The 2006 Gem City Comic Con was held today and it was quite an impressive show.  The event was held at our alma mater, Wright State University and Thomai and the girls joined me in attending.  I packed our digital camera in hopes of snapping some photos,  but upon our arrival, I learned that I had forgotten to pack the camera battery — D'oh!!  (As it turned out, the best picture of the day would have been the guys dressed up in Ghostbusters costumes.  Say what you will about these guys, but their "proton packs" were pretty cool!)

Flash 147
Flash #147 (1964)
I had been saving up a little cash to spend at the comic con and I happy to find an outstanding selection of comics from all eras and publishing outfits.  I had a relatively short "wish list" this time around, but even still, I usually get sensory overload at these events and I quickly forget just what it is that I am looking to buy.  This time around, I at least had the presence of mind to remember that I was hunting for Golden Age Airboy comics as well as Silver Age Charlton comics and vintage Flash issues.  I had hoped to find some affordable Whiz Comics issues and Captain Marvel issues as well.

I was able to net a few vintage issues of Flash with no problem, including one issue featuring a tale from the classic "Green Arrow/Green Lantern" team-up era.  I also snagged a copy of Flash #147, which is an issue I had been looking to pick up for some time.  As luck would have it, the seller was running a 50% discount on most of his stock, including this issue.


Blue Beetle v2 #1
Blue Beetle v2 #1 (1964)
I grabbed a couple of early issues from the original run of DC’s Firestom and then I set out looking to score some issues of Airboy from the 1940's.  I found a dealer that had a handful of them, but the books weren't in the best of shape and they were a tad overpriced.  I haggled with the guy for a bit until he and I were sufficiently annoyed with each other and I left his booth empty-handed.  I then remembered a booth with some vintage Charlton comics and once I made my way there, I quickly found a reasonably-priced Captain Atom issue for my collection.  As an afterthought, I looked at their selection of Blue Beetle issues and I was thrilled to find an affordable copy of Blue Beetle v2 #1.  (The title of the main story is "The Giant Mummy who was not DEAD."  I haven't read it yet, but it looks extra kitschy!)  This was my "big find" of the day.  The booth belonged to the good folks at Fearless Reader Comics and they were even kind enough to knock a few bucks off my purchase.  

After I reached my spending limit, we left the show and walked around the WSU campus for a bit.  Thomai and I shared stories with our girls about how we met and where we spent our time during our college years.  As cool as the comic con was, this was the real highlight of the day.