Big Apple Con

[Comcasthawk]

Just wondering how the con went. I like going to the Philly and local shows. Not much hassle in Philly and they have good dealers(stockwise).

 

Was this the "ususal" con or was it better than normal....?

[Larryw7]

I'm curious to hear about this show as well.

[Comcasthawk]

Yeah, I hope there are some "good" reports. I'll be going to the show around Thanksgiving becuase I heard John Romita, Sr. will be attending that one. I would like nothing better than to have my picture taken with him and have sketch me a Spidey drawing in front of me.

[the blob]

i bought a bunch of inexpensive stuff. mostly 70s stuff, some 60s, a few 80s. my most expensive individual book was $5!

 

upon further examination, i wish i had passed on a few of the dollar books, probably 10-20% of my haul. sometimes in the rush of a show as one is zipping through long box after long box in the sweltering heat, one misses some defects that one would have not purchased.

 

with that said, i also picked up some nice stuff and it all probably evened out.

 

the bargains among the inexpensive stuff, they are dwindling compared to years past. i hardly saw any marvel or DC superhero silver age stuff in the cheapo bins when, in the past, i had picked up mid/late 60s readers. bronze is there, but the condition is getting worse. one dealer, who i usually buy a solid 50-150 books from, really had almost nothing i was into. another guy who i bought a long box from last time i went, i settled for a short box. maybe i'm getting pickier. maybe after having sold a bit more on ebay my subconscious is telling me to stay away from certain things.

 

dealers seem to be putting more and more stuff in the 30-50% off boxes rather than tossing $5-$10 books in the dollar bin. oh well, can't win 'em all. it was nice while it lasted.

[Foolkiller]

Oh well, I wasn't going to be bothered posting a con report, but what the hell, here's an over detailed report with more information than you really wanted. Enjoy.

 

I actually took the day off last Friday to, among other things, see Batman Begins with Hari, Gene and Dave, but that was to be late in the evening so I needed something to kill some time, which luckily added up to the Big Apple Con.

 

As I drove the NJ Turnpike up from Philly, I was cursing some of the slow moving traffic, and it was only about noon, so I wasn't sure where all the traffic was coming from. Surprisingly, traffic in the city was moving as was traffic in the tunnel. After parking my car in one of the most expensive lots I could possibly find (because I seem to enjoy lighting money on fire and it was convenient to get back and forth to), I hauled my butt up 6th avenue to meet my ex-fiancee for lunch at the Heartland Brewery.

 

Before I do that, I dart in the con to sell some books to Ted VanLiew and to pay Bob Storms for the JIM 109 CGC 8.5 (WP) I am buying. There are hardly any people on the floor yet (it's about quarter to one) and many dealers are still setting up their display. It's typical Big Apple Con, but it's nice because it's spacious and as of yet, there's no stench of unshowered fanboys quite yet.

 

After spending about 10 minutes at the show, I make it up to about 51st and 6th and spend two and a half hours playing catch up with my now married ex. As "wonderful" as that was, I eventually had to leave and called Dave to wander down to the show with me. Since Dave is a huge Batman fan (he already had seen Batman Begins at the IMAX a week ago) we decided we would act like giddy fanboys/tourists and celebrate the first friday of the movie by taking pictures of each other out in front of the DC offices.

 

Eventually, we make our way to the show, which is now slightly busier than before. In typical fashion, I see Carbonaro wandering the floor in his usual manic mode, but everything seems relatively quiet. I wander over to Bob Storms' table and chit chat with him and actually pick up my book. After spending some talking to him and talking to Teddy boy over at Superworld, Dave and I also run into Vincent Z of Metro who is not set up. I wander over to Gary Platt's table and pick up (via trade) some nice early JLAs. After doing my normal conversation piece with him, I walk by to see if Buzz has started working on my comission Zatana piece which he had and it looks pretty damn nice. I pay for the piece, but it has to be mailed to me because I won't be around Friday to grab it. I stop and talk to my buddy Ben from Zapp! comics in Jersey and he's there churning out the dollar stock as he normally is. Interestingly, he's considering doing San Diego next year, and I encourage him to go, since most dealers claim it is usually their best show of the year.

 

Since we need to kill some more time and there is only so much to look at (I mean, Harley, Motor City, and everyone else are at every show I'm at) Dave and I run down to see Steve Englehart interviewed by Peter Sanderson. Pretty cool as Englehart is definitely an interesting guy with a lot of diverse writing experiences. I was definitely impressed by him and his graciousness while he fielded questions. I ran back upstairs and as the show was closing (I guess the floor was techinically closed) I bought a book from Gus of Silver Age Comics which was a raw Thor 126. Although he graded it a 9.0, I thought it was really an 8.5, but quite honestly, it was the best copy I had seen raw in a while, and the price was a little high but not ridiculous. For whatever reason, I haven't bought much from Silver Age in awhile, but I actually like dealing with Gus because I think he's a straight shooter, so I didn't mind paying a bit more. I wanted to get the FF 25 7.0 slabbed and the Avengers 6 slabbed 8.5 he had, but walked away not wanting to spend every dime I had.

 

I saw plenty of decent books in the room, and a lot of good prices were offered to me on many 8.5s and 9.0s. Right now though, I'm looking to spend less, not more. I will make a final big buy at either Baltimore or the National, and then be done until the National of 2006. For now though, not trying to go crazy.

 

Left the con, met up with everyone for dinner, and saw Batman Begins (which was awesome).

 

So there's my con report -- way too much info.

[the blob]

there are lots near 11th avenue that shouldn't charge you more than $10 for the afternoon, or at least they all have some sort of $8.86 (+18% parking tax) "early bird" (in by 10 am out by 7 pm) special, but i don't know about arriving at 12:30.

 

park at anything near where the show was and you'll get hammered. go 5 blocks away, and you won't.

[Foolkiller]

the one wrench that was thrown in was that I had to arrive at around 12:30 and I didn't leave til 1:30 in the morning... so... I'm sure if I was further away it would have been less (and smarter) but given that I was walking back at 1 AM I was like, get me something close to the garden I know.

 

For next time though, that's a good thought. thanks.

[the blob]

it is amazing how in manhattan you can pay $40 to park for a few hours in one lot and then walk 5 blocks away to a more "remote" place and it will be $10 or whatever. they nail you for being in a high traffic/demand area.

[comicparadox]

I happened to have planned a weekend trip to NYC before knowing about the convention, but convinced my wife that if she could spend 2 hrs on Madison Avenue shopping, I could spend those same 2 hrs at the comic show.

 

I used to live in Manhattan (20 yrs ago - ouch) and remember Carbonaro as a hyperkinetic hustler then. Some things don't change. He was running around with someone's keys, screaming how everyone should stop and look at them...Surprisingly to us both I'm sure, we are both now gray, but at least he still has his hair.

 

I found 2 cool double cover comics, a VF/NM Teen Titans "mod/psychedelic" cover book and a VF Thor 154. Harley Yee had several double cover books, priced a bit high. The show seemed pretty well attended, with many national dealers present.

 

The highlight for me was seeing Jerry Robinson and Carmine Infantino. Carmine had to borrow my glasses for a sketch of Captain Marvel he was doing for someone! I ended up buying "The Amazing World of Carmine Infantino" Vanguard Press book, with a very nice Batman sketch he had drawn in pencil and pen on the inside front page. He also autographed the book to me, "thanks for the glasses".

 

All in all, for me, one of my better convention experiences. As a plus, my wife didn't buy too much on Madison Avenue while I was perusing the comics!