Baltimore Comic Con 2024 - Photo Heavy 2 2

[EastEnd1]

On 9/25/2024 at 8:30 AM, 1Cool said:

I tried to concentrate on Bronze Horror books when I could find them in higher grades.  The Teen Titan covers were so nice I had to grab a stack.

Nick Cardy did a great run of Teen Titans covers... nice grab!

[batman_fan]

Based on the pictures, looks like an amazing show!

[Robot Man]

On 9/24/2024 at 7:59 AM, 1Cool said:

Here are a few of my thoughts about the con:

1.  Downtown Baltimore sure has taken a turn for the worse with a lot more homeless people sleeping in the grass near major intersections and the urban blight just seems to be everywhere.  I live in Cleveland and we have our problems for sure but I just don't feel unsafe walking around downtown and I felt unsafe walking not that far from the convention center even though there was a baseball game going on.  My hotel is south of Baltimore now and it seems like a good choice with what is going on down there at night.

2.  With that being said - the venue is still top notch.  Cell phone service is great and the lighting is fantastic for a big space.  Security everywhere and the bathrooms are spotless.  You really can't find a better convention center to hold one of the biggest and best Cons in the nation.

3.  There did seem to be a few missing names this year but in general there was still an endless sea of booth to look at and the amount of quality books in the room will blow pretty much anyone away. 

4.  The deals for non-key books where everywhere and the deals were getting better each day and I can imagine some great bulk offers where getting thrown around on Sunday.  I didn't get a sense of panic with the dealers but there was a feeling like cash was even more key than I've seen in awhile with some dealers way overloaded in books.  30% discounts became 40/45% discounts on Saturday and $20 books that were knocked down to $10 on Friday were $5 on Saturday.  I blew through my budget early on Saturday morning but there were still bunches of deals to be had.

5.  I tended to try to stick with higher grade non-key Bronze and Silver-Age books that were in the bins so I didn't buy one wall book all weekend so I'm not sure how those books were priced.  I do know that books did seem to be disappearing from walls and some dealers seemed very happy with their sales and some dealers were selling books hand over fist at some booths.  The booths that where perceived as discounters where getting swamped and that is where I tended to be so I'm not sure how the other booths did.

6.  I will reiterate from my previous Baltimore Con reports that this is a great social Con where big dealers and customers flock from all over to not only buy books but treat it like a convention where like minded people get to talk about comics and life in general.  You will not get a better vibe of the comic industry then hanging out at this con for a few days and there is a lot to be happy about.  Even though I think the boards are less vibrant than they use to be a decade ago there is still a large swath of people here on the boards who are prime players in the industry which is always fun to be part of.

Thanks for the great report and your observations!

My last trip to Baltimore was before Covid. I enjoyed the vibe and always made a point of catching a game at Camden Yards with a couple of buddies. A trip to Geppi’s museum was also fun.

A true comic buying experience. Virtually every large nationwide dealer as well as loads of small “mom & pop” dealers make it a buyer’s paradise. If you can’t find anything to go home with you simply aren’t a comic collector. If I had to pick one show for the year this would be it.

And yeah, the social experience is Awsome! 

As far as the homeless go, Baltimore is probably no different than any other major US city. Something we just have to deal with. It ain’t going away. Mind your p’s and q’s, don’t venture off the beaten path, and be very aware of your surroundings. If you are aware, it shouldn’t spoil your time there. 

[miraclemet]

On 9/25/2024 at 11:01 AM, Robot Man said:

As far as the homeless go, Baltimore is probably no different than any other major US city. Something we just have to deal with. It ain’t going away. Mind your p’s and q’s, don’t venture off the beaten path, and be very aware of your surroundings. If you are aware, it shouldn’t spoil your time there. 

Yep. Baltimore is my local con being a Marylander, and we visit the city with some regularity. The inner harbor (one block to the east of the Convention Center) is a great family friendly area with lots of great shops, museums, restaurants etc... The city has created a good "bubble" that highlights the best of the city, and sure like any city there's a contingent of homeless, but I don't find it any worse/better than other big cities. 

