Great Allentown Comic Con - A convention like days of old!

We attended the Great Allentown Comic Con today, it is not our first time there. We go back each year simply because not only is it a good place to hunt for comics and collectibles but it reminds us of conventions we used to attend when we were younger.

Back in the 1980's/early 90's comic convention were not by any means the mega events they are today. They were not held in huge convention centers either. Usually they would be in a hotel or some other small venue, possible a school gymnasium or local VFW (yes I have been to shows held in all of the above). The Great Allentown Comic Con is held in the Merchants Square Mall, which is like a flea market filled with collectible shops. This is one of the reasons we go back each year, it reminds us of shows from the past.

The show from a huntability standpoint is great. Both in the show area and in the flea market area. I combined the two because we make purchases at both when we attend the con.

There are not an over abundance of dealer, although I suspect with the increase in attendance this year there will be more next time. The dealers have good deals on back issues and older toys, what we all hunt. Plenty of dollar boxes, discount trades and even a dealer who has almost all .25 comics and he has a lot. Toy prices are better then online and at others shows, the dealer tables are less expensive here then at the big shows, so guess who the saving trickles down to, US! The show also has many higher dollar Golden and Silver Age books so I you are looking for those hard to find issues, you might find it at GACC.

The spoils of the hunt!
So with all this talk about how great the Great Allentown Comic Con is ( I know why they use great in the name), what did we pick up today. The quick answer is a lot.

$2 Bins
We went through the $2 bins first, figured we would make our way down in price bins. Picked up four The Flash volume 2 issues (Wally West series), # 169, 180, 246 and Annuals 9. Still working on completing the entire run. Really enjoy this series.


Variant covers
One of the vendors had variant covers for only $5, which sounds good not great, right. Turned out to be awesome as he had a New 52 Flash #1 Ivan Reis cover, this is really hard to find. Also grabbed a The Flash Brightest Day #6 variant. $10 well spent.

$1 Bins
We next spent a good amount of time hunting through the $1 bins from various vendors, we had our sites on specific comic prey and it was the Justice League of America. We have been piecing together the original run of this series for a couple of, picking up issues here and there. At GACC we scored 12 issues from the $1 bins and there was an even better discount, 6 for $5. We grade Justice League of America #252, 251, 250 (great cover), 242, 218, 217(was wearing t-shirt with this cover at the con), 214, 213, 203, 202, 192, 181( Whitman variant cover, more on this in a future post).

Quarter Bins
I love the .25 cent bins it is a good place to not only hunt for comics you have been searching for but to gatherer issues you may never have read before, chance to try something new. Bought 32 issues at .25 each or $8 for all 32. You can't beat that unless you travel back in time to when comics were actually .25 a piece. Here is the long list of what we gathered on our extensive quarter bins.
JLA Year One #7, Justice League Europe/International #21, 51, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 67, Impulse plus + 1 #1, Impulse #20, 19, JLX Unleashed #1 (Amalgam issue), DC/Marvel Access #1, 2, 3, Metamorpho #1, Mister Miracle Vol. 3 #1, 4, 5, 6, 7, Power Man & Iron Fist #119, 120, 121 ( going to start collecting this title again, both have new shows coming out soon)

The Mall
After we left the convention area we walked around the regular everyday mall area, bought a bunch of toys including an unopened JLU 3-pack and some Flash happy meal toys, all at really inexpensive prices. One of the toy dealers in the mall is a really nice guy and works with you on price.

We also walked around the auction area, they have one each month. We came across a memory while looking at the items up for auction (see picture below). I used the same Batman and Robin alarm clock to,wake me up for school from first grade to fifth grade. Haven't seen one since then. One thing you can't predict sometimes at a convention is the memories that you'll not only create but also recall from the past.

My childhood alarm clock!

Overall GACC was a huge success on so many levels.

How can you not go to comic conventions? The value for hunting is better then anywhere else.
Make plans to attend the next installment of the Great Allentown Comic Con or just to visit the Merchant Square Mall one afternoon

Good luck on you hunt!
#jointhehunt

San Diego Comic Con Exclusives- Funko Pop Vinyl White Lanterns

San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) is only a month away but word is already spreading on the exclusives that will be available at the Con of cons.

First up, which many collectors are interested in already, are the Funko Pop! Vinyl White Lantern Superman and Flash. Both are taken for the pages of the Brightest Day story line from a couple of years back, before the new 52 relaunch (B52). Both characters appear as White Lanterns and they look pretty awesome!

Funko has used these types of variants before as part of their exclusives. They had a Blue Lantern Flash and a Darkest Night Batman recently.


The good and the bad:
The good if you go to SDCC you can pick one of these up at a reasonable price.
The bad if you can't make it, like myself, plan to pay good money for them, as has been the case in the past.

