Baltimore Comic Convention - My 2 Cents 2 2

[Hudson]

Well another Baltimore Convention is underway. 

For those who did not attend today, I thought I might share my thoughts on this year's event.

First I want to say that I was pleased to see more board members set up there than I had seen listed in the other thread regarding this event.

The other thread listed...

Gator (Rick) -  booth 1104. Same location as past 3 years!

lhcomics (Leroy) and comics4less at booth 1504

High Grade Comics / Foolkiller - booth 509

Moving Pictures Comics / Ferdelance - booth 405

Cards, Comics and Collectibles - booth 918

TomG - booth 508

In addition to these, I also saw.....

Richard from Bedrock (awesome contributor to these boards)

Greg Reese (always a gentleman)

and

Ted from Super World (always a pleasure to do business with).

There were likely others, however, those are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

(I intend to write this over a few posts to break it up a bit and perhaps throw in a few photos)......

[Hudson]

For those of us who collect GA, I felt there was a lot less GA there than in past years.

Perhaps this is just a perception, as I did not find a lot that peaked my interest.

As many of you know, I enjoy early Action Comics and the only complete single digit Action that I found in the room was a #7 owned by Gator.

This was a nice presenting copy, signed by Siegel, and offered for what I thought was a reasonable price.  Leave it to Rick to bring the "good stuff".

I found the selection of Fiction House books and GGA to be less impressive than in past years.

This is NOT to say there wasn't anything of interest.

A few notable exceptions were.....

The Spirit 22 in CGC 8.0 universal - Greg Reese

Giant Comics Edition #15 5.5 restored - Bedrock

Cindy 37 CGC 5.5 universal - Gator

There were of course others, however, not as many as I have seen in the past.

The selection of books like Planet Comics, seemed at a low.

(Coming up next.... The biggest surprise I found at the show)

 

[Hudson]

Although the selection of GA was not what I had hoped, perhaps it was partly my fault for not keeping my eyes open wide enough.

I don't know how many times I walked by this one small booth that appeared to have a bunch of toys on the table and perhaps a few short boxes of moderns.

When I see set ups like this, I quickly move along.

I had already made my rounds through the entire convention and was walking by this booth again more slowly when I looked in a case there on the table,

There, TO MY SURPRISE, was a TEC 27, 28, 29, 30, etc.....(please forgive my horrible photography skills with an iPhone)

[Hudson]

Not to put down any other dealers (many of whom I have done business with more times than I can remember)., however, if I had to pick my favorite booth (best set up) of the convention, than I would have to go with our own Gator.  It must be tough to complete with a guy who throws an AC7, Bat1, Sensation 1, two copies of Wonder Woman 1, and at least five copies of AF15 up on the wall.  This is just to name a few of the many pieces of eye candy Rick had out on display.  But why listen to me, when a picture is worth a thousand words?  So here are a few photos of Rick's place.....

Edited September 23, 2017 by Hudson

[Hudson]

Perhaps the best part of the convention for me was the absolute honor of meeting one of our fellow board members; zolnerowich..

He was at Gator's booth when I walked up and we had a pleasant conversation about comics (what else do two comic convention goers talk about?)

Zolnerowich was even kind enough to show me a photo of a recent purchase he had made; a stunning Planet Comics.

So I think that will end my thoughts on the Baltimore Comic Convention 2017.

I don't usually post these type of things, but I remembered Doc Joe's write up of last year's NY Con and how much I appreciate it.  Using the photos he provided I was even able to make contact with one particular dealer about a book I wanted (even though I was not able to attend the show).

If anyone else wants to add thoughts or photos to this thread, please feel free.

Thank you all for "listening"......

[ADAMANTIUM]

Sounds like there was still fun to be had there! And I hope you found it exciting

Thanks for the pics  

Here in Dallas, we have a ways to go before a "big" convention, and it is nice to see the scene for a minute

[Junkdrawer]

Hey Hudson  I have been hearing year after year about this show being the best for buying. From my perspective and given the fact that I came here with this notion, I think tomorrow if I just lower my standards a notch I honestly think I could snap up quite a haul of GA books that linger in and about my wheelhouse. Today was a feeling out process and I did find a handful of books to make my day. I did see dozens of lower grade books , I think I could make a case to move forward should the deal be in my favor. Tomorrow just may slum it. 

Today was great to meet and see boardies, Greggy, Comicjack, Roy, flying donut, GAtor, Richard Bedrock, RobC, Foolkiller, BobStorms, Zolnerowich to name a few. 

Flying Donut wins my Mr Easy award. I'm gonna star there tomorrow.

On a side note, the weather, the nightlife, the food, and my cheap hotel all within a short walk in addition to a few historical sights around the inner harbor are setting the tone for a great weekend and I bet I'll be back next year without a doubt. 

Some pics of the day. (Well night too)

Chris

 

[Hudson]

35 minutes ago, ADAMANTIUM said:

Sounds like there was still fun to be had there! And I hope you found it exciting

Thanks for the pics  

Here in Dallas, we have a ways to go before a "big" convention, and it is nice to see the scene for a minute

I lived in Dallas for 14 years, so I understand your pain.

