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Bumble Kitty

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    California Comic Convention 2020 ( CalComicCon )

    in Comic Events

    Posted

    On 8/1/2019 at 9:20 PM, sacentaur said:

    Interesting, a change of venue...

    A change of venue might be because...(1) the dealer's room will be a little bigger and all dealers will be in one location, as opposed to spread out over two rooms and a patio.  

    A change of venue might be because...(2) there will be more parking.  

    A change of venue might be because...(3) there are more eateries within walking distance.

    Los Angeles Torpedo Comics Collectors Convention JULY 14, 2019

    in Comic Events

    Posted

    3 hours ago, sacentaur said:

    Enjoyed the show today, chatting with Boardies is always a highlight for me. :foryou:

    I can certainly sympathize when listening to several out-of-towners who were really taken aback by the poor conditions in the Los Angeles area. The Palladium was a more comfortable venue than the hotel last year, but I do understand the (valid) concerns of others.

    Now please convince CGC to come out next year!

    Steve, I agree.  Finding neat comic books is nice, but catching up with friends is a whole lot of fun!

    The last time I was at the Palladium was back in 1990 for a concert.  I remember thinking it is an "old" building.  So what.  But today, I appreciate the Art Deco architecture of the hall.  I wonder what it was like back in the thirties, forties and fifties!

    Los Angeles Torpedo Comics Collectors Convention JULY 14, 2019

    in Comic Events

    Posted

    6 hours ago, Ghost Town said:

    If anyone is on the fence about attending, I went last year and thought it was a great show. There were plenty of great dealers and books in the room. It reminded me of some of the monthly NYC shows back in the 1990s.

     I thought last year’s venue near LAX was great. I’m not thrilled about the new location in Hollywood, but I’ll try to keep an open mind.

    The dealer line up for this year's show seems better than last year!  That says quite a bit about the show and says quite a bit about SDCC (in a different way).

    I was not thrilled about the LAX location last year, but I understood why it was held there.  This year, parking seems to be a little more reasonable and there appears to be some more choices for eateries.  But people come for the comic books, and there appears to be quite a few! :)

    Stolen Books - Harley Yee - Berkeley

    in Comics General

    Posted

    4 hours ago, VintageComics said:

    It's pretty unbelievable that theft is not a big deal anymore. Of any amount.

    But 6 figures?

    I wonder if law makers would feel differently if it was their stuff that was stolen?

    Unreal.

    And on a side note, many other crimes (like the college bribery scandal) which really doesn't harm anyone to any real degree is being dragged through the courts and television news like it's as important as the landing on the moon.

    The sad reality is that fine art crime is not considered a serious crime in the USA (it is in Europe).  Robert Wittman (I believe that is his name), former FBI agent, wrote a book detailing his time in the fine art crime division in the bureau.  It took him 20 plus years to build up his reputation in the black market and he was able to bring many criminals to justice.  However, new management forced him to bring a new agent along to a "meeting".  This new agent used TV crime shows as his guide.  In a short amount of time, the author's cover was blown because of this rookie agent.  Very interesting read.

    Now, comic books may not be fine art (some may disagree).  But in some (or most) localities, the theft of funny books is not taken seriously.  I guess when you deal with assault, rape, murder and "other" things, it just doesn't measure up to some.  To me, it is not the police who don't care.  It is the elected officials who want to deal with these other matters that they consider important.

    I have also heard this is an issue from dealers in other collectible fields.

    I think the best way to deal with this is to be vigilant and carry insurance.  I can also see why some victims of theft give up, sell what they have left, and leave the hobby.

    But on the bright side, Harley got virtually all of his livelihood back.  I think that counts for something.

    Stolen Books - Harley Yee - Berkeley

    in Comics General

    Posted · Edited by Bumble Kitty

    12 hours ago, sacentaur said:

    Bums are hanging out front of the store smoking crack.

    These 3 guys come in with two books. One is a CGC green label New Mutants 98. The shop owner doesn’t know what a green label is but recognizes it as being on Harley’s list. 

    Bad guys go out to the car and bring in the other books. One is a romance book. That is funny. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

    Shop owner’s brother gets the crooks’ ID and phone number before writing them a check. Bad guys leave. 

    Call Chase bank to stop the check. Bad guys show up at the bank to cash the check. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

    Bad guys return to the store. They are all bigger than the shop owner. Call the cops, they don’t show up.

    Shop owner has $100k In books. Harley comes in the next day and shakes his hand.

    Things are a bit fuzzy after that.

    Dude, I love California! Unicorns rule!! :cloud9:

    I also remember the comic book shop owner saying this was the first time Harley left a vehicle (with comic books) unattended.

    Stolen Books - Harley Yee - Berkeley

    in Comics General

    Posted

    1 hour ago, sacentaur said:

    Seattle, another progressive Mecca. :sick:

    Yeah, but at least in California we got rid of the straws in restaurants...well, sort of. :screwy:

    But back to topic, I hope Harley gets all of his books back.  And I hope the three perps are prosecuted to the full extent of the law, as this is a high dollar robbery.

    Son of My 50 Year Junk Obsession

    in Golden Age Comic Books

    Posted

    RM, good report. What other show did you attend today?

    A few of the dealers had depleted stock because the Seattle show was two weeks ago and C2E2 was last week.  They were also physically tired.  However, if you were looking for Romance, there was a lot of it in all grades and prices.  I took home a bunch on Friday and a bunch on Saturday.  I also bought some more on Sunday, as one dealer had some new stock come in today!  Yes today, Sunday!

    I also tried to walk and peruse the whole exhibit hall on Saturday.  I gave up about half way through it, because I was a little sleep deprived and I was very tired.  I was afraid someone would think I was in costume as a tired, old dog, because my rear end was literally dragging.

    I talked to a couple of dealers and they described the comic book hobby as "vibrant".  I agree.

    One last thing, the Torpedo Con will be held on Sunday, July 14 at the Hollywood Palladium.  That will be very interesting and I look forward to it.

    Long Beach Comic Expo February 16 & 17

    in Comic Events

    Posted

    I had a conflict, so I could not attend on Saturday.  I made it very late on Sunday, and I was charged a little less than the actual entrance cost.  Thanks LBCE!

    There were more dealers than I had anticipated.  Unfortunately, I was not able to check every single comic box. I only made a quick look at the wall books.  

    But I managed to pick a few nice books from this dealer...

    20190217_162002.jpg