off
- ASM fram variants #602 and #603 for $6 each,
- The Walking Dead #33 2nd print for $4.50 (I've been able to flip these for $25-30)
They were all out of tickets, but another of their stores had them.
So on I went to their Millenia store. This store was even cleaner with a great selection of stuff. There was a very nice girl working the counter which is a bonus.
If there were stores like these in the Tampa Bay area, I'd still be using an LCS rather than mail order.
I bought the ticket and went on my way.
I'm glad I bought the ticket because there was a huge line to buy them filled with dressed up kids and adults. You knew many of these people hadn't bathed in a few days. Glad I didn't have to stand in that mess.
The plan (which changed):
- drop off an ASM blank with Terrry Moore for a sketch
- back issues first - cheap boxes and see if I could find a reasonable Daredevil #7 and a nice copy of Marvel Premiere 15 (1st Iron Fist)
- trades later (so I'm not carrying these in my backpack all day)
- prints from artists last (so they don't get screwed up)
Overall comics report:
Stop 1 - probably the best back issue value at the con:
There was a guy with lots of silver, bronze and copper stuff for $3 a book. All I was interested in was Amazing Spideys and DDs and it was pretty obvious that those boxes were already hammered by dealers. The ASM box was about 1/3 taken.
Depluto, when you walk in, if you go to the left, this guy is in the far left aisle on the right hand side. He has back issues of silver, bronze and copper for $3 a book, trades half off, lots of CGC stuff. If you are looking for older Marvel back issues for $3, this guy is probably going to be one of the better deals, particularly if you are looking for non-main titles (unlike ASM), which may not be hammered yet.
All I picked out of there for $3 was a pretty nice copy of ASM 175. I'm sure there was some nice stuff in there before the con opened.
Next bunch of stops - back issues bin digging - here is what I picked up:
- Astounding Wolf-Man 11 $1
- Amazing Spiderman (1998) #1 $2
- Spectacular Spiderman #27 (1st Miller DD) $2 - This was probably my best deal of the con. I'm surprised a dealer didn't grab it.
- Daredevil (1963) 12, 14, 30 $5 each
- The Walking Dead 19 (1st Michonne) 3 copies for $20
- ASM 57, 97 $10 each (upgrade copies)
At this point (about 2:30), I was getting tired and wondering what the heck I was doin there. I wanted to get a sketch from Terry Moore, but I read on his twitter that he didn't like drawing at cons so I decided not to bother him. Looking at his prices - $150 for one character and $250 for 2, I don't really think I could afford it anyway.
So getting bummed, I decided to get something to eat and drink. I got a Con cuban and a Mountain Dew. The cuban actually wasn't that bad. The meat was ok. The cheese was good. The bread was just a bit stale, but better than I thought for con food.
With some food in me, I decided to go back and fill my backpack up with trades and hit the road.
Half off Trades / HCs run:
- Age of Bronze vol 3
- Incognegro
- Sweet Tooth vol 2
- Spider-Man Legends McFarlane vol 2 (I just need vol 1 and I don't need that $100 omni they just solicited)
- Starman Omni 5 and 6 - looking back, I kind of regret buying these even at half off. IMO, DC has waaaaaay over-priced these at $50 each. Y the Last Man, Walking Dead, Invincible HCs of the same format are all $30-35, but these are $50? WTF??
After that, I swing by Paolo Rivera and take a look at his pages and prints. He did the recent OMIT run in ASM and he's doing the new DD with Mark Waid.
I ended up picking up this print which I think is just beautiful:
AND this page. This is my first ASM page.
I know that some people like technical pages with lots of characters and action. I like pages that convey emotion though and this page does that for me:
After that, I was waiting for Jim Valentino to get back so I took a stroll through Artist Alley. This was actually the fun part of the con and I wish I would've spent more time here. I found an artist named Stephanie Tyler. She had a really nice Spidey painting, but at that point, I didn't have enough cash to get it. So, I got these pieces which are about 9 x 12:
They were only $10 each. My son has already claimed the red one for his room. I may see if she can do some stuff for me for next year.
Best parts of the con:
- Giving a kid an ASM 648 blank - While I was going through the trades, there was a teenage kid there with his parents. He was talking to a dealer about an ASM 648 blank with a big ding in the corner. The kid wanted to give the dealer $4 for it and the dealer was arguing over a buck. After the kid pulled away from the dealer, I gave him a nice copy that I had in my bag. He and his mother were very thankful.
- Meeting Jim Valentino and getting my copy of A Touch of Silver #1 signed by him and thanking him for all the great stuff he is putting out through his Shadowline. He was very nice.
If I go next year, I will probably spend more time in artist alley and with the creators. For the first time, I wasn't really excited about back issue or tpb digging, but the actual creator side of the convention was much more enjoyable. And I'll probably take some pics next year.
Depluto, stop by George Perez's booth. The girls there are amazing.
I didn't dig too much through the $1 boxes, but when I did, I didn't notice much in the way of Valiant. One dealer I talked to said it wasn't worth bringing and I can't blame him.
There were a few dealers that had Valiants on their wall:
- A harby pink for $80
- Magnus 0, Psilords 1 gold, CEOG 1, and another crappy gold for $20 each.
