BabaLament

@ADAMANTIUM @Galen130 @KirbyTown Thanks guys! It wasn't a snap decision, or any kind of financial situation that forced us into selling; more like the time is right, the storage room was packed to the gills, and we've been in the hobby long enough to realize where we get the most joy out of it. We enjoy having custom commissions made, buying original art, and getting to know artists & writers who are starting out/breaking into the business. I have more fun trading snarky conversation with Gerry Conway than I do occasionally cracking a storage bin and dusting off the ASM 129, same with a number of other artists & authors. I'm eternally grateful that the hobby has allowed me to meet & befriend a lot of really awesome people. For now, that's enough. Oh, and the Marvel Funko Pop's. I'll still be collecting those. 

Hello all!

Well, this has been an awesome journey, getting to know boardies, shop owners, other collectors, and random cool people at conventions. However, as of late the collection has become so large that its unwieldly, and I don't have the time or space to attend to it properly. So, to paraphrase Major League, "I sold the whole (Censored) thing." 5 boxes of slabs, 15 short boxes, 15 long boxes, an entire set of Star Wars LEGO, replica lightsabers, patridge, pear tree, eight tiny reindeer.

The only things I am keeping are the Funko Pop's, original artwork, blank cover sketches, and the first set of books I bought with my dad that started the whole thing, Aliens/Predator: Deadliest of the Species.

The buyer is a gentleman who is going to make sure the books find a good home, and I'm of the opinion that they're better off making someone happy out in the world than they are collecting dust in my storage room.

I'm still here for the Pop's, and I love the art & stories of my favorite comics, but this is the end of the road when it comes to collecting.

@ADAMANTIUM As promised, the Book of Baba's Vent.

So after a very nice nap (highly endorsed) around lunchtime, we went back onto the show floor and went on Quest for Comics...and I came up bone dry.

Its not for lack of selection or variety; some of my favorite shops & vendors were present. @MrBedrock represented Houston's finest shop as always, Rick's Comic Crypt (one of the nicest guys) had some excellent books out, and a variety of independent guys and collectors looking to cash out their collections were all moving very nice books. We were personally priced out; I have most of what I want, and the pick-ups I was interested in were more than I was willing to go. However, even considering convention pricing, things were not crazy. Some keys were downright reasonable. There's always the one guy who puts up a Hulk 181 or TMNT 1 3rd Print for "(Blank)-You" money, but even the key books that were present weren't pay-off-the-mortgage levels of overpriced. On the other hand, nobody that I saw had bank-breakers out on display; no Action Comics 1, no AF 15, etc. Now if the gentlemen who play in the Executive Game for Golden Age keys were making deals off in a hotel room somewhere, I can't say; to paraphrase John Wick's Winston, "You can't afford to dip so much as a pinky into that pool."

I did commission a custom ASM sketch cover from Aaron Williamson. I asked for Kingpin, but staring out a circular window at the NYC skyline. Not a direct ASM 300 swipe, but it hopefully works out ok.

Mostafa Moussa wants to put some finishing touches on the ASM 300 swipes, so he's going to mail them back to me. That's fine; I've waited this long, what's another couple of days?

Jonathan Hallett *forgot* to bring the Stitch-as-Spider-Man ASM 300 swipe sketch cover commission. He has *forgotten* to finish and/or ship it for almost a year; despite repeated contacts where he would "remember", and "promise" to get it to me. He *did* remember to make prints based on my sketch cover, and bring those for sale.  He has promised to mail it to me "soon."

I have a pretty short tihs list. It has two names on it. I may be adding a third in short order. We shall see.

The people were awesome. Lots of comic and anime fans who were just plain happy to *be* at a comic convention. Mask usage was probably around 50/50; some people were all about it, some people went the chin-diaper route, others were full-on YOLO. A lot of great cosplayers who, much to my surprise, asked for photos. I didn't think my outfit was all that impressive, but I think I took pictures with every Spider-Man in the greater Houston area. It ended up being quite a fun time.

Even though we paid the early checkout penalty, we decided to pack it in and head for home early. After the first night food poisoning episode, we decided discretion was the better part of valor, and that we'd rather make dinner at the house. Additionally, even though the room at the Hilton was large, clean, recently renovated, and had blessedly impressive air conditioning...the bed didn't work for either of us. Too hard for my wife to be comfortable, too soft for me. So we're back, doing laundry and working on our post-show critiques.

This is a picture with a group of Spider-Man/Gwen cosplayers, and a downright awesome Doctor Octopus.

Also, I may have learned why Antony Starr decided to cancel his appearance at Comicpalooza. To be fair, for one of those MCU paychecks, I'd have probably done the same thing.

Hello all!

Its that time of year again; Comicpalooza (Houston)! So my wife and I have made our annual trip to spend the weekend geeking out downtown.

