ttfitz Posted Thursday at 01:52 AM Share Posted Thursday at 01:52 AM On 9/23/2024 at 4:15 PM, 1Cool said: Is this Big Apple Comics? Their booth reminded me of a garage sale. Larryw7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttfitz Posted Thursday at 02:14 AM Share Posted Thursday at 02:14 AM On 9/24/2024 at 2:30 PM, 1Cool said: Steve gets a big smile on his face and gives me a handshake and starts talking to me about how I’ve have been and how I’m doing. I get this stunned look on my face and stammer something about being good and my name is Andrew since I couldn’t imagine he would know who I am. We talk a bit about his new job at ComicLink and he gives me his number if I want to talk comics. Just a sincerely nice guy and it left a smile on my face to have a nice discussion with him. A few years ago, I was going into a convention floor and he was going out (or vice versa) and I recognized him and stopped him to see if he could answer a question for me about Heritage Auctions (which he was no longer working for). My daughter and I talked with him a bit, nice conversation, and we went our separate ways. Another year or two I was leaving the Baltimore Convention center to get some lunch and saw him outside having a smoke break, stopped to say hello and he remembered me from before. Our daughters are about the same age, and we talked about them, comics, just stuff. We always look out for him at shows when he's there, and we've had a lot of good talks with him, he's even invited us to lunch a couple times. Really nice guy, and very interesting to talk to. 1Cool and Robot Man 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjonahjameson11 Posted Thursday at 11:11 AM Share Posted Thursday at 11:11 AM On 9/25/2024 at 9:52 PM, ttfitz said: Is this Big Apple Comics? Their booth reminded me of a garage sale. Yes, that’s Mike Carbonaro in the black suit ttfitz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Cool Posted Thursday at 12:34 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 12:34 PM On 9/26/2024 at 7:11 AM, jjonahjameson11 said: Yes, that’s Mike Carbonaro in the black suit Such an odd booth and I'd have to agree it does feel like an old school thrift store. Carbonaro is a staple at these big cons and is a character but his booth is probably the most unappealing booth at the con from a visual stand point. I see him making deals for some big time books when I'm walking around so I know he is legit but that booth is a mess. Dave2739, Larryw7, taro90 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted Thursday at 03:04 PM Share Posted Thursday at 03:04 PM On 9/26/2024 at 5:34 AM, 1Cool said: Such an odd booth and I'd have to agree it does feel like an old school thrift store. Carbonaro is a staple at these big cons and is a character but his booth is probably the most unappealing booth at the con from a visual stand point. I see him making deals for some big time books when I'm walking around so I know he is legit but that booth is a mess. Indeed and he likes it that way. For the adventurer and flea market guys like me, I find it fun. You never know what are in those strewn out piles. Just be very careful and carefully look through anything you buy from him. Not saying he is trying to rip anyone off but he is just in such a hurry and has a hard time focusing. I wish he priced like a flea market seller but I have gotton a lot of real good deals in those messes. SkOw 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chip Cataldo Posted Thursday at 04:00 PM Share Posted Thursday at 04:00 PM (edited) On 9/26/2024 at 11:04 AM, Robot Man said: Indeed and he likes it that way. It's poor customer service. It shouldn't be about him, it should be about his customers and making sure they can find what they're looking for if he has it in stock. As someone who is hyper-organized, that booth makes me gag. Edited Thursday at 04:00 PM by Chip Cataldo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttfitz Posted Thursday at 05:53 PM Share Posted Thursday at 05:53 PM On 9/26/2024 at 12:00 PM, Chip Cataldo said: It's poor customer service. It shouldn't be about him, it should be about his customers and making sure they can find what they're looking for if he has it in stock. As someone who is hyper-organized, that booth makes me gag. That picture must have been from Friday, too, because by the time Sunday came around, it was worse - over where the guy on the left is looking thru a box, there was just a bunch of stuff on the table strewn around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeypost Posted Thursday at 05:53 PM Share Posted Thursday at 05:53 PM On 9/26/2024 at 12:00 PM, Chip