Pontoon's Boston Comic Con Report 2017 3 3

[Ryan.]

The new location is great. Especially the nice big parking lot out back.

[Dick Pontoon]

Indeed it was. Parking was much easier than the old location. Getting back to Route 93, not so much. The street and ramp configuration has changed a lot from when I lived in town, plus there's a lack of signage, so I had some struggles when I left the second night and was directed to a different lot exit by staff on duty. After the initial sign there was nothing and I almost wound up getting stuck on the Mass Pike.

Anyways, upwards and onwards...

[Dick Pontoon]

It was too late and I was too tired on Saturday when I got home to do much more than loaf, so my son and I took in some Lego Avengers.

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Here are some wall shots. I'm sorry, but they stink. I was tired and not up for aggressive photo taking. They are also somewhat minimal, reflecting the lesser number of decent dealers. More on that later.

Harley had some nice books.

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Good ol' Jim Payette:

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Superworld/Ted:

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Here are a few random aisle shots from Sunday, wth Neal Adams in the corner.

 

 

[Dick Pontoon]

It's a good thing he was occupied talking to somebody or else that shot might've cost me $30. (Sigs were $50.)

 

A few shots up on the catwalk:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Dick Pontoon

[Dick Pontoon]

[Dick Pontoon]

This is the only cosplay shot I got on Sunday.

[Dick Pontoon]

I couldn't post anything last night because when i got home it was time to make popcorn for the missus and son, who were watching a movie, do the laundry, make the dinner and best of all, fix the toilet.

 

[Dick Pontoon]

Artist alley was slim pickins for me since I don't care so much about modern artists. More and more of the older generation is passing away, and I presume since those remaining don't pull in the crowds the same way programmers for this show didn't seek them out.

 

I did get Arthur Adams to sign my Godzilla Special #1 and my son's Godzilla Compendium. Don't have a scan of the comic but here's the book:

 

[Dick Pontoon]

[Dick Pontoon]

I think I've run into more boardies in the past than at this show This time around it was junkdrawer, underthebigw, ckb42, Beachbum, Kevlar, GACollectibles and of course America's Favorite Funnyman, Ryan. I missed junkdrawer's wall with my camera, but he posted some pix over in Events.

Edited August 14, 2017 by Dick Pontoon

[BlowUpTheMoon]

9 minutes ago, Pontoon said:

 America's Favorite Funnyman, Ryan.

[Dick Pontoon]

20 hours ago, CKB said:

Keep it coming Rich!

I just have a paragraph or two to add about Saturday so instead of my own report I will hijack yours! 

I spent Saturday at the show working the Toon Tumbler booth with my 14-year old son.  Always fun to people-watch and sell glasses and magnets.

The venue, aside from the bathroom situation, is utterly fantastic.  It may be too big.  While the aisles did get crowded, I thought it was a layout problem and not a space problem.  A more efficient use of the massive amount of space might make it all better.  They either didn't have enough staff or they weren't active enough trying to make the floor work smoothly.  At the end of the day Saturday there was no concerted effort to get customers to leave, which is very annoying, and many vendors concerned about their stuff were forced to hang around for an hour after "close".  Overall, though, there was a lot more good than bad.

The big problem with this show to me, and this may be consistent among all the large shows these days, was the number of vendors selling unlicensed merchandise.  I'm not talking a booth full of licensed stuff where there were some Chinese knock-offs.  I'm talking full booths dedicated to selling self-made merchandise with copyrighted images at a scale that goes far beyond fair use.   In my view, it is up to the show promoters to vet the vendors, and replies of "how can we tell?" will fall on deaf ears to me.  It is very easy to tell if they care to look into it. 

There was no shortage of adult material on display either, mixed right in with everything else, bringing the whole show down a bit.

One thing that has apparently disappeared entirely from the picture is the sale of pirated and bootlegged CD's/DVDs.  Enforcement goes a long way to changing behavior.

Nice seeing everyone again on this once-a-year visit I have with a crowd I used to be far more active in.  Thanks to you all.

 Those are some of the same thoughts I had.

It did seem too big and the aisles were too small.  At the Seaport, there were several wide aisles leading through the hall. This years' were set up much narrower.

There was TONS of unlicensed merch as described. An overwhelming amount, can't even hazard a guess as to how much more of this drek there was rather than comics. There was also endless Funko Pop figures and various tchotchkes. (BTW, I did see one booth at least with bootleg DVDs.) However, people seemed to be buying it. I want shows to be successful and not badmouth them, but this wasn't much of a comic con, it was more of a giant flea market for "fans."

The bathroom situation wasn’t as dire as I initially expected; it was a great improvement over the prior location. Food also seemed to be easier accessible.

Gotta stop here for now, more to follow.

Edited August 14, 2017 by Dick Pontoon

[Dick Pontoon]

3 minutes ago, BlowUpTheMoon said:

It was sarcasm. Everyone knows you're the most funniest.

[Dick Pontoon]

I feel like an a-- to admit this, but I saw an obese man walk by in a Flash lighting bolt t-shirt and the first thing I thought of was Flash #115.

I don't think I posted the WonderCar yet.

[Dick Pontoon]

Looks like I forgot Wonder Woman and Son, too.

 

 

[Ryan.]

The artists seemed surlier this year.