Wizard World Philly

[tth2]

While over at Gary Platt's booth, I did run into Steve Lauterbach for a bit. I talked to him at length, and the guy is genuinely nice. I'm not sure why people like to jump on him (the superman #1 thread) for absolutely no reason whatsoever, and I think it's why dealers and people with a lot of knowledge about the hobby don't come on a lot of the time. If there are disagreements, and I know Steve and I probably don't agree with a lot of things, that's not a problem for them. It's not having an opinion that's problematic, but the juvenile way that it's expressed many times that becomes the issue. I have a lot of respect for Steve and the guy has a ton of knowledge, unfortunately, it's not shared because people love to beat a lot of the dealers down. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be saying what you think, but I really question sometimes how people express viewpoints on certain issues.

Well said, Brian.

[drbanner]

BTW, I can put together a giant con report with lots of scans if anybody's interested. Figure a month is enough time to be in the penalty box.

 

Do it up.

I concur

 

 

[rob_react]

Finally, I continue to learn more about the medium and the hobby from the many knowledgable members of this forum, and my enjoyment for the hobby continues to grow accordingly.

 

I think that's a really key point. With new comics readership low, especially among kids, the hobby can still stay strong thanks to what you're talking about. For instance, how many people have bought their first golden age book thanks to all the knowledge and great scans shared on these forums?

 

That's one of my favorite things about these forums...

[Sharkey]

WizardWorld Philly 2005 Photos!

 

Great pix, Rob. And I concur with your comment about Ted. I just picked up a super sweet Strange Tales 80 from him. It's definitely going in for slabbing in the near future with a nice AA1 and a few other books I just picked up.

 

I alwasy enjoy talking to Ted whether I buy anything from him or not (and I usually do). He's just a fun guy who loves comics like the rest of us.

 

And a 9.6 Showcase 4? Holy guacamole. That's gonna cost a lot of green....

[delekkerste]

Move over Hugh Jackman...here's our very own BronzeBruce13 as pre-adamantium/"Origin" Wolverine, complete with the bone claws!!

 

[delekkerste]

And, sometime between lunch and the Forum dinner in Philadelphia, Bruce managed to get adamantium surgically bonded to his skeleton :

 

[blazingbob]

Oh boy, glad I missed the luncheon.

 

I would have preferred to see Vito Bronze Brucy at the CGC dinner sitting in the leather chair holding audience

[BronzeBruce13]

Now don't be a "hater" because Ted ate all the Ravioli at your table... or that I passed on that 9.8 Hulk you had. What's with all those OW pagers?

 

I'm just not a convention vet like you... standing on my feet all day looking through longboxes is >murder< and sitting on that comfy couch was almost as rewarding as getting laid. Fact is, i would have sat there alone for a good long time if no one else walked over to keep me company.

 

I finally got a chance (long overdue) to meet my good friend Gene and had a great time chatting with him. In fact, i think he showed up (to avoid the roasting at my hands) that he would have certainly received had he bailed again. I know he was exhausted from the drive and am grateful he made the effort. No crash talk either... He's the down to Earth guy I knew he'd be. Very far from the impression I'm sure some others may have for the "cold water in the face" reality checks he delivers on the market aspect of our hobby. Great meeting you Gene!

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the dinner (although I too preferred last years fare with no offense to BK who had the balls to try and provide variety) and chatting with all the other fine lads (and one cute lass) at our table. Its always a pleasure to hang/party with Brian, David, Chirsco, Rob React and Tom Gordon.

 

Along with Gene, I met another good friend for this first time... Steve Nelson (Worldsbestcomics). One of the nicest (Beast obsessed) guys in the hobby! I also met another cool dude at our table who offered to hook me up with a "spinner rack". Unfortunately, I got "quite lit" both nights on Long Island Iced teas and don't recall his name if I ever got it. Someone help me identify this generous fellow.

 

On another note: I want to give Brian Ketterer MAJOR props... not just for the considerable task of organizing the forum dinner and chasing the unpaid, but for ALL the other favors and generosities he willingly and happily provides all of us attending the show in Philly. Taking nothing away from volunteer coordinators for other shows, but BK is simply unbeatable! He advises anyone with helpful dining, hotel and recreation info. He will get up early to help us avoid the lines to enter the convention... put 3 friends up at his house... buy drinks... whatever! Thanks again Brian... you're simply the best the hobby (not to mention the human race ) has to offer... 'nuff said!

[chrisco37]

On another note: I want to give Brian Ketterer MAJOR props... not just for the considerable task of organizing the forum dinner and chasing the unpaid, but for ALL the other favors and generosities he willingly and happily provides all of us attending the show in Philly. Taking nothing away from volunteer coordinators for other shows, but BK is simply unbeatable! He advises anyone with helpful dining, hotel and recreation info. He will get up early to help us avoid the lines to enter the convention... put 3 friends up at his house... buy drinks... whatever! Thanks again Brian... you're simply the best the hobby (not to mention the human race ) has to offer... 'nuff said!

