Ant-Man's Chicago report ... through the eyes of a volunteer

[Ant-Man]

I have enjoyed all of the reports written thus far, so I thought I would share some of the sights & sounds (but not the smells) of the past weekend from one who donned an orange shirt. My first Chicago con was '83(?), but there were many 'firsts' for me in '09. No pictures (I'll post some in other threads when books are scanned).

 

Wednesday night - A few of us had gathered to stuff the goodie bags available to all attendees (if you consider four different advertising postcards 'goodies', then we're on the same page). Never thought I'd hear people say "Where are the Magic cards?".

 

Walked the showroom floor with the convention coordinator. Saw some great stuff, started getting excited. Didn't see Marvel or DC booths. Coming back down. Introduced myself to Jeff at Hot Flips, told him I would be shopping there due to overwhelming board reviews. Feeling a little better.

 

Thursday - Get in around noon. Go to CGC booth to fill out a form so I can drop 'n go in a few hours. I come back a while later and explain to Brad Bradley that this is my first time submitting. He was very gentle. I also see Greggy walking by with both fists raised in the air triumphantly. Star struck to say the least.

 

Was out in the lobby for a good portion of the night, but when I was on the floor, I saw WGN interviewing the folks at Metropolis. They were filming the row of slabbed AF 15s on their wall & the one gentleman was quick to pull out the 9.6 and share the six-figure asking price with the reporter. Not sure if this ever aired.

 

I also saw someone at the booth behind Motor City accidently bump into the wall and knock down a slew of items belonging to Motor City. I don't know if I'll ever forget that sound. Shudder

 

Friday - Roll in around 7:00. Everyone is ready for the first full day. Line control in lobby, blah, blah, blah ... Get to walk around the con w/Cameron Bright ("Twilight") so he doesn't get swarmed by 'tweens. We're joined by a wrestler named "The Smoke". Not sure the best way to hide at a con is by walking with two guys in orange shirts and a giant. By late afternoon, all of the Toyfare mags are gone.

 

Saw the Ultimate Marvel panel w/Mark Millar. Never took Scottish in school, so that was kind of pointless. Seriously, I thought he was entertaining. People were already asking if Miracleman (or Marvelman) would be in the Ultimate Universe. No immediate plans, but never say never ...

 

On the floor, I had a 'Groundhog Day' moment as I saw the same items on the same wall at Motor City get toppled to the ground. I just about threw up at this point. Does this happen more than I thought? I'd freak out if it were my crappy books taking a nosedive, let alone the nicer stuff you see on the wall of a dealer.

 

Did line control at the Hero Initiative booth. Watched George Perez sketch a pretty cool Nightwing while talking about the Speed Dating that he hosted on Thursday evening. The male participants only outnumbered the femles by two, which is about a dozen less than I expected (limited to 20 of each). Sounded like one couple may have actually found nerd love. Salute!

 

After that last sketch, Perez did all signings. One guy brought up four plastic grocery bags full of books. George of course wanted to make sure that the gentleman had made his donation before starting (nothing was put in the tip jar). The man used a credit card instead and George started signing away. Class act.

 

Briefly spoke to Mike Champion in Artist Alley while working line control for Frank Cho. Mentioned how he feels like he's drawn hundreds of Green Goblin sketch covers. You never see those on these boards ...

 

Pick up my book at CGC. Cap #100, blue label 7.0. I bought it from Joe Sarno over ten years ago as a Fine +. Happy to be in the club. Let the addiction begin ...

 

Saturday - Show up at 7:00. Had 70,000 attendees last year, expected over 80,000 this year (per Wizard). Spoke again to Brad from CGC for a short time. Nice guy. Line control for actors, blah, blah, blah ... Got about 20 minutes to myself between 7:00 and 6:00 to woof down a granola bar for lunch.

 

While in the restroom, wrestler Kevin Nash lumbers in to the cry of "Oh my God, Kevin Nash!" from a surprised fan. A response from the wall answers "Hey, he's gotta' pi$$ too", to which Kevin replied "Yep". It's moments like these that children will carry into their adult lives and remember as the best times of their youth.

 

One of the winners in the adult costume contest was the black-suited Superman. On the way to my car in the lot, I see the same gentleman driving away in a white minivan with a black Superman logo on the hood and his website on the back window. Superfan #1? Definitely in the team picture.

 

I finally get to shop around 6:00. While thumbing through the $2 boxes at an unnamed booth, I come across a rather nice Hulk #202 30-cent variant (my first). Slight spine roll, but nothing that a few years in a long box won't smush out (don't want to say the "P" word and derail the thread). Would have never given this book a second thought before joining these boards. Thanks for the education. Before I can look for others, the lights start going out with no announcement. Oh well, we'll check back on Sunday. By the end of the night, all of the Wizard magazines & convention programs are gone.

 

Sunday - Some things to take care of kept me from getting to the con until 8:45. Before the floor is even open, we are out of the virgin cover Dynamite variants given out to advance ticket purchasers. Went back to the unknown dealer, but didn't find any more price variants.

 

A little more floor time than Saturday, but didn't buy many books. Even though most items that I wanted from Hot Flips were gone (my own fault), Jeff took care of me and assured himself of a future visit, whatever con that may be. (thumbs u

 

Saw some friends, realized that I wasn't going to see the remaining aisles & got ready for the close. Saw lots of families, which was encouraging, but I'm not sure if they were stargazing or buying books. Seemed a little flat without the Big Two, but a decent con experience nevertheless.

[thirdgreenham]

Glad you had a good time. (thumbs u

 

Pictures would be nice, though. See if you can put a few in this thread as well.

 

Andy

[BlowUpTheMoon]

Nicely written; thanks for the report from a different perspective.

[thehumantorch]

Nice report from a different perspective, thanks.

[DrWatson]

An excellent report that I actually enjoyed reading. Super good. (thumbs u