[Robot Man]

On 9/24/2024 at 7:50 AM, miraclemet said:

Thanks for taking all those pics! Here's my two cents about the show...

I went on Friday and Sunday (Friday solo, and Sunday with my teen). It was (as always) a great show for comics. 3 hours into the show I was only two rows deep into the vendor floor and could still see the entrance!

All of the dealers you'd expect were there and had great books. Im a golden age collector so I was focused on that, and there were plenty of long boxes to sort through. Dealers had some great jewels up on their slab walls. I focus on raws at shows (since it helps to hold those in hand before buying) and picked up some great books. 

I did a lot of looking at first, but bit on a great Ernie comic that the guys at Bona Fide Comics had in their boxes. I dont think I had ever seen in hand, so I snapped it up. I worked my way thru Harley's boxes (which were well priced IMO) and found a nice Betty & Veronica 46. I cant remember which dealer sold me the Joe Palooka but it also came out of some GA long boxes at a good price. My biggest pile of comics came from TasteeCat Comics who had GREAT raw GA books up on the wall and I bundled an Arche 46, a Cindy Smith and a Wille for a nice GA pile. 



Went back on Sunday with my teen, who spends all her time at the booths I dont, so it's nice. Lots of time in artist alley and the various craft dealers and the funko pop and 3D printer folks. All great stuff and great chats with everyone who had set up at the show. Most everyone reported a pretty successful show, and saw a decent amount of "last one" and "sold out" notes on various products. I picked up Katie Cook's last HC copy of her Nothing Special title (Volume 2 coming in October!) So many stickers, buttons and 3D printed knicknacks bought. 

We also made the rounds to say some hellos and get some prints and autos from some of the artist alley staff. Visited with JLG and Joe Staton along with David Peterson and Jeremy Bastian (MI locals we've been following for over a decade) Before I left I went back to Bona Fide and grabbed some MIB GI Joe Vehicles for my toy collection and succumbed to the need and grabbed a great looking Pep 99 from Graham Cracker Comics (no pic sorry!)

All together a great time (as always). I didn't do any submitting to CGC at the show mostly because I had just done a big sub this summer (not knowing they'd be on site grading at BCC). Their lines didn't look that long, and I believe they were doing JSA authenticating AT the show as well (which is new). The BCC staff as always were great and the facility (at least on Friday and Sunday) was always busy but never so busy that you couldn't get around. Parking was managable on Friday and Sunday even though the Orioles had home games for both of those days (and on Sunday at the same time)

 

You and I are probably brothers from other mothers.

Yeah, I check the pretty walls and every once in a while, pick up a wall book. But box diving is what the smart folks do. So much stuff just waiting to be discovered for those willing to put in the work.

I’m a GA guy so I check all the GA boxes even lowly, Western and Humor boxes. Even an advanced collector can turn up suprises.

And look at ALL the dealers. Especially those small out of the way “Mom & Pop” folks. Often they are overlooked. And one can often get better discounts because they need to make sales. There is always that “one guy” at every show that makes your day.

Nice pickups by the way. Those Earnie books are cool and very tough. Glad you had a good show.

[jjonahjameson11]

On 9/25/2024 at 11:09 AM, miraclemet said:

Yep. Baltimore is my local con being a Marylander, and we visit the city with some regularity. The inner harbor (one block to the east of the Convention Center) is a great family friendly area with lots of great shops, museums, restaurants etc... The city has created a good "bubble" that highlights the best of the city, and sure like any city there's a contingent of homeless, but I don't find it any worse/better than other big cities. 

Are we talking about the same Inner Harbour with the Cheesecake Factory, Capital Grille, 5 Guys, etc?  

If so, then I wouldn't exactly call it a family friendly area, and especially not after dark.  I mean, the CVS over there has more things under lock and key than any other major US city I've visited.  