- I saw a copy of Unity 2000 #1 in a box for $20
In the way of Valiant, I didn't pick up much. I got another X-O #1 for $2 and a well centered Rai 4 for $5.
Digging through the $1 boxes may have produced more.
Getting to the con:
For Friday, the doors opened at 1pm for regular folks unless you had a pre-sale ticket which would get you in at 12pm. Therefore, I decided to set out early to go to a Colisseum of Comics store on the way to get a pre-sale ticket to avoid the lines and get in a bit early.
The Colisseum of Comics store in Kissimmee was where I went. Nice stuff, decently priced and not all cramped. From quickly looking at this store, I picked up:
- RASL vol 2 oversized tpb for half off
- ASM fram variants #602 and #603 for $6 each,
- The Walking Dead #33 2nd print for $4.50 (I've been able to flip these for $25-30)
They were all out of tickets, but another of their stores had them.
So on I went to their Millenia store. This store was even cleaner with a great selection of stuff. There was a very nice girl working the counter which is a bonus.
If there were stores like these in the Tampa Bay area, I'd still be using an LCS rather than mail order.
I bought the ticket and went on my way.
I'm glad I bought the ticket because there was a huge line to buy them filled with dressed up kids and adults. You knew many of these people hadn't bathed in a few days. Glad I didn't have to stand in that mess.
The plan (which changed):
- drop off an ASM blank with Terrry Moore for a sketch
- back issues first - cheap boxes and see if I could find a reasonable Daredevil #7 and a nice copy of Marvel Premiere 15 (1st Iron Fist)
- trades later (so I'm not carrying these in my backpack all day)
- prints from artists last (so they don't get screwed up)
Overall comics report:
Stop 1 - probably the best back issue value at the con:
There was a guy with lots of silver, bronze and copper stuff for $3 a book. All I was interested in was Amazing Spideys and DDs and it was pretty obvious that those boxes were already hammered by dealers. The ASM box was about 1/3 taken.
Depluto, when you walk in, if you go to the left, this guy is in the far left aisle on the right hand side. He has back issues of silver, bronze and copper for $3 a book, trades half off, lots of CGC stuff. If you are looking for older Marvel back issues for $3, this guy is probably going to be one of the better deals, particularly if you are looking for non-main titles (unlike ASM), which may not be hammered yet.
All I picked out of there for $3 was a pretty nice copy of ASM 175. I'm sure there was some nice stuff in there before the con opened.
Next bunch of stops - back issues bin digging - here is what I picked up:
- Astounding Wolf-Man 11 $1
- Amazing Spiderman (1998) #1 $2
- Spectacular Spiderman #27 (1st Miller DD) $2 - This was probably my best deal of the con. I'm surprised a dealer didn't grab it.
- Daredevil (1963) 12, 14, 30 $5 each
- The Walking Dead 19 (1st Michonne) 3 copies for $20
- ASM 57, 97 $10 each (upgrade copies)
At this point (about 2:30), I was getting tired and wondering what the heck I was doin there. I wanted to get a sketch from Terry Moore, but I read on his twitter that he didn't like drawing at cons so I decided not to bother him. Looking at his prices - $150 for one character and $250 for 2, I don't really think I could afford it anyway.
So getting bummed, I decided to get something to eat and drink. I got a Con cuban and a Mountain Dew. The cuban actually wasn't that bad. The meat was ok. The cheese was good. The bread was just a bit stale, but better than I thought for con food.
With some food in me, I decided to go back and fill my backpack up with trades and hit the road.
Half off Trades / HCs run:
- Age of Bronze vol 3
- Incognegro
- Sweet Tooth vol 2
- Spider-Man Legends McFarlane vol 2 (I just need vol 1 and I don't need that $100 omni they just solicited)
- Starman Omni 5 and 6 - looking back, I kind of regret buying these even at half off. IMO, DC has waaaaaay over-priced these at $50 each. Y the Last Man, Walking Dead, Invincible HCs of the same format are all $30-35, but these are $50? WTF??
After that, I swing by Paolo Rivera and take a look at his pages and prints. He did the recent OMIT run in ASM and he's doing the new DD with Mark Waid.
I ended up picking up this print which I think is just beautiful:
AND this page. This is my first ASM page.
I know that some people like technical pages with lots of characters and action. I like pages that convey emotion though and this page does that for me: After that, I was waiting for Jim Valentino to get back so I took a stroll through Artist Alley. This was actually the fun part of the con and I wish I would've spent more time here. I found an artist named Stephanie Tyler. She had a really nice Spidey painting, but at that point, I didn't have enough cash to get it. So, I got these pieces which are about 9 x 12:
They were only $10 each. My son has already claimed the red one for his room. I may see if she can do some stuff for me for next year.
Best parts of the con:
- Giving a kid an ASM 648 blank - While I was going through the trades, there was a teenage kid there with his parents. He was talking to a dealer about an ASM 648 blank with a big ding in the corner. The kid wanted to give the dealer $4 for it and the dealer was arguing over a buck. After the kid pulled away from the dealer, I gave him a nice copy that I had in my bag. He and his mother were very thankful.
