Bumble Kitty

Last year, I was able to bypass the line outside and get in about 9:00 AM. But, I had to wait in the lobby until 9:30 before entering the dealers room.

Picked up this one at SDCC 2019...

It's been a few years, but I don't remember the girls in high school dressing like this.

Another recent addition...

I have a few romance books, so I should contribute to this topic. This came in last week from CGC, and I was quite happy with the grade.

I am humbled to be in the same sentence as @Dr. Love. As far as the romance genre, I am a distant second to that knowledge "machine". Someone who has quite a bit of insight is @sacentaur. If I knew a fraction of what he knows, I would be in great shape.

I got a four day plus preview night.

John pointed it out to me, but I didn't buy it.

OK, my observations of the convention: My last visit to Chicago was 11 years ago, so I will use that as a comparison. This trip was planned nine weeks ago. Flights were still affordable and I had a choice of several hotels. Very easy to plan and book, as compared to the San Diego Comic Con. My wife and I flew in on Wednesday night. We spent most of Thursday sightseeing and I hit Preview night for about two hours. I spent most of that time talking to dealers who I hadn't seen in years. That was very enjoyable. Al Stoltz was trying to convince me to go to Baltimore in late October. I returned to the Con on Friday for about five and half hours as Mrs. Bumble Kitty went to the Magnificent Mile to look and shop. I caught up with more dealers. When I realized time was moving on without me, I started buying books. I felt a little rushed and I didn't get to "box dive" at length (I learned to do this from Robot Man). I didn't even get to walk through Artist's Alley. Another day would have definitely helped me. I left the Con to meet up with a couple of boardies for dinner at Gibson's. Saw a couple of celebrities there -- Henry Winkler and our own Roy (yes, I consider him a celebrity, plus he looks better than the Fonz). I had a wonderful time, with Inaflash, Silver and Mrs. Bumble Kitty. My steak was outstanding! I went back to the Con on Saturday morning for about one hour, as we had to check out before noon and catch a flight. I did some last minute shopping and said good bye to a few people. I guess Chicago enjoyed having me, as I was patted down in the security line at O'Hare. Prior to the "pat down", the agent asked if I wanted a private room, and told him I already had a prostate exam, so go ahead. The TSA agent and I are now on a first name basis. I noticed fewer dealers than my last visit 11 years ago, but there were still lots of comic dealers, as evidenced by the pictures. I bought a nice stack of books and I could have spent a lot more, if I was not married (my wife doesn't frequent the boards, so I can write this). This show may not be what it used to be, but it was still fun for me. It is true that Wizard management leaves a lot to be desired. As a result, other convention promoters are gunning for them. Case in point, Reed had the Philly show the same weekend. There was also a Con up in Canada (Toronto I believe). Heck, Harley was up there buying and he left Jason in charge of his booth down here. So a few dealers were siphoned off to those Cons. But for me, when I travel to a Con, visiting the area and meeting friends is always the priority. Buying funny books is secondary. As a result, I have a great time and it turns into a mini vacation. It is just the way I look at things. One last note: for you boardies on the West Coast, particularly Southern California, you are very fortunate to have Terry O'Neil's show in January and Torpedo Con in July. It seems everyone in Chicago knows about these shows and are thinking of attending.

Saw this at the Comic Heaven booth. Check out the top of the book.

I saw this at Dale Roberts booth...and I didn't buy it.

My wife thought these were so cute...

Comic Heaven