I didn’t have quite the wad of spending money this time around, but I had enough to land a few nice books as well as an impulse buy or two. I brought my short “want list” along like I usually do for stuff like this, but this time around, I also printed out my entire inventory...or at least the 1/3 or my collection that I have been able to catalog thus far. Turns out it was a big help to have all that extra information when it came time to look for material to fill gaps some of my favorite titles like Power Man and Iron Fist. I also had the foresight to pack both volumes of History of the DC Universe in hopes that I might get the chance to get an autograph or two from Marv Wolfman, who was a special guest at the con.
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| Airboy Comics vol. 8, number 1; Feb. 1951 |
As usual, I was a bit over-stimulated when I hit the door, so I had to take a minute to look at my list and get focused. I even keep a “Most Wanted” page on the front of my inventory list binder that includes scans of the covers from some of my most sought-after books (although most of these – like Human Torch #37 (Timely) and Racket Squad #1 – will be financially out of my reach for a while). Right off the bat, I found a guy who was really looking to deal. He offered my a nice copy of Luke Cage, Hero for Hire #17 and Tales to Astonish #38 (Egghead’s first appearance) for combined total that was an absolute steal (no dollar amounts here, but I will say that I wanted both books very much and that the price he quoted me was 50% off his total sticker price). But this was only 5 minutes into my time at the con and I couldn’t drop any cash without scouting the whole room.
I did run across some pricey copies of Airboy and Air Fighters (including the first and second appearances of Valkyrie, which commanded hundreds of dollars a piece) at several booths and I usually look to land at least 1 or 2 Hillman books when I go to a convention. I was a little surprised that I didn’t run across any Real Clue or Headline Comics issues as I browsed around, but I really wasn’t looking that hard for them this time around.
A little while later, my pal Bill from Fearless Readers grabbed me and walked me over to a booth where the seller had a nice handful of “reader” copies of Airboy from the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. This is the stuff I like. So long as the issues are complete and the covers are largely intact with little writing and no big ink stamps, I am always interested in stuff like this. I ended up working out a deal with the seller for two of the Airboy books and I returned later for a third issue.
Along the way, I picked up about 8 issues of Power Man and Iron Fist as I hope to assemble the full run of this title for my collection someday. I was also on the lookout for issues from the short lived Iron Fist solo title and I was surprised to see individual issues commanding some high price tags. I did end up snagging a nice copy of Iron Fist #4.
I took a break from browsing and stopped by Marv Wolfman’s table. I was kind of surprised that there wasn’t a large line or a throng of folks around him. Wolfman is one of my all-time favorite comic writers and I wanted to ask him a few questions, but he didn’t seem like he was too interested in chatting. I tried to ask him a little about a GI Joe episode that he had scripted in the late 1980’s and the conversation didn’t go anywhere. He just kind of said that he had scripted a handful of episodes and that was that. But I was happy that he signed my copies of History of the DC Universe.
I was surprised to see one booth full of pro wrestling stuff, including huge boxes of vintage wrestling magazines like Pro Wrestling Illustrated and Inside Wrestling. There were a ton of issues from the 1980’s – the good old days of independent promotions and territories – and all the magazines were just $1 a piece. I couldn’t resist grabbing 10 of these and I picked the ones with some of the best covers some of which included pictures of greats like Ric Flair and Jerry Lawler. I can’t say I went into the con looking for these, but I was so glad to find them!
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| Songs of the Pogo 1968 |
My big purchase for this year’s comic con ended up being a pure impulse buy...something I didn’t know I wanted until I laid eyes on it. I am something of a Walt Kelly & Pogo fan, but I don’t have a huge amount of this kind of stuff in my collection. From time to time, I will pick up some paperback anthologies of Pogo strips, but I don’t actively seek this material out. Sometimes, the stuff manages to “find” me, though. Shortly after I had bought my third Airboy issue of the day, I was browsing an adjacent booth when I noticed a huge Pogo book called Songs of the Pogo on the wall. I asked the vendor how much the book was and he didn’t remember what he had written on the tag, so he got it down for a look. It was a first printing of the paperback edition. He told me the sticker price and then he offered it to me for $10 less. I was interested, but I also remembered the Hero for Hire and Tales to Astonish issues I had seen early on. I thanked him and went back to the other guy to see if the Marvel books were still there. They were indeed still up for grabs, but the longer I thought about it, I figured that it wasn’t every day that I got to pick up such a nice Pogo volume and I ultimately made up my mind to return and purchase it. The seller got it down for me again and took it out of the bag so I could have a look. It was really an irresistible piece, full of music, lyrics, drawings and stories. The seller and I traded a few stories about our fondness for Walt Kelly’s work and I was on my way. I have done little research since Sunday and I’ve learned that the book was a companion to an album of songs performed by Walt Kelly. Moreover, the album is now available on CD so I need to pick up a copy of it soon.
I left WSU feeling pretty good about some of my great finds...I even got a few things for the girls, including a pack of Hannah Montanta trading cards. I am sure the guy at that booth knew I was somebody’s dad. All in all, it was another great comic con and I’ll have some great reading material to keep me busy for a while.