- Meeting Jim Valentino and getting my copy of A Touch of Silver #1 signed by him and thanking him for all the great stuff he is putting out through his Shadowline. He was very nice.
If I go next year, I will probably spend more time in artist alley and with the creators. For the first time, I wasn't really excited about back issue or tpb digging, but the actual creator side of the convention was much more enjoyable. And I'll probably take some pics next year.
Depluto, stop by George Perez's booth. The girls there are amazing.
-
400yrs
- Am I Too Old to be Licking This?
- Posts: 11484
- Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:55 am
- Valiant fan since: A&A #0
- Favorite character: Shadowman
- Favorite title: Harbinger
- Favorite writer: Dysart
- Favorite artist: Lapham
- Location: #champabay
depluto wrote:Yeeha, now I'm ready ...
The nice thing about that con is that I am usually the coolest person there. And I'm not that cool.
If you plan on buying stuff take some kind of bag. I took a Jansport bookbag and it made things so much easier. I remember when I went years ago and lugged stuff around...... it sucked.
Indeed, I took a Jansport backpack with me to Wizard NOLA Con and it made things so much easier.400yrs wrote:depluto wrote:Yeeha, now I'm ready ...
The nice thing about that con is that I am usually the coolest person there. And I'm not that cool.
If you plan on buying stuff take some kind of bag. I took a Jansport bookbag and it made things so much easier. I remember when I went years ago and lugged stuff around...... it sucked.
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400yrs
- Am I Too Old to be Licking This?
- Posts: 11484
- Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:55 am
- Valiant fan since: A&A #0
- Favorite character: Shadowman
- Favorite title: Harbinger
- Favorite writer: Dysart
- Favorite artist: Lapham
- Location: #champabay
DEPLUTO!!!
You may want to pick up a schedule. On Sunday there's a Stan Lee Q&A panel in room 222A and 222B from 11:30-12:30. Boy, I'd love to be there.
The con actually has a really cool listing of panels. If I was staying out there the whole weekend, I would've hit several. Another pretty cool one is the Creator Owned Comics panel at 4:10 with Terry Moore, Jim Valentinao, Ron Marz, Jimmy Palmiotti and others.
You may want to pick up a schedule. On Sunday there's a Stan Lee Q&A panel in room 222A and 222B from 11:30-12:30. Boy, I'd love to be there.
The con actually has a really cool listing of panels. If I was staying out there the whole weekend, I would've hit several. Another pretty cool one is the Creator Owned Comics panel at 4:10 with Terry Moore, Jim Valentinao, Ron Marz, Jimmy Palmiotti and others.
Now THAT is just damn cool.400yrs wrote: Best parts of the con:
- Giving a kid an ASM 648 blank - While I was going through the trades, there was a teenage kid there with his parents. He was talking to a dealer about an ASM 648 blank with a big ding in the corner. The kid wanted to give the dealer $4 for it and the dealer was arguing over a buck. After the kid pulled away from the dealer, I gave him a nice copy that I had in my bag. He and his mother were very thankful.
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depluto
- [custom level vored]
- Posts: 19520
- Joined: Mon Jun 28, 2004 1:38 pm
- Valiant fan since: Yes
- Favorite character: Yes
- Favorite title: Yes
- Favorite writer: Yes
- Location: Pluto Beach FL
Boy, you weren't kidding about the picture takers ... some real creepers in there. I took my kid with me and he was having a good time just walking around checking things out so I skipped the panels (I've met Stan Lee before).
Found pretty good bronze deals all over the place for random stuff. Found a guy right before I left with a few quarter bins ... Holy *SQUEE*! I got about 40 recent variant covers for Iron Man, Hulk, X-Men, etc., and about 55 other new comics to fill in runs. Rounded to 20 bucks ... I was pretty happy with that.
Found pretty good bronze deals all over the place for random stuff. Found a guy right before I left with a few quarter bins ... Holy *SQUEE*! I got about 40 recent variant covers for Iron Man, Hulk, X-Men, etc., and about 55 other new comics to fill in runs. Rounded to 20 bucks ... I was pretty happy with that.
-
400yrs
- Am I Too Old to be Licking This?
- Posts: 11484
- Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:55 am
- Valiant fan since: A&A #0
- Favorite character: Shadowman
- Favorite title: Harbinger
- Favorite writer: Dysart
- Favorite artist: Lapham
- Location: #champabay
Yeah, I'm pretty sure they were slashing their prices. On Friday, I didn't see anything less than $1 boxes.depluto wrote:Boy, you weren't kidding about the picture takers ... some real creepers in there. I took my kid with me and he was having a good time just walking around checking things out so I skipped the panels (I've met Stan Lee before).
Found pretty good bronze deals all over the place for random stuff. Found a guy right before I left with a few quarter bins ... Holy *SQUEE*! I got about 40 recent variant covers for Iron Man, Hulk, X-Men, etc., and about 55 other new comics to fill in runs. Rounded to 20 bucks ... I was pretty happy with that.
How crowded was it? Word on Saturday was that it was ridiculously crowded and sold out at 36K.