Along with the regular issues of these two there will also be much rarer glow-in-the-dark version on sale. More information to come.

Good luck in your hunt!
#jointhehunt

Wizard World - On the hunt in Philadelphia

Yesterday we spent the entire day at Wizard World Philadelphia, a comic book and pop culture convention. Wizard Worlds is held at the Philadelphia Convention Center and the show floor is HUGE! Vendors, artists and celebrities side by side on the same show floor.

We were there the entire day, I was hunting for comics and collectibles to add to the trophy room and the kids were getting autographs from Doctor Who stars Matt Smith and Karen Gillian, plus Darryl Dixon himself, Norman Reedus. And yes it was awesome. I quote "Best day of y life!"

The actual hunting part was okay, there were plenty of vendors selling all types of comics, toys and art. Prices were medium range, vendors attributed that to high cost of table space.

The spoils of the hunt

Hit the dollar bins first and some great success, found Superboy #148 and #149, bought issues had original cover price of .12, cover date June and July 1968. Both were in fine condition. These two to good to be true I actually had to ask the vendor if it was a mistake. He said they were new boxes they just bought and had not gone through the yet. SCORE! Moral, check dollar bins, there is hidden treasure there.

 Also picked up an X-Force #1 from the dollar bin. When this issue first came out it was a big seller. Written and drawn by Rob Liefeld and packed with superhero team action.

 

Another great dollar bin find that brought back some fond memories, Alpha Flight #1. John Bryne is one of my favorite artist and Alpha Flight was a big deal when it came out way back in 1983. Exploding from the page of X-Men, the team of mutants were like X-Men Canada. John Bryne at his comic best, great cover, great art and great story. An awesome find and a great re-addition to the collection.



Filled in some of the titles that I have been gathering, The Flash Vol. 2 #205 (Feb 2004) guest staring Batman. Justice League Europe #21, 23, and 26 (1990-1991) Only 15 more issues to go. Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge #2 and #3,(2008) Final Crisis by Geoff Johns and Scott Kolins starring the Flash Rogues, My favorite villains in the DCU.  Finally picked up another gem, I have begun collecting some older titles, Shazam #18 (1975) My first Shazam! comic, in fine condition and steal for $1 even if it is written for kids. Aren't we all just little children inside.

 



Also went to the variant cover bin, a regular stop on all our convention hunts, picked up three more The Flash New 52 issues #4, 5 and 7 each one was only $2.50. Variant covers contain art by different artists then the usual artist. #4 was done by Eric Basaldua, #5 by Gary Frank and #7 awesome Dale Keown art.



Finally the big bang of the hunt, The Flash #142 for $25. Adding another one of the Barry Allen Flash issues to the collection is always a priority for every hunt we are on but it is getting harder and harder to find any o my missing issues, only 40 left. Also came across a Flash #105 which will be highlighted in an upcoming post.

We left the con, after waiting till 9:30 to get an autograph from Norman Reedus   so it was pretty empty (see photo of floor). A fun day was had by all not the greatest hunting grounds but the best day of my daughters life.

Wizard World Philadelphia Grade = B-

More news on WW Philly, original commissioned art up next.

Good luck on your hunt.
#jointhehunt #comiccon #superboy #normanreedus #mattsmith #dollarbin

Special Edition :NYC- TheSilver Age Edition

In this final installment of our review of the successful hunt at Special Edition: NYC we take a look at the more expensive Silver Age comics that were hunted down. If you attended the convention you are well aware that the show contained many dealers that carried Silver Age comic by the bundle.

Many of the vendors had 1/2 off on all Silver Age issues, which is a great savings for those of us that collect Silver Age issues.

The hunt netted us  5 Silver Age Flash issues, I am a trying to complete a full run of the original Barry Allen Flash.  I need only 40 more to finish the long hunt.

The Flash #140 (paid $7.50) - Flash battles Captain Cold and Heat Wave. Flash wins.

The Flash #165($10) -Professor Zoom tries to ruin Barry Allen and Iris Wests wedding.you guest it Flash wins.

The Flash #169 ($5) - 80 page giant, reselling of earlier Flash stories. He wins them all.

The Flash #190 ($5) - Flash battles the Muscle Man Mob and donates to the Flash Museum. Oh yeah he wins.

The Flash #195 ($7)- Captain Cold and Heat Wave battle each other then the Flash. Yet again the Flash wins.


One of the best things about good comic book conventions in general is they have a lot of Golden and Silver age comics at reasonable prices, they had a Flash 105 for $800. These older issues are much rarer then newer issues. They make for a good hunt and are always fun to look at.

Good luck on your hunt.
#jointhehnt