Pontoon's Purported Boston Con Report

[Dick Pontoon]

Now that it’s old news and already been discussed in several other threads, I thought it the perfect time for my 2012 Boston Comic Con Report.

 

Not really sure where to start, and if you like well written reports your needs may be better served elsewhere.

 

My photos are minimal because I was pretty busy both days. Also because I just was not in the mood to snap pictures of people in costumes; by mid-day Saturday I already had enough of gawky galumphers stopping every five feet and impeding traffic just to take a picture of the cosplay folks.

 

I do wish I got more shots of wall displays; I like looking at them in other show reports and recently picked up a book from Greg Reece after seeing a con photo here.

 

The weather started out crappy on Saturday, but cleared up and tuned into a beautiful day. Luckily, I was unaware of this since I was inside the Bunker all day long.

 

 

[Dick Pontoon]

I spent a lot of time in artist lines; everybody I met was great. Kevin Eastman maintained an affable demeanor with mile-long queues each day; Simon Bisley maintained his with a bottle of Grey Goose by his side. As I finally inched up closer to his table, he stood, stretched and shouted with Brit accent “I’ve got to go to the ter. Anyone know which way to the ter?” After I pointed him towards the loo I worried he might not return, but sure enough he did. No pix of him or Eastman though; took me a while to remember to carry my camera.

 

I didn’t have a lot of time for shopping, but did pick up cool books. Boston is not Chicago or NY, nor Baltimore or Heroes, but I manage to do okay. That said, Foolkiller’s comments in the other thread have validity and I’d be overjoyed to see more dealers. (I finally got to meet him in person; although very brief it’s my understanding our short encounter was the pinnacle of his weekend.)

 

Attendees seemed more interested in getting the books regardless of condition as opposed to grade conscious Forumites, and I overheard lots of people talking about picking up cheap trades. I was surprised to see people shocked by wall book prices, some folks seemed unaware a market for back issues even existed: “Why is that so much?” or “That book is $80!!” Maybe they just wandered in the door from the real world?

 

 

[Dick Pontoon]

I also saw handling of books that blew my mind, people in line for autographs with handfuls of them sans bag or board, flopping them hither and yon. Also saw things like a woman at Ted’s a few weeks back holding a TTA #12 by the lower right corner between her thumb, pointer and index finger, curling and casually gesturing with it in the same way you might pick up a magazine in the doctor’s office.

 

I’ve seen Herb Trimpe a few times before, (his wife even remembered me) and he was very talkative, expounding on the character of the Hulk during the 60s and 70s versus the modern age depiction, editorial decisions, superhero movies and more. I picked up a necklace and earring set for the missus from Herb’s wife. I don’t have a photo of it but she has an etsy site here.

 

 

 

Super nice people.

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Paul Coker and his wife were fab; I picked up this Frosty print for my boy.

 

 

 

 

[Dick Pontoon]

I stupidly didn’t get a picture of Al Jaffee, but it was nice to meet him. Here’s my Patsy Walker he signed.

 

 

His daughter was quite nice; we chatted about a few things including his biography. I’m only halfway through but its GREAT. Here’s a synopsis.

 

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Here’s the legendary Al Feldstein. I unfortunately missed the panel with him our own MikeH moderated.

 

 

 

 

And here’s the legendary Peter Bagge with the legendary Al Feldstein.

 

 

 

 

And here’s yours truly with the legendary Al Feldstein.

 

 

I can’t decide whether he looks scared or just sick of me.

[Dick Pontoon]

Earlier I had picked up this MAD clip art from Peter Bagge; don’t know why I didn’t think to ask for a sketch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While at his table, Bagge mentioned calling Rick Altergott to see if he’d come up. Later I ran into Peter at Al Feldstein’s line and found out Rick had indeed driven up, so I went by to say hello and got this dynamite Doofus sketch.

 

 

I doubt many people even knew he was there.

[Dick Pontoon]

Semi random shot of the corner:

 

 

 

GACollectibles booth with Toon Tumblers inventory to the left:

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Bill Sienkiewicz working on a sketch:

 

[Kevin76]

You look like Dr Drew with a tan.

[Mark 1]

You look like Dr Drew with a tan.

 

I swear I thought the exact same thing!

[chrisco37]

You look like Dr Drew with a tan.

 

 

He does!

 

 

While the books seem to be limited, it looks like they had a pretty strong lineup of creators.

[Dick Pontoon]

After missing his last local appearance, I was thrilled to finally meet and chat with Joe Sinnott. What a pleasure. There with other family members, I got a book from his granddaughter Erin and this sketch from him.

 

 

 

 

Here’s a photo of Joe and his son Mark. Once again, just super nice people.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Joe signed a few things for me, including these comics, plus his book, Brushstrokes with Greatness.

 

 

[Dick Pontoon]

You look like Dr Drew with a tan.

 

 

He does!

 

 

While the books seem to be limited, it looks like they had a pretty strong lineup of creators.

 

Must be the angle. I can see the resemblance in that photo but that's probably it.

 

I did get some nice books, scans forthcoming.

[Dick Pontoon]

Grabbed this bad boy, Love Romances #100. Might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ll bet *bronze_age_fan* and rodan57 will appreciate it.

 

 

The left edge brings it down, but it's a tough book and pretty nice outside of that.

[Dick Pontoon]

Here’s my big prize, the last issue I needed to complete the run. I had to put some other books back when I saw this. It’s a tough one, and probably the nicest copy I’ve come across.

 

[Dick Pontoon]

After the Claw I pretty much had shot my bolt, but then spied this on the wall and could not pass it up. Lower grade, but the price was sweet and I can always upgrade later.

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Saturday night I had to bail out before dinner, but this was probably for the best as the last thing I needed was another night steadying GACollectibles after too many jello shots and nachos.

 

My only real complaint is the poor mapping of Artist Alley. To locate people, one has to look at one of two poster-sized charts mounted on easels. Xerox handouts of the floor plan would go a long way to making navigation easier, especially given the size of the crowds.

 

End of the day Sunday:

 

[Dick Pontoon]

The missus was a real peach, taking care of our boisterous 4 year old all weekend long. To top it off, I came home Sunday night burnt out and bedraggled to this.

 

 

 

 

Wotta woman!