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Anyone go to Philly???

Started by AlexH,

18 posts in this topic

RedSkull

RedSkull

Posted
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I went at 4:00 and met at the CGC booth at 5:30 for the get together Dinner but had to leave at 8:00 pm to go to work. I thought the show was good and there was a good turnout. CGC told me they would have their registry ready to go on line in two weeks but that to add your books to the registry you must belong to the Collector's Society and since mine just expired I guess that means I'll have to renew.

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BronzeBruce13

BronzeBruce13

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I was there all day Friday and Saturday. It was quite impressive. I had forgotten how tired your legs can feel after standing on them for hours though. I did not buy many comics overall, but I finally met (face to face) many of the dealers and contacts I've been working with over the past 3 years. I also met others I didn't expect to.. Josh Nathanson (very briefly), Ed Jaster, Harly Lee, Michael Goldman, Jason Ewert, Dean Correa and Dave Fees and many more.

 

I also watched the various "gem hunters" do their thing. Talk about hustling and being aggressive! I heard many of the best deals were had on Thursday during dealer "set up" though. I'll try and make sure I'm part of that next time. Steve Lauterbach (Comgeek) was among the most impressive, finding great buy after great buy... and doing so on Friday on 1 hr. of sleep. He continues to be one of the best people to work with in the hobby and helped me get in early... thanks Steve.

 

I soaked it all in, learned a lot and will be ready for the next one. I've been out of the convention game for way too long and needed a refresher. Its a slightly different experience compared to just internet dealing.

 

I had a chance to meet all the CGC staff and all were very likable and personable... and came across to me as true comic fans as well. I even met the president of CGC, but can't remember his name I'm sorry to say... nice guy. Steve, the prez and I talked about the forum, other grading company's and the like. I also had a chance to chat with Steve and Paul and learn and little more about the CGC grading/certifcation process. I think the prez drafted his team well as they all are easy going and good with people.

 

Friday, I had a couple of beers with Gman (we missed Mike Shuley until Saturday unfortunately). Over a couple of beers, I was surprised that George was far more likable in person than on these boards. We had a good chat about business philosophy, comics and life. I discovered what his real motivations were and they were not selfish ones. He just seems to want to provide his wife with some additional luxuries... I can understand that, but asked him to still consider working a little differently.

 

I ran into Mike Shuley and family towards the end of the show and was happy I did not miss him. He's another great guy to work with and a comic fan I can relate to. I was sorry he was not able to join us for the dinner, but the guy didn't want to ditch his woman and son. It seems a lot of comic guys really dig their women.

 

I was happy to meet a few forumites during the show... Chris, Kevin. David and Jeremy (who I ran into going through boxes before we realized we were forum friends). All were busily doing their thing, buying comics, getting autographs, buying original art, etc. I could tell they were all very pleased. These are guys I could be hanging out with regularly if we all lived close buy. Who says internet friendships are not worthwhile?

 

We all had a great time at dinner a few hours ago. I'm still stuffed! The party was so large that unfortunately I only had a chance to break bread with half the group. We should have switched seats half way through. At dinner I was seated close to Dan (Flying Donut). Steve Borock, Rui (Ariamus), Jeremy, Sam (the quite one), Chris and David. We had a great time and chatted about everything... Comics, grading, CGC, sports, experiences, food and others in the hobby.

 

I was sorry that I did not get a chance to shoot the with the other side of the table (Arnold, TomG, Kevin, Brian, Tom, Ted, Bob and Paul)... but we were having a good time and time flew... and they were doing the same at their end.

 

Anyway. I'm done, not going back Sunday. I was very impressed with the convention and have decided that I need to make it a habit of being at more of them even of I have to travel. A good friend/customer has offered to put me up if I go to San Diego and I have free frequent flyer miles... I may just have to do it.

 

 

 

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dam60

dam60

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The con was really awesome. I bought a few books from the Blazing one that we had pre-arranged and a piece of original art from the Hush storyline. I was able to get it with a personalized sketch from Jim Lee himeslf which really sealed the deal.

 

The forum dinner was awesome - it was so nice to be able to put faces with names (although I was expecting Bruce to still have that shark's tooth grin.gif )

and the food was great. The table was a bit long so I didn't get to talk to everyone as much as I would have liked to either, but had some great conversation primarily amongst Tom G, the Blazing One, Brian (aka Foolkiller) and Ted Lanview of Superworld comics.

 

I had never been to a major con like this before and was thoroughly impressed. Wizard did a great job and I am looking forward to next year!

589a8aed90b60_181260-JimLeeSketch.jpg.a1730b073c4391edc3f063b3acc96891.jpg

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yertle

yertle

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I a blast at the con! I picked up some old World's Finest and some Cerebus issues. Although I didn't find as many Cerebus issues as I would have liked.

 

I enjoyed dinner with the CGC guys and forumites. It is always fun to put faces to the names you know folks by on the boards. Everybody was a blast to hang and chat with or in my case listen to. I'm sure most of the forum members I met walked away thinking I was a mute but I can talk, honestly. I'm more of a listener so I enjoyed the stories and discussions between everybody. Maybe the next time I wont be so aphonic.

