Rhino_Comics Chicago Comicon report

[Sharkey]

FRIDAY:

 

My wife Beth and I had just returned from 2 weeks in the Galapagos Islands and Machu Picchu on Thursday night, so I was a bit worn out. But the con beckoned and I wasn't going to miss it. FFB procured a badge for me in my absence and so I got to the Con about 1:00 or so and gave him a call. He met me outside and we went in. I needed to stop and see a few people including my buddy Matt (Razor on the boards) and Kevin Forbes of Rainbow Comics. Scott and I wandered through the place. He'd been there already and had scanned the hall. We hit Rainbow and stopped by to see Ted at Superworld. Then we went back to the Artists Alley and checked in with Rob_React. I was supposed to do a story about the Con for the www.comicartfans.com web site so I needed to stop and talk to artists and art dealers and get pictures and ask a few questions. So next we went over to the booth of Eric Powell (The Goon). He had a great selection of original art. I got my pix, a couple quotes and Scott bought a couple TPBs. Goon is a great series if you haven't read it. We stopped by and saw the prime minister of comics, Ted VanLiew of Superworld and chatted with him for a while. We also saw Blazing Bob and others. I still needed to work on my Con write up so we went to see Albert Moy. Nice selection of art, although he tried to yank my chain by making disparaging remarks about Romitaman while Romitaman was standing a few feet away with someone else's badge on. Hardy har har, Albert. The only thing funnier was Albert's prices.

 

I was hoping to pick up some nice pre-hero stuff at the Con, and maybe some art, but I didn't have my hopes up after last year. However, as Scott and I rounded one corner, a dealer (Mr. C's Comics) had a board with lots of modern stuff. At the top was a copy of Amazing Adult Fantasy 14 in CGC 6.0. He gave me a great deal, so I bought it without hesitation. Here's a pic:

 

 

Because the highest graded copy in the CGC census is a 6.5, I thought a 6.0 was the find of the century. And I got a great deal!

 

Then we went back by Rainbow Comics where we ran into Erik Larsen of Savage Dragon fame and chatted with him for a while. Very nice guy, very into comics and original art. He is a fun to talk to because you can tell he was a comic geek before he was an artist.

 

Not long after that the show closed and I drove Scott downtown to Frontera Grill, one of the best restaurants in Chicago. We met up with Scott's fiance Liz (3000psi) and her parents. What a great family. We had a blast -- good company, good food, and good wine (1995 Marques de Caceres Riserva, a rioja from Spain). A great end to a great day.

 

SATURDAY:

Took some pre-hero duplicates to trade and struck gold at Superworld, where Ted and I came to a nice deal in which I got a nice Tales to Astonish 27, Amazing Adventures 4, and my first Golden Age purchase, a Weird Science-Fantasy 25:

 

 

 

 

Thanks Ted!!!

 

I searched the floor for another elusive grail, Amazing Adult Fantasy 8, but it seemed there were none to be found. That's ok, after a while I just stayed and chatted with Razor and Kevin at the Rainbow Comics booth. Kevin had some art I had my eye on, but I wasn't ready to pull the trigger. Soon the con closed and it was FORUM DINNER TIME!!! My wife Beth was sick (caught a nasty cold on the plane on the way back) so I was bach'ing it for the evening.

 

THE FORUM DINNER:

 

An absolute blast. Got there about 6:45 and it was already in full effect. Met many forumites who were there last year (Rob_React, Moondog, Pedigree Man, Centaur Man, Drummy, Flying Donut, Michelle Nolan and many others) and a lot of new faces I didn't remember (BassGMan, Iron Maniac, October_Fire, Joker's Revenge, Flink, Klozd_24_7, Scrooge, Doiby_Dickles, etc). There were people from CGC and CPG and CBG. Too many damn acronyms. Wyn (Centaur Man) brought a bunch of rare Golden Age books to show including a Detective 1. I didn't get a picture of it. I wish I had.

 

Centaur Man put the books on the mantle and everybody went to drool on them and spill their red wine on them . Drummy told me about a great Romita art purchase he made (I'll let him tell it in his report), and pretty soon it was show and tell time and the comics were coming out. We grabbed a table with Scott, Liz, Razor, Ted from Superworld, and Iron Maniac.