[Chip Cataldo]

On 9/25/2024 at 8:33 AM, 1Cool said:

Grabbed some nice Silver Age books from Matt (Skow) and made a nice combo deal to get 3 Wolverine Limited 1s from the Reese booth.  Nice guys and it was my first buy from them and hopefully not the last.  I’ll pump these directly into my e-bay store and hopefully get the buyers to come in since it’s been very, very slow on there.  
 

Thanks for looking!

As someone who absolutely LOVES all comics from all eras, I can't stop looking at these pictures. You made perfect selections across the board. :-)

[Sal]

every year this show gets my attention but rarely my attendance. life getting in the way and a kid in private school makes it hard but i def want to try and get back up there one year to see your friend and mine @chrisco37

 

the Geppi museum is definitely cool. i recommend bribing, cajoling or some other way of convincing the tall geek @MrBedrock to go with you since that was my experience and his wealth of knowledge really made a fun visit much more interesting than it might have been otherwise.

 

Some of you cats are older than dirt. You know who you are

[chrisco37]

On 9/25/2024 at 12:52 PM, Sal said:

every year this show gets my attention but rarely my attendance. life getting in the way and a kid in private school makes it hard but i def want to try and get back up there one year to see your friend and mine @chrisco37

 

the Geppi museum is definitely cool. i recommend bribing, cajoling or some other way of convincing the tall geek @MrBedrock to go with you since that was my experience and his wealth of knowledge really made a fun visit much more interesting than it might have been otherwise.

 

Some of you cats are older than dirt. You know who you are

Unfortunately, Geppi Museum is permanently closed.  Having Richard as our personal "tour guide" is definitely one of my fondest memories. 

[chrisco37]

On 9/24/2024 at 9:45 AM, 1Cool said:

[BorderlineHoarder]

On 9/25/2024 at 8:25 AM, 1Cool said:

Not sure if anyone requested it but some people like to see what books were purchased.  The first few were from New Dimension’s booth where they were blowing out books for a few bucks a piece.  Looking back I should have not bought any of the copper spec books but old habits die hard.  The Bronze books were so nice it’s impossible to not grab a stack.

 

All great stuff...and buying 7 copies of X-Men #191 is hoarder approved! 

[chrisco37]

I tried to post some photos but just get the "black box".   Gotta be a board software thing right?  It's still pretty carppy even after al these years.  

[RockMyAmadeus]

On 9/25/2024 at 5:25 AM, 1Cool said:

 Looking back I should have not bought any of the copper spec books but old habits die hard.

[1Cool]

On 9/25/2024 at 2:27 PM, chrisco37 said:

I tried to post some photos but just get the "black box".   Gotta be a board software thing right?  It's still pretty carppy even after al these years.  

I had to crop down the pictures that were showing up as black boxes and had no problems.  I think it's an issue of the photos are getting so "big" that the boards won't allow them.  Did you recently update to a new phone?  I updated to a newer IPhone and started running into this issue.

[1Cool]

On 9/25/2024 at 2:14 PM, BorderlineHoarder said:

All great stuff...and buying 7 copies of X-Men #191 is hoarder approved! 

I had to buy a few X-Men 190s to combo them with the 191s.  Such a great two part story line that I need to reread when I get home.

[chrisco37]

[Aman619]

On 9/23/2024 at 3:22 PM, 1Cool said:

whose booth is this?  hes got some interesting items on his wall...

[greggy]

On 9/25/2024 at 6:04 PM, Aman619 said:

whose booth is this?  hes got some interesting items on his wall...

Jason Hamlin out of Richmond, VA

He should be at NYCC, as he normally attends that show. 

[ttfitz]

On 9/23/2024 at 3:22 PM, 1Cool said:

Hey, that's me! The guy on the right pointing towards... you, @1Cool, I guess. 

One of these days I'll actually meet you at this show and say hello.

[ttfitz]

On 9/23/2024 at 3:23 PM, 1Cool said:

And I'm pretty sure I'm just off to the right of this picture, talking to @greggy. Maybe not, but it looks like the guy in the hat that was dealing with Steve when I was over there.