Cataldo said: It's poor customer service. It shouldn't be about him, it should be about his customers and making sure they can find what they're looking for if he has it in stock. As someone who is hyper-organized, that booth makes me gag. Half of the boxes were water damaged books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Cool Posted Thursday at 05:58 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 05:58 PM On 9/26/2024 at 1:53 PM, joeypost said: Half of the boxes were water damaged books. You could smell those old musty basement comics from a booth away. Larryw7 and ttfitz 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Cool Posted Thursday at 06:02 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 06:02 PM (edited) On 9/26/2024 at 1:53 PM, ttfitz said: That picture must have been from Friday, too, because by the time Sunday came around, it was worse - over where the guy on the left is looking thru a box, there was just a bunch of stuff on the table strewn around. It was early on Saturday morning. I stopped over there before most people where open and he was packing up those boxes and it sounded he was trying to do a bulk sale of the whole lot. Appears he was successful if that area was empty later in the weekend. Edited Thursday at 06:35 PM by 1Cool ttfitz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjonahjameson11 Posted Thursday at 06:32 PM Share Posted Thursday at 06:32 PM On 9/26/2024 at 1:53 PM, ttfitz said: That picture must have been from Friday, too, because by the time Sunday came around, it was worse - over where the guy on the left is looking thru a box, there was just a bunch of stuff on the table strewn around. There’s a few YouTube vids where collectors visit Mike’s house and he gives a them a tour, all the while hustling to make a sale on this or that book, mag, toy, whatever. reminds me of the show “Hoarders” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robot Man Posted Thursday at 06:35 PM Share Posted Thursday at 06:35 PM On 9/26/2024 at 9:00 AM, Chip Cataldo said: It's poor customer service. It shouldn't be about him, it should be about his customers and making sure they can find what they're looking for if he has it in stock. As someone who is hyper-organized, that booth makes me gag. I am also super organized so I get what you are saying. Mike is a weird character. And quite the huckster. He loves what he does and does it his way. Like I say, if you want deals you sometimes have to work for them. I have no problem pawing through messes in old houses, barns and yes even comic shows to get good deals. There are never any deals on the pretty walls but if you box dig or spend a little time at booths like this, you are sometimes rewarded. I got a nice pile of mid grade PCH from a box on the floor of his booth at Torpedo. Half guide because I bought them all. He loves to turn and burn fast. One thing that almost always works is to “show him the money”. Wave cash in front of him and the deal often closed quick. greggy and jimjum12 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aman619 Posted Thursday at 07:34 PM Share Posted Thursday at 07:34 PM On 9/25/2024 at 9:10 PM, greggy said: Jason Hamlin out of Richmond, VA He should be at NYCC, as he normally attends that show. thanx... ! greggy and jimjum12 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted Thursday at 07:43 PM Share Posted Thursday at 07:43 PM On 9/26/2024 at 3:34 PM, Aman619 said: thanx... ! He loves undergrounds and all that weird stuff and is a great guy to deal with. If you want his contact info, LMK. jimjum12 and ttfitz 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Brkndwnbus Posted 17 hours ago Popular Post Share Posted 17 hours ago I got one grail book of mine at the con -- Detective Comics #267. I couldn't find Detective Comics #215, which is the other book I am really trying to track down. Other than #267, I picked up some issues of The Filth I needed to try and complete that series. My experience at this con used to be really heavy on getting signatures and not looking at vendors' booths, but the past three years it seems almost everyone is charging $5-$10 per book on average, with some more. I changed to getting things signed only by creators I really, really follow rather than anyone I have work from. I'm not against creators charging, but it's taken some fun out of this con for me compared to when I started attending. ttfitz, greggy, miraclemet and 4 others 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjonahjameson11 Posted 15 hours ago Share Posted 15 hours ago Yup, fandom has become monetized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
