Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 (edited) WonderCon 2023 report… Got there a little early and just soaked in the atmosphere. Nice crowd outside with plenty of cosplay. I always love the great palm trees. Remind me of home. Edited March 25, 2023 by Robot Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 Hit the dealers area. As I expected VERY slim. Mostly west coast and SO CA dealers most I have picked clean of any GA I wanted. A lot of unnamed dealers that I just don’t buy from for various reasons. Was pretty easy to wall browse and box pick in a few hours. Was hoping for a “big” book or two but just didn’t see anything that I didn’t already have, was very practical or even very emotional. Some random wall shots… woowoo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 Went outside to take a break. Super freaky! But a real nice guy having fun. Hey, isn’t this what cons are all about? We talked about how if all our world leaders came to a con, there would be a lot less misery in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 A Steve sighting at Graham Crackers booth. Didn’t see Jamie. I always love to jive with him. One of the guys said he was home probably lounging by his pool… sagii 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 CC/Metro. Jeeze what a wall! Didn’t see Vinnie. He was probably at Carbo’s Big Apple show. Amazing stuff. Was going to ask on a couple of books but knew better. Besides, probably auction pimping. BCarter27 and sagii 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 Torpedo… I pulled down a couple of post code Everett books to look at. Tried to make a fair offer on them but the big guy with the English accent who is Pawn Stars “comic expert” was firm and a bit snooty, so I pleasently handed them back and moved on. Pretty sure John would have worked with me but he wasn’t there. sagii 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 Some nice art! BCarter27, Northwest and sagii 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 The place looked pretty empty on Friday but suspect today will be a lot more packed. jimjum12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 These guys from WA has some real cool books but it seemed everything was priced for a home run. I just took a good look and moved on. sagii 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 25, 2023 My overall impression is this show is nothing like it used to be. No big corporate sponsor support like Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Mattel, Hasbro or the movie studios. The comic area was pretty sparce. Maybe the cost of booths, travel or the general economy. Maybe same weekend as Carbo’s Big Apple show (although I looked on the net and they seemed to have not many comic dealers of note). What was there was slightly limited and VERY pricey. But I managed to fill some holes. Especially on post code Everett. Steve Wyatt from Big Wow was a big help. A super nice guy with very fair prices and willing to work with me. But, as I always say, there is always that “one guy”. I ran into a box on the ground of a booth full of unbagged and un-priced Archie titles but mostly Suzie and Wilbur. Early ones with all the great covers. He wasn’t familiar with them and just priced them off the top of his head. I cleaned him out quick. I pulled cash out and showed him what I would pay and he jumped on it. Made the show for me! I bought smart and came home with a satisfying little pile. Now, I have to save up for Torpedo in July… zzutak, Larryw7, Northwest and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 Today, I’m going to take my two grandaughters. They love the Disney characters and movies. They also like to dress up and will enjoy walking the floor. I’m sure these folks will make them smile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 25, 2023 Author Share Posted March 25, 2023 And this, my friends, until next year, is the end of my report… Azkaban, The Black Hand ® and jimjum12 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamstrange Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 Thanks for the great report and pictures! Robot Man 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBedrock Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 On 3/25/2023 at 10:15 AM, Robot Man said: A rather shifty looking Canadian in Harley’s booth… There is no F in that word. greggy and october 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzutak Posted March 25, 2023 Share Posted March 25, 2023 I'd sure like to meet the fellow who thinks slabbing a 3.5 VG- copy of G.I. In Battle #1 (2nd/1957 Series) is a "worthwhile" expense. Current OPG value = $17.50. FMV = less. buttock 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woowoo Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 @Robot Man I saw one of these on Facebook. I thought of you right away. Pocket Bots were awesome!! MrBedrock and Robot Man 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 26, 2023 Author Share Posted March 26, 2023 Anybody