 

 

Our Table:

 

Another Table: L-R, CentaurMan, Flink, Moondog, Joe Sarno, BassGMan

 

Show and Tell: Nice Stuff!!

 

The food was great, the steaks were as big as our heads, and we drank a lot.

 

It didn't take long before the effects of alcohol consumption caught up wit us, and FFB taught us all how to make the "Rob Liefeld Face":

 

I stayed until about 1:00 am but I hear the hardcore gang stayed till 3:00. I had to get some sleep.

 

SUNDAY:

Got to the show about noon, and kept searching for that elusive AAF 8. After asking at about 2 dozen booths, I finally hit paydirt. Ink regisration problems are common in this book and it is very difficult to find in mid to upper grades. I grabbed this copy in a heartbeat:

 

 

 

Then I got a call from my friend Razor. A dealer he knew from the Quad Cities was there and he had some prehero books. So I met the guy, and struck nice deal for a Strange Tales 68, Journey into Mystery 52 and 55, and Tales to Astonish 2 and 4. All were in 4.0 to 6.0. Solid copies but tanning.

 

 

 

 

So the Con was a great success. Saw old friends, made new ones, and picked up some sweet, sweet pre-hero rarities. Gotta love it. Thanks to everybody for making it a great show and a great Forum Dinner. Kudos to Alan (Pedigree Man) for setting it all up for Saturday night. His wife was there too, and she seemed to enjoy it.

 

 

[Sharkey]

I should also mention that Joe Sarno, who FOUNDED the Chicago Comicon, was there as a guest of Moondog. Great guy, and somehow October_Fire got situated between them. I think he had he best spot in the show.

 

 

Maggie Thompson of Comic Buyers Guide was also there. There was a TON of collective knowledge at the dinner. The discussions I had and the ones I eavesdropped on were great. For somebody who doesn't know Golden Age that well, it was super to be able to listen to seasoned collectors talk about all manner of things.

 

Peace out.

[FFB]

Great report, Steve. We met up with Erik Larsen at Ted's booth, by the way, not Rainbow Comics. I remember because I kept trying to mumble "Hey Ted, that's Erik Larsen" without being "Obvious Man."

[Larryw7]

Great report, great pics and great books!

[BachelorOfComix]

Sweetness! Best con report since Oct's con report.

[Forbush-Man]

Great report!

[greggy]

Great job fellow sushi lover!

[Sharkey]

Thanks for refining the details. I'm a journalist -- I just make it up as I go along.....

 

More random pix:

 

TheCollector, FFB, PedigreeMan:

 

 

 

 

Group shot:

 

 

 

 

Ted from Superworld

 

 

 

 

Kevin Forbes of Rainbow Comics

 

 

 

 

Eric Powell

 

 

 

 

Adam Hughes working on a sketch

 

[october]

Great report!

[Foolkiller]

great report!

[143ksk]

Nice report And I have to say those pre-hero Marvels looked even better in person

[Sharkey]

Nice report And I have to say those pre-hero Marvels looked even better in person

 

They always do after a few drinks...

 

By the way, it was great to meet you as well! Sorry I realize I failed to mention you in the list! My bad.

[Scrooge]

SUNDAY:

 

 

Liar! you had that one at the dinner for the show and tell on Saturday. Thanks again for sharing. Between that book, 143ksk's Pep 22 AND 23 and Bob's Batman Penguin cover and Animal 1, the evening was perfect. Oh and yes, that's forgetting CentaurMan's 'Tec 1, Amazing Man and other Spectre covers. Thank you guys.

 

143ksk didn't bring his Liberty downstairs though (or he bought it on Sunday ) nor did we get to see your AAF 14.

 

PedigreeMan - Thanks for putting the dinner together. Remember I DO need a Flyboy # 1

[skybolt]

Excellent report.

[Jeffreykli]

Great report! I really need to check out the Chicago show...maybe next year

[Silver Surfer]

Rhino nice books. I was so dazed by them that I have to go back and read this thread.

[Crows]

Great report ! musta been a good time ! Cool books to

[Sharkey]

The other books:

 

 

 

[tth2]

Rhino, great report and great pick ups!

[ArAich]

Uh-oh....I think I'm liking those pre-heroes just a little too much....gawd...off on another tangent...

 

Nice report Steve...sounds, and looks, like you had a blast...