 

[BronzeBruce13]

By the way... sorry again about buying that Swamp Thing page. I know you really wanted it. It was the first original art page that compelled me to buy.

 

Note to all: Chris, laid off buying it when I initially passed, just because he knew i was still contemplating it. He would have been well-within his rights to buy it regardless... but didn't. He really wanted it, but would not "back door" a friend and novice art collector. A Straight up guy.

 

Thanks Chris... I think you did well with the crisis stuff though.

 

 

On another note: I want to give Brian Ketterer MAJOR props... not just for the considerable task of organizing the forum dinner and chasing the unpaid, but for ALL the other favors and generosities he willingly and happily provides all of us attending the show in Philly. Taking nothing away from volunteer coordinators for other shows, but BK is simply unbeatable! He advises anyone with helpful dining, hotel and recreation info. He will get up early to help us avoid the lines to enter the convention... put 3 friends up at his house... buy drinks... whatever! Thanks again Brian... you're simply the best the hobby (not to mention the human race ) has to offer... 'nuff said!

 

[blazingbob]

Well, Chris is a "straight" guy and from what I've heard doesn't go that way.

 

Remind me to not let you get behind me at a show or forum dinner

[BronzeBruce13]

I said "straight up" guy... You seem facinated with the subject. I know all that rejection hurts

 

Well, Chris is a "straight" guy and from my experience when hitting on him, I know for a fact doesn't go that way... or thinks I'm not cute enough.

Remind me to walk by the local YMCA with $100 dollar bills waving prior to the next show or forum dinner so I can finally get some.

[rube11]

You guys are just wrong...............

[BronzeBruce13]

Forgot to mention what a blast the Friday "Pre-Forum Dinner" Night out was...

 

My brother-in-law, Rob Larsen, Steve Nelson, and many of the same forumites I mentioned in the Forum Dinner thread... (plus others i did not get to speak very much to due to table positioning) had a great time at the Marriot Bar and then out for an awesome dinner. Due to Long Island Iced Teas, I have no idea where we went, but remember the conversation and meal itself VERY well.

 

After several delicious appetizers (including some unforgettable Calamari) I treated myself to a Whole Lobster, 14oz. NY Strip and a Soft-Shell Crab... and more beverages. I was next to Rob and Steve and we had an awesome time. Rob even schooled us on fine wine. He's a most informative fellow on matters of comics and not. I think we'll have to have 2 Dinners next year as well.

 

 

After the Forum Dinner Saturday, Doug Schmell and William (of Demolition Comics) and I went out to Olde City for more fun... and beverages! What a Babe-Fest that area was... It was like Mardi-Gras for twenty-somethings. Man, I have not seen that many sweet young ladies crammed in 2 blocks in a looooong time. William is a most interesting and generous fellow to say the least. He non chalantly picked up the Lunch Check on Friday as well (oh yeah, we had a forum lunch too) and he was entertaining to hang with. Doug also enjoyed the much-needed time of to cut loose and was even singing along a bit to the blaring rock-n-roll! I'm glad I got to hang out with him finally... truly a down-to-earth guy! Later, I got flagged at a few bars (no... due to the dress code) so I went out babe-gazing alone while Will & Doug went into places that did not allow shorts & sneakers.

 

I can't wait to do this again!

 

 

 

 

Here's Gene and I at the Saturday Lunch.

See its possible for me to not do a Wolverine shot while I eat...

[chrisco37]

By the way... sorry again about buying that Swamp Thing page. I know you really wanted it. It was the first original art page that compelled me to buy.

 

Note to all: Chris, laid off buying it when I initially passed, just because he knew i was still contemplating it. He would have been well-within his rights to buy it regardless... but didn't. He really wanted it, but would not "back door" a friend and novice art collector. A Straight up guy.

 

Thanks Chris... I think you did well with the crisis stuff though.

 

I'm blushing (yikes! Maybe Bob was right? ).

 

But seriously, it's a sweet, sweet page. As I said at the show, if I couldn't have it, I'm glad it went to a good home. I know you'll take great care of it.

 

Great buy on your first piece of art! For those that don't know, the page is a Totlebon/Bissette Swamp Thing featuring Swampy and Abby on the page.

[bobpfef]

 

Great buy on your first piece of art! For those that don't know, the page is a Totlebon/Bissette Swamp Thing featuring Swampy and Abby on the page.

 

Lets see it!

[OldGuy]

 

Great buy on your first piece of art! For those that don't know, the page is a Totlebon/Bissette Swamp Thing featuring Swampy and Abby on the page.

 

Lets see it!