else go to this show? Would really like to hear your observations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Toro Rojo Posted March 26, 2023 Share Posted March 26, 2023 On 3/26/2023 at 11:06 AM, Robot Man said: Anybody else go to this show? Would really like to hear your observations. Was there on Friday as well - was shocked to get parking right at the convention center at 11:15am. Talk about dead! The Washington guys above got me for a couple of books - yes, the pricing was crazy, raws-for-slabbed pricing, but I was tired of searching for a high grade Dark Shadows #1. They did a bit of a discount when asked. But yeah, some of the dealers really need a new calendar. It ain't 2021 anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted March 27, 2023 Author Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 3/26/2023 at 2:57 PM, El Toro Rojo said: Was there on Friday as well - was shocked to get parking right at the convention center at 11:15am. Talk about dead! The Washington guys above got me for a couple of books - yes, the pricing was crazy, raws-for-slabbed pricing, but I was tired of searching for a high grade Dark Shadows #1. They did a bit of a discount when asked. But yeah, some of the dealers really need a new calendar. It ain't 2021 anymore. Yeah, Friday seemed pretty quiet. I spoke to a few boardies and friends and it seemed most were there for one big book. A dealer that had it, might have done well. But if not, sales seemed light. I was also looking for a special book but no avail. I just spread my spending around several dealers I liked on checking off a few cool want list books and upgrading. I brought a large wad of cash as well as my cards. I came home with 2/3’s of my cash and didn’t need the cards. I went back on Sat with my son in law and my two grandaughters. Got there about an hour after opening. We parked in the venue lot and walked right in to get my son in law’s pass. It seems like not long ago it was online ticketing only and sold out. Seemed a little busier but we had no trouble walking around. Yeah, the guys with the big price stickers from WA looked like they wanted to make their show with just a few sales. Prices were so high, I just didn’t even want to try and make an offer. I understand paying up even a bit hard if you really want the book, but even though they had a couple of interest to me, I just didn’t want them bad enough. Hey, had a fun local weekend. Got a nice little pile without all the crowds and expense of SDCC. And watching my grandaughters at their first con made it all worth while. El Toro Rojo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
50YrsCollctngCmcs Posted March 27, 2023 Share Posted March 27, 2023 On 3/27/2023 at 11:26 AM, Robot Man said: Yeah, Friday seemed pretty quiet. I spoke to a few boardies and friends and it seemed most were there for one big book. A dealer that had it, might have done well. But if not, sales seemed light. I was also looking for a special book but no avail. I just spread my spending around several dealers I liked on checking off a few cool want list books and upgrading. I brought a large wad of cash as well as my cards. I came home with 2/3’s of my cash and didn’t need the cards. I went back on Sat with my son in law and my two grandaughters. Got there about an hour after opening. We parked in the venue lot and walked right in to get my son in law’s pass. It seems like not long ago it was online ticketing only and sold out. Seemed a little busier but we had no trouble walking around. Yeah, the guys with the big price stickers from WA looked like they wanted to make their show with just a few sales. Prices were so high, I just didn’t even want to try and make an offer. I understand paying up even a bit hard if you really want the book, but even though they had a couple of interest to me, I just didn’t want them bad enough. Hey, had a fun local weekend. Got a nice little pile without all the crowds and expense of SDCC. And watching my grandaughters at their first con made it all worth while. Wow, it sounds like Wonder Con has changed quite a bit. I have been going to this show for about fifteen years from the Moscone days. When it shifted to Anaheim under Comic Con it changed a bit but was still fun and being a local took the hassles of travel out of the equation (though going to SF for a day was always fun.) The last few years I was there pre-Covid the dealer's area got pretty slim and my buddy and I would spend half our time enjoying lunch and a beer and talking comics. Some of those early Moscone shows were really fun with some interesting dealers who had some nice inventory. Sure miss those days. As for pricing I've been watching the insanity of the Heritage auctions and things are literally going for twice what I think they are worth and maybe more. The number on the slab driving the pricing more than the intrinsic value of the book in hand. Sure smells like another bubble for high grade second and third tier books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