This convention has a special place in my heart, as this is where I met my wife for the first time in 2018. She was attending with her brother’s family, he just happens to be my best friend; so we met, life happened, & here we are.

I’m going to post updates and such throughout the show weekend. Anyone else in attendance, please add your thoughts, observations, and sweet convention pickups/finds in the comments! Anyone wants to say “hi,” I’ll be the guy rocking around in full Disney+ Kingpin Cosplay for as long as I can handle the heat. Hoping for a couple of “Hi Baba!” moments; be nice to meet some boardies.

Day One: Disappointment is off to an early start. Checked in at the Hilton, ate dinner at Papasitos Cantina. We skipped the wresting event & briefly checked out then left the headache-inducing EDM Blacklight/glow stick nerd rave opening night party in favor of drinks at the Hilton bar. The Baby Yoda cocktail was incredible, convention-themed beer was ok. We went on to dinner at Papasitos Cantina, after which a couple of hours later the food poisoning had my wife and I competing over who gets to pray at the porcelain altar for the rest of the evening.

This…is not off to a great start. On the flip side, it can only get better…right?

Day Two: Ok. Much better. Stomach settled, sleep obtained. Starbucks coffee for me, Coca-Cola for Darth Wifey (while the love of my life, she is *not* a morning person). A couple of hours to get ourselves together before the fun starts. 

Two celebrity guests I wanted signatures from (Antony Starr & Aliqua Cox) have canceled. 😢 At least they’re being cool about it and getting the signature & photo-op refund e-mails out immediately. Bonus points to the promoter for not messing with people’s money.

The bench of comic industry talent attending is distinguished, but very, very short. I have some Batman black label books I’d like to get signed by Jock, and I’m hoping Stephanie Phillips has some Harley Quinn books I can pick up and get signed for my niece. I brought The Boys #3 & Herogasm blank set that I was hoping to get signed by Antony Starr…but Karen Fukuhara is here, so one down, many more to go. On the blank sketch set, I was thinking of commissioning a three part connecting piece with Homelander, Superman, and Iron Patriot all squaring off. Thoughts?

I have four custom ASM 300 cover swipes to pick up that were commissioned during last year’s show. Three are from Mostafa Moussa, whose work is amazing; a Venom Noir, Carnage Noir, and Spider-Gwen Noir. His steampunk Venom is on point! Another one is by Jonathan Hallett; the StitchToons guy. It’s Stitch as Spider-Man, because Stitch is my wife’s kryptonite. 🤣

Yeah, that Stitch Crashes Disney product line from last year? More like Stitch Zero’s Out Baba’s Bank Account Balance. Happy wife, happy life, right fellas? 😇

I brought a bunch of blank sketch books; hoping that I can find people in Artists Alley whose styles I like & they’re available to feed my custom ASM 300 swipe addiction. 😁 

Final before-the-door thoughts; moving the convention dates from Memorial Day weekend to July between Fan Expo Chicago & San Diego Comic Con might be putting talent in a scheduling bind & Houston is on the losing end. If the promoters want to keep building this show, they need to up their game significantly in 2023. My opinion, I could be wrong.

Regardless, we are determined to make the best & most of the weekend. Let’s go!

A couple of pickups from Cowabunga Comics. The Kyle Willis 2022 Sketchbook w/ ASM 300 style Miles Morales metal cover, and a Department of Truth #16 shop exclusive. 

*Update, Part Deux* Hi all! Based upon feedback (thank you guys!) went back& returned the books. Owner looked at the photo comparisons on the signatures & agreed my concerns were valid. Full refund, no complaints or argument. He’s going to have them authenticated before putting them back up for sale or trashing them if they’re fake. Guy who sold them to the shop is now on the mess list for passing forgeries; as he should be. All’s well that ends well, at least for me. Sucks he got burned buying a collection with sketchy signatures, but hopefully some of them come back legit & he comes out ahead.

*Update* Hi all! So a friend of mine who is a shop owner saw the post & got in touch with me. In his experienced opinion the signatures are forgeries. I’m ok with research, but I’m also human & it’s possible my excitement overrode my natural skepticism. Could you guys do me a solid, take a look, and let me know what you think? What bothers me is that I was at the same place yesterday & they had a pair of questionable Stan Lee sig’s and an “Alex Ross” sig that even my untrained eye could tell was forged. I don’t want to sully his rep, but if the general consensus is that they are fake, I’ll definitely suggest it’s a shop where the buyer beware. Any assistance with verification  would be appreciated!

Hello all! Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there! We’re on a little trip out of town to visit family, and wouldn’t you know it, we managed to come across a comic shop.

My wife also found it shocking I just happened to come across a comic shop. Just lucky I guess. 🤣

Batman Beyond #1 signed by Kevin Conroy & Bruce Timm, TMNT FCBD signed by Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird w/ turtle remark, Uncanny X-Men #125, & Superman #18.