 

[BronzeBruce13]

I'll have to scan it sections...

[BronzeBruce13]

Here it is, my first Original Art piece if you forgive the VanSciver "cyber frog" page I bought for $15

 

 

[worldsbestcomics]

This was my first major convention and it was a blast! I may have won the "no prize" for the collector who travelled the farthest to get to Philly. I flew from Seattle Washington on Thursday with so many things I hoped to accomplish. First, I had some nice raw books in my collection going back to the years before CGC existed that I wanted to get graded. Second, I wanted to meet BronzeBruce in person and thank him for hooking me up with the world's best copy of Amazing Adventures 11 a while back. Third, I wanted to get a NM+ copy of Amazing Adventures 13 to complete my uber-run of AA 11-17. And finally, I wanted to have some fun talking to the forumites whose threads I have read over these many years.

 

All Goals Accomplished!

 

CGC Grading

The team at CGC was great helping me through my first submission. Scott listened patiently to all my questions even though he must have heard them from a thousand other people before me. I dropped off about 20 books and nervously awaited the results the next day. My Amazing Spider-Man 121-122 pair both came back 9.2. My X-Men 94 was 8.5. My Amazing Adventures 15 & 16 both came back 9.6 with white pages. Yes! My two sweet copies of the Black Venom 1 error variant came back 9.8 and 9.6! Wolverine 145 Nabisco 9.6, chrome Spider-Man 300 9.8 & 9.6. My Spider-Man 375 white cover error variant came back 9.4 and finally, my super-rare Wolverine 145 Bone Claws error variant came back 9.6. Those last two books were in Scoop a while back but had never been graded before.

 

Now, I know what you're thinking, "Hey some of those books are pre-1975." Yes, I owe a big thanks to CGC for agreeing to grade a few 1972-75 books for me since I had already got my plane tickets, hotel room, and paid for my forum dinner before they announced that they would only take modern books.

 

I did run into one problem. I was not prepared to carry so many CGC books so I had to buy a canvas bag from one of the vendors which was prominently identified in gold spraypaint as a Bag of Holding. That made it official. I'm a nerd On the plus side, I could carry an unlimited number of comics but I became invisible to women.

 

Bruce!

I have bought a few books from Bronze Bruce over the years and if you are looking for a trustworthy guy to help you find a high-grade bronze book, you can't do better than Bruce. But, I had no idea he was so much fun. The guy should have his own radio show. Whether he was singing the Milkshake Song and warning about rap lyrics, impersonating Wolverine, expounding on the relative merits of Green Lantern versus Metamorpho or talking about the worst comic purchases we have made (does anyone want my 50 copies of X-Men 2099 #1?) Bruce was hilarious.

 

Amazing Adventures 13

My Number One collecting goal for the past 5 years has been to put together the world's best run of Amazing Adventures 11-17 (where the Beast first gets his fur). I needed only a choice copy of 13 to complete the run. I have had no luck convincing the owners of the 3 graded copies to part with them so I came to Philly hoping to find a raw NM+ copy. By late Friday afternoon, I had visited every dealer in the con and I knew I was out of luck so I switched to plan B which involved buying Bruce Long Island Ice Teas all night on Friday until his impaired judgment resulted in him agreeing to sell me his copy. And that worked!

 

Fun and more fun!

The forum lunch on Friday was at the Hard Rock Cafe. The highlights for me were listening to William from Demolition Comics get hit on by our waitress (and vice versa) and talking to Doug from PedigreeComics.com (who will be selling many of my books now to pay for my fun). Doug is a class guy and I recommend him highly if you are looking to consign books for sale. Friday night started with drinks at the Marriott Bar and then moved to McCormick and Schmick's for more drinks and an insane amount of appetizers. Rob React tried vainly to teach our table some finer points about wine.

 

I hoped to go to Morimotos for lunch on Saturday but after touring downtown Philly with a lost cab driver, I discovered that Morimotos doesn't serve lunch on weekends. Ouch! But, back at the Con I was one of many who won the raffle for a Dark Phoneix HeroClix figure (since sold on eBay). The Forum dinner on Saturday night was incredible. Foolkiller did a great job with the arrangements at Maggianos - I ate everything except the clam shells. Brian also gave me great advice about traveling to Philly before the con. Thank you! Flying Donut and his lovely wife (who introduced herself as Mrs. Donut) were fun to hang with. Brian's friend Mary Anne was at my dinner table along with Tom from Gemstone which was doubly nice because they were both great conversationalists and light eaters - leaving more food for me.

 

The flight home on Sunday (and Monday) was a nightmare. Weather delays caused me to miss my connecting flight and I spent the night in Chicago with no luggage except my Bag of Holding full of CGC comics. But, I went to sleep that night with a smile on my face thinking of how much fun I had in Philadelphia.