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

Comc Shop Review - Sci-Fi City, Orlando

If you were ever planning on opening up a comic book shop at anytime take trip down to Sci-Fi city to see how to do it right.

Loaded with reasonable priced back issues from as far back as the Silver Age. Loaded with not only current issues but also the hard to find variant covers, which most comic shops do,not carry. And added with a good mix of old and new toys.

We spent about an hour and a half looking through the back issues, which were arranged in alphabetical order down an entire huge aisle. The cost per issue was, wait for it....... original cover price. We bought about 30 issues of mostly 1980's comics for $1 or $1.25. We did have a hidden gem  find, Jack Kirby's New Gods issue #7 and #8 for $1 each. Original cover price was .25 but they round  any cover price less then $1 up, I will still very happy with the deal. Yet another treasure we dug to find, you have to love the spoils of hunting. A future post will detail all issues we picked up.

 

We were shocked to see not just the regular new releases but also the variant covers of many titles. We picked up the two of the DC comics bombshells covers, Earth 2 and Batman/Superman. We like these covers because of the strong role models they present to young female fans, I have two hunters in training who need to see more these.

We also found a hard to find Justice League of America Flash paper weight. I have been looking for this item for sometime now, to get it for $12  was awesome. I also think I might start collecting the new DC Comics movie line of figures. The Zod looks great.

Things gathered on this hunt = 33

Comic Shop Grade = A

This is worth some travel time if you are ever near Orlando Florida. All the pieces you want from a good comic shop. Friendly staff, large selection of items and lots of space. The shop has 10,000 square feet of space.

Brief history of Sci-Fi City
Originally open in 1978 as Enterprise 1701, Sci-Fi City changed its name in 1998 and moved to its current larger location. They have hosted events including guest appearances with  many industry big shots.
When a store has the longevity like Sci-Fi it just proves they are doing something right and have been for four decades.

The simplest way to say it is, GO TO SCI-FI CITY as soon as you can, it is a true comic hunters paradise.

Good luck on your hunt!
#jointhehunt

Rennigers Flea Market - On the Hunt in Florida

If you ate a true hunter/gatherer you are always on the look-out for things to add to your collection. This week we are blogging from Melbourne Florida. Our first stop on the hunt in Melbourne was the Rennigers Flea Market.

Flea markets are a great place to get some REAL deals. I mean some old items cheap or some items you never knew existed at a price you can't believe.

At Rennigers we found vendors with dollar comic boxes and toy dealers with dollar bins. There were about 40 dollar boxes filled with comics from the 1990's. There were about 10 toy dealers along with many other dealers that had a couple of toys scattered on their table.

We ended up spending about $25. Walked away with 21 comics to add to the collection, a Captain Cold happy meal toy and 3 DVD's. My daughter, who is turning in to an excellent hunter, bought some Star Wars figures and costum badges from here favorite shows.

Run down of what we picked up in the dollar bins:

Cable #1 (1993),  Guy Gardner Warrior #15, 26, 30, 35 (1993-1995),  Justice League America Vol. 2 #60, 88, 107, Annual 6 (1992-1996), Legion of the Superheroes #288 (1982), Elongated Man #1, 2 (1992), Mister Miracle Vol.3 #6 (1996), Salvation Run #2, 6, 7 (2008), The New Teen Titans #14 (1985), Lobo #1 (1990), Brigade #1 (1992), X-Force #2 (1991), Invaders #2 (1993)

As I have mentioned many times before I enjoy the humor that was found throughout DC comics in the early 1990's, so I picked up the Elongated Man issues, which I didn't even know existed and the Guy Gardner Warrior ones, I have started putting this run together.

Was able to fill in some more of the Justice League Vol. 2 run. I just figured it is so closely related to the Justice League Europe( lots of crossovers) that it just makes sense.

Cable #1 and Lobo #1 seemed like steals for a dollar. Both characters were very popular in the mid-90's. I think of these as key issues during comics big boom. Both heroes are in that gray not really a hero but not a villain area.

The New Teen Titans issue is a Crisis tie-in. Crisis of Infinite Earths was one of my favorite DCU events, it changed the complexion of the entire universe. Some heroes died others were elevated to stardom. If you never read it pick it up next time your shopping. I am looking for all the cross-over issues.

Salvation Run stars the a Flashes rogues and I have been on the look out for the 7 issue limited series.  I highly recommend it if you are a fan of the villains.

 X-Force is filled with Rob Liefeld goodness. I really enjoyed the art back when these first came out. such detail. I also recently picked up a copy of issue #1 at Special Edition:NYC. Think I might piece together an entire run. Plus X-Force #2 is the second apperance of Deadpool. We all love Deadpool.

Same goes for the Invaders, I picked up a copy of #1 recently so why not start another title search, one book at a time.

I has never heard of the Brigade but it has. Liefeld cover and looked like one of the great attempts at heroes by Image. We'll get deep into Image in a future post.

Finally the Legion of the Superheroes was just because. Never read the title but have heard so many good things about it. Time to give it a try.




We also picked up three DVDs for .75 each. Batman Begins, Catwoman and the Hulk. We are planning on watching every Superhero movie ever made this coming summer. We are starting with the 1966 Batman and ending with Guardians of the Galaxy. We will be creating a video blog to give our reviews so keep an eye out for more updates.

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