 

-sam

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buena_vista

buena_vista

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I just wanted to say to all you Forumites that we have a good group of people who contribute to this site. The dinner at Philly was a pleasure even though I really only sat on the side of the table with Bruce, Dan, Rui, Sam, Chris and David & Steve Borock and didn't get a chance to chat with everyone. It was a great to see such good folks who are passionate about the hobby swap stories and experiences.

 

A good time was had by all. (and I'm still full from all the food...)

 

Thanks Bruce for orginizing the whole thing. 893applaud-thumb.gif wait a minute -- what about my drinks?? shocked.gif )))

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Foolkiller

Foolkiller

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I posted on the other thread about the con... but thanks again to bruce (and Steve obviously) for organizing the get together... if any of you go to Big Apple or the Baltimore show, maybe I'll run into you guys there.

 

The show was great... better than last year. I hope next time I'll get to talk and meet everyone... Anyway, it was a blast!

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chrisco37

chrisco37

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Yes, indeed! As everone has mentioned, the show was fanstastic! The highlight, of course, being the dinner w/ the Forum members. As Bruce said, everybody was great and are all guys you could hang out with on a regular basis. My only regret was not being able to talk more to some of the members at the other end of the dinner table, but I'll see you guys again! Thanks to Bruce and Steve for making that happen! It was a blast. Great to talk comics, sports, hear about some of the bigger deals people had made in the past, and Hammer... shocked.gif (although I will say, I was surprised that we were at dinner for well over an hour before he was even mentioned, and the conversation was relatively brief...). Steve was awesome! Absolutely one of the nicest guys you'd want to meet! Took me around and introduced me to some art dealers and turned me onto some really cool graphic novels (Already finished 3 Fingers, Steve....absolutely brillaint and hilarious!!!!)

 

Now for my take on the show......

 

Comic Books:

It was enormous! (Never been to a Wizard show before, so maybe that is standard). At times, even overwhelming and chaotic. Didn't spend as much on books as I thought I would, but prices were pretty high at most tables, although I was able to p/up some nice Bronze books from Bob (always has the best stuff) and from Motor City (their grading seemed pretty tight, although it was tough to get them to budge on prices). Saw some awesome books there, including an unrestored 'Tec #27!!!

 

Guests:

Tons of artists there! Lots fo companies represented. I was a little disappointed in the Marvel booth, as their lines were incredibly long (at one point they had 3 artists on top titles signing), and they really didn't seem to have put much effort into promoting anything new. I was pretty bummed on Saturday as I couldn't wait in line for Darick Robertson and get a sketch/sigs (I'm just too impatient), but more on this later. Stopped by Alex Maleev's booth and chatted w/ him for a few minutes about Daredevil. Nice guy, but seemed a little dis-interested. It was here that I ran into a true D*ckhead in the business. Anthony, form Anthony's Collectibles, was acting as Maleev's "handler". I politely asked him how much a battle sketch would cost and was basically ignored/brushed-off. It pissed me off so badly, I have taken them off of my "favorites" and will not buy from him. I real hole! Way to go bud! Lost a potential customer.....But, I got some great watercolor paintings by Andy Lee (Marvel Team-up) who was busy the whole show, both Saturday and Sunday, turning out some really great impressionistic work! Really friendly too....

 

Now, back to my Darick Robertson story.....I was a little bummed out by not being able to meet him on Saturday. On Sunday I was flipping thru some books at a table and who goes walking by? Yep, DR!!!! I called out to him and introduced myself (I email w/ him occassionally, so I really did want to meet him). He recognized my name and told me to meet him over at his table (not the Marvel booth). He signed all my books and was doing free sketches for fans. I asked for something from Transmet (whatever he wanted to do), and he drew me the half-alien/half-human, Fred, b/c, as he put it, "Nobody ever asks for poor Fred". He was really engaging w/ fans and was just a super cool guy! Made my show that much better!!!

 

Other Stuff:

Probably the thing that shocked me most was incredible turnout for "Stone Cold" Steve Austin autographs. He easily had the biggest line (even more than Alex Ross!!!!). Another hilarious event was the "Dangerous Women of Wrestling", or as Donut adoringly called them, "Skanks". They were comprised of a troop of (presumably) failed strippers and two guys (both in stunning physical condition smirk.gif). Yertle and I watched a match for all of 2 seconds before it was so ridiculously bad, we had to leave that section.

 

(For House) - Ran into Art and Franco, of Patrick the Wolf Boy "fame", and gave them a resounding "RAAAARGH!" which they seemed to enjoy! Really cool guys as well!

 

All in all, the show was fantastic. I had a blast there and even more fun at the dinner! I can't wait for Baltimore this year, and then Philly again next year! Thanks to everyone for showing up and making it such a great time!!! laugh.gif

 

Chris

 

 

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