When I lived in Dallas, I went to the San Diego convention more than I do now.

On the plus side, however, you have wonderful people there, very little snow, and no state income tax.

[Hudson]

3 minutes ago, Junkdrawer said:

Hey Hudson  I have been hearing year after year about this show being the best for buying. From my perspective and given the fact that I came here with this notion, I think tomorrow if I just lower my standards a notch I honestly think I could snap up quite a haul of GA books that linger in and about my wheelhouse. Today was a feeling out process and I did find a handful of books to make my day. I did see dozens of lower grade books , I think I could make a case to move forward should the deal be in my favor. Tomorrow just may slum it. 

Today was great to meet and see boardies, Greggy, Comicjack, Roy, flying donut, GAtor, Richard Bedrock, RobC, Foolkiller, BobStorms, Zolnerowich to name a few. 

Flying Donut wins my Mr Easy award. I'm gonna star there tomorrow.

On a side note, the weather, the nightlife, the food, and my cheap hotel all within a short walk in addition to a few historical sights around the inner harbor are setting the tone for a great weekend and I bet I'll be back next year without a doubt. 

Some pics of the day. (Well night too)

Chris

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice pick ups, Chris.

Is that Wonder 13 the one that Comics, Cards, and Collectibles had?

If so, I came really close to pulling the trigger on that one. 

Probably kick myself later, like I did the year I didn't buy Ted's copy (Super World).

[Junkdrawer]

Just now, Hudson said:

Nice pick ups, Chris.

Is that Wonder 13 the one that Comics, Cards, and Collectibles had?

If so, I came really close to pulling the trigger on that one. 

Probably kick myself later, like I did the year I didn't buy Ted's copy (Super World).

Yup, Drew was makin it too easy to buy. 

[Hudson]

5 minutes ago, Junkdrawer said:

Yup, Drew was makin it too easy to buy. 

Congrats.  I thought it was one of the better books.

If I didn't hate negotiating so much, I probably would have bought it.

Instead, I took a look at it.  The girl quoted me a price, and I thought it was not off by much, but a little more than I wanted to go. thus I handed it back and moved on.

My desire NOT to negotiate has likely cost me MANY books in my life time.

Glad you got it.  Wish I could have met you while I was there.

Edited September 23, 2017 by Hudson

[Junkdrawer]

5 minutes ago, Hudson said:

Congrats.  I thought it was one of the better books.

If I didn't hate negotiating so much, I probably would have bought it.

Instead, I took a look at it.  The girl quoted me a price, and I thought it was not off by much, but a little more than I wanted to go. thus I handed it back and moved on.

My desire NOT to negotiate has likely cost me MANY books in my life time.

Glad you got it.  Wish I could have met you while I was there.

You here tomorrow?

[Hudson]

Just now, Junkdrawer said:

You here tomorrow?

No.

Not a fan of crowds and Saturday is always very crowded.

 

[lizards2]

23 minutes ago, Junkdrawer said:

you need to put that in spoiler tags and label it not safe for viewing.

[Zolnerowich]

7 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

you need to put that in spoiler tags and label it not safe for viewing.

[lizards2]

33 minutes ago, Zolnerowich said:

41 minutes ago, lizards2 said:

you need to put that in spoiler tags and label it not safe for viewing.

Seriously..., I can smell that from here.

[Gotham Kid]

11 hours ago, Hudson said:

There, TO MY SURPRISE, was a TEC 27, 28, 29, 30, etc.....(please forgive my horrible photography skills with an iPhone)

James Gallo ?

[badback83]

Hi @Hudson.  Thanks for sharing!  I was seriously considering making the 6 hour drive to Baltimore for the show, but it didn't happen.  Maybe next year.

[1Cool]

Wow - what a busy day yesterday.  Got in early and it's always a thrill to watch the place come alive with so many vendors.  The number of comic dealers seems to be the same as last year so people must be making good money considering the fairly high booth prices.  My only complaint would be the exact same dealers were in the exact same spot as last year as the year before.  Some new books obviously compared to last year but it seems to be exactly the same year after year with very little new blood.  I think I'm going to hit up the Cincinatti Con (or Dale's Con to a few) next year and try something new.

I had to leave fairly early to drive back to Cleveland yesterday but seeing all the board members and searching for all the gems in the rough was well worth the trip.  I actually think I spend 90% of my budget at board member booths this year so you guys bring the goods.  

I did have a complaint about the CGC booth this year.  It seemed so unorganized compared to previous years.  Multiple lines with no one knowing which was which.  I had 125 books to drop off for non onsite which I guess is being called Express service and I got shuffled to three lines before getting great customer service once I got to the booth.  People seemed frustrated in line which seemed to give off a weird vibe in the morning.  Hope it gets better today for the rush.  

I took a great picture with Baltimore Laren but I look terrible in it.  I don't look good with my eyes open let alone looking like I'm pass out drunk.  Oh well - Laren and her friend where fun to talk to so I'll post it.

[Ryan.]

Does anyone know why Totleben cancelled?