WW Chicago Con thoughts

[Drewsky]

I had a blast on Friday. Stan Lee Panel was amazing. My only gripe is that they would not let you sit down while waiting to get in. Had to stand for 2 hours and whenever a person would sit the staff would make them stand. It felt like prison waiting to get in.

[TheGeneral]

Today was more crowded, as expected. The line to buy tickets snaked in triple deep queues all the way down the street. This was around 1, and I didn't think the people would get in until close to closing at 7pm. But when I next looked around 230 (when I went to drop stuff off at the hotel) the line was gone. Overall I think the staff did pretty well with the crowd, because the convention space is not that great for alot of people. For example, there's only 1 set of escalators/stairs. Apparently the fire marshall made Wizard open the doors on the 1st floor because of that, and some dealers on the 2nd floor were complaining that sales went down as soon as that happened.

 

The big news is an Amazing Fantasy 15 was stolen. The dealer had his set up against a curtain. There were no dealers on the other side of the curtain. This allowed the thief to snatch the book from behind the curtain. The book was restored in 7 or 7.5 and priced at about $9000. I know this for certain because I bought the ASM #1 7.0 (SP) that was sitting right next to it. When I went to make an offer I saw the AF15 gone and assumed someone had bought it.

 

The fact it was CGC'd would make it harder to sell, I guess. Unless the thief cracks it, but then it would lose some of its value. Ah well .... I forgot to ask the dealer if he had insurance ... I assume he did.

 

I also heard a rumor that an ASM #1 was stolen, but don't know if that is true.

 

 

Someone in DR. X's thread mentioned that a guy was caught and arrested. Hope to hear the full story on this and that everyone got their books back.

[originalisbest]

Both an AF #15 and a Spidey #1 were taken, but don't know the outcome or whether any recoveries were made. Vincent did get back a Wonder Woman that was taken, but not sure if the guy involved with that had anything to do with the other thefts. Most likely a team of people(s) working.

 

Be safe at the con and keep a sharp eye out for your own belongings! If you see someone reaching around a corner display trying to lift a book, etc. just speak up to the dealer - worst that can happen is the person meant no harm, best that can happen is you help snag a thief.

[n2wdw]

Glad to hear he got the AF 15 back. I hope they're pressing charges against the thief. Here's the ASM 1 I got from him.

 

 

I wasn't planning to spend this much at the con, but it's an investment, right? I was actually torn between this restored comic and this 3.0 universal.

 

 

Both the 7.0(SP) and 3.0 were at about the same price, and I must have looked at the 3.0 a dozen times. It's a great looking book, but it has a tear in the back that probably accounts for the grade.

 

 

Finally I asked myself, if the books weren't slabbed, which would I rather have? So I bought the restored 7.0.

 

Anyway, here's the coolest thing I got at the con.

 

 

 

 

 

[originalisbest]

unfortunately not the af15 afaik. Vincent had a wonder woman stolen that was recovered.

[conditionfreak]

I love the Con reports posted on this site. But I have one question.

 

With all of the stuff available for pics, (books, girls, people known in the hobby, real celebrities, etc), why do y'all keep posting pics of food and drinks?

 

I don't get it.

[MrDeafComics]

That is a crazy low grade on that ASM 1..........would love to see that one in person. Looks way better than 3.0.

 

 

[Mister_Comics]

unfortunately not the af15 afaik. Vincent had a wonder woman stolen that was recovered.

 

I was there when it happened. I didn't see what was taken but the security sure must of. They came running from all different directions. They must of been watching for him to make his move. Took me by surprise when they ran past me.

 

WW was pretty good other then the wait to get in. My only regret is the DVD I bought from the guy with the booth by the Batmobile. #@*&!!! DVD won't play on any of my players. Fuzzy picture and continuously stops and pixelates. Stay away from this joker. A bunch of garbage.

 

I did get a lot of great deals on comics and other stuff. Can't wait to go next year.

 

(helpful hint) If you buy so much stuff you can't carry. There's a coat check down to the left of the walk across tunnel that you can store your things. The INFORMATION booth didn't even know they had a coat check place. I found out from the lady working the concession stand. Great people working the coat check. Nothing to worry about.

 

 

[That Ron Dude]

I can see paying a bit more at a convention because the book is in your hand, there are no postage fees, and you don't have to worry about ebay scams but going double is not a good option.

 

I found a few good deals. I am glad I went.

[n2wdw]

I'm glad I went too. I was very happy with the selection of silver. There were dealers with high prices, but I managed to find fairly priced Superboy 1, ASM 1 and DD 1. Of course, the fact these were all restored helped a lot. If you're open to having restored books in your collection, then things get a lot more affordable and within reach. Although, I'd rather people continue to shy away from them so the prices remain where they are.

[ThoseBackPages]

You went to Gibson's and DIDNT get steak?

 

for shame!

[n2wdw]

You went to Gibson's and DIDNT get steak?

 

for shame!

 

You're right, but it was the first night of the con and it was hard to spend $50+ for steak when there's was alot of stuff I wanted to buy. I should have thought of that before going to Gibsons, usually I got the last night. I got my steak the last night at Mortons. Gibsons is more happening, but after being around crowds for 3 days it was good to be someplace quiet and mostly empty.

[n2wdw]

On Saturday afternoon these guys just started playing. I thought they were pretty good (of course that convinced my family even further that I'm a geek). It was fun though browsing through long boxes with these guys playing.

 

 

 

 

 

[1Cool]

The wall books seemed way over priced but there was some booths offering 50 - 60% guide with tight grading for pretty nice books. With all the overhead with being at the show I'd expect people to want guide or maybe 25% under. I asked about a couple FF4 52s that were in the FN range and they wanted $350 which seemed steep but it is hot.

[TomG]

I was at the show Thursday-Saturday. The two floor layout was something I wasn't crazy about. I've attended this show since 2002 and the single floor plan works better for all involved. I hope they go back to it next year. That being said the attendance seemed overall strong those days. CGC was super busy all weekend and I got a handful of books done. I purchased a few SA keys and noticed that some were not very available at the con. As if it would surprise anyone Avengers #54 and #55 were priced rather strongly wherever you could find them. I overheard one retailer offering a VG copy for $250 to a customer telling them "it's only going to go up". As always had a good time catching up with friends and eating dinner at a number of good restaurants in the area.

 

Now for Baltimore Comic Con...

[n2wdw]

Also hot at the show were TOS 45 (1st Happy and Pepper) and 52 (Black Widow). I think I saw two of 45, maybe 3-4 of 52, very expensive. Unless people bought them on Sunday, though, they weren't moving.