It's been a few years since the last time I attended the Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus.  A lot has changed in that short space of time.  Then again, some things have stayed the same, too.  What's changed is that money is quite a bit tighter for us these days.  When I started planning to attend this year's event, I knew that I wouldn't have the kind of "mad money" that I had back in 2006.  At the 2006 Mid-Ohio Con, I was able to land some pretty remarkable finds, including a classic that had eluded me for a very long time, Captain Marvel #100 (1949).  That particular book was a landmark find for me, as it cracked the elite ranks of my comic book "Wall of Fame."  It was truly an exciting find and it was one of my best comic con purchases ever.

Airboy vol. 4, number 1
Airboy, vol. 4, number 1
(1947)
My interests have changed since 2006 as well, as I've spent a good deal of the last 18 months or so working on the project that ultimately became the book Red Youth: Young Heroes of the Great Patriotic War.  Add to that the fact that I've been busy with the guys from The Wrestling Daily to produce our new site that is coming along very well these days.  Each week seems to bring something new for TWD and we seem to have real potential for terrific growth.  It's time-consuming but tremendously exciting stuff.

As far as my taste in comics, that's still pretty much the same.  I took a printout of my partial inventory with me to the Con and, as usual, I was on the lookout for affordable copies of Golden Age Air Fighters and Airboy issues.  I am also always looking to fill gaps in my collections of Power Man and Iron Fist and Rom: Spaceknight so that I might end up with full runs of each series.  After all these years, I am still a sucker for the Bronze Age stuff.  

Since my spending money was on the lean side, I figured I'd be pickier than usual and my expectations were pretty low as far as making a big score this year.  Hillman comics seemed to be pretty scarce.  I did find a dealer out of Louisville who handed me a nice stack of Airboy issues to look though, but the average price on the books was about $125.  Here and there I found other copies of Airboy comics, ranging in price from about $40 to $185 or so.  It was the first big comic con I've attended in a while that didn't seem to have any copies of Real Clue or Headline Comics and that was kind of disappointing.

I found one dealer who was more or less liquidating his inventory and he had a copy of Airboy volume 4, number 1 (1947) marked at $30 but he was also offering it at 50% off.  I made a note of it and a few booths down the way, I found the same issue for $185!  Needless to say, I walked back to the other guy and bought his copy for $15.  It's got tape on the spine, but it's complete and the cover displays well.  And it was way cheap, too.  Those are the most important things to me when it comes to acquiring Golden Age books for my collection.

There were a couple of pro wrestling booths at Mid-Ohio and I took the opportunity to do a little networking on behalf of TWD.  One guy specialized in old school DVDs and we had a nice chat about industry business.  He was also nice enough to let me have whatever DVDs I wanted for $5 each.  Among the DVDs I scored was a disc that features the complete ECW/USWA feud.  I watched most of it last night and I have to say it is the most tremendous display of action and storytelling I have ever seen in the world of pro wrestling.  This series has the best shoot promos from Jerry Lawler, Jim Cornette, Tommy Dreamer, Beulah McGillicutty and a lot of other huge names.  Incidentally, I think Beulah's "eye for an eye" promo about Tommy Dreamer's injured testicles might just be my new favorite promo piece of all time.  The matchups feature so many ECW originals that it's hard to even list them all from memory.  I think when it' all said and done, this might be one of my favorite "unofficial" DVD compilations of all time.   

I also got some face time with a promoter from an up-and-coming regional promotion and he seemed pretty interested in what we're doing at TWD.  There seems to be a good chance that we might work together in the near future.

Marv Wolfman was in attendance at Mid-Ohio.  I met him at the 2008 Gem City Comic Con and he didn't seem too interested in talking that day.  Luckily, he was in very good spirits this time and he was happy to sign my trade paperback of Crisis on Infinite Earths.  I also presented him with Total Eclipse #1, explaining that I love Eclipse Comics and that I had just re-read the entire mini-series over the summer.  I told him that the editors had bragged that Total Eclipse was Marv's "most complex" plot to date and when he heard that he rolled his eyes, saying he was never really pleased with that particular series.  He explained why, confirming a little of what I have previously heard about Eclipse.  It was a pretty fascinating glimpse into the business side of the comics industry and it was especially noteworthy to hear It from such a legendary writer like Wolfman.  He was not terribly nostalgic for the Eclispe days, but to me, Eclipse will always stand out as a tremendous source for great storytelling, particularly with their resurrection of so many Golden-Age characters.  Before I moved on, I shared with Marv that his writing has been a huge influence on me for the better part of my life now and I thanked him for that.  He was very gracious and it was a positive experience for me.

Marvel Two-In-One #24
Marvel Two-In-One #24
(1977)
I don't usually sell or trade comics, but I did take a copy of Zoo Funnies #3 (1945) with me in hopes that I could unload it for cash or credit.  It's generally considered the first Charlton comic book ever.  A couple of the people I showed it to were intrigued with its historical significance as a Charlton comic but they were also quick to add that "funny animal" stuff doesn't sell these days.  Whatever.  After striking out with about 4 dealers, I ended up finding a guy who was willing to trade me for it, offering 20 comics from his inventory in exchange for my one book.  As luck would have it, he had a ton of Power Man and Iron Fist and Rom issues, so I made out pretty well.  I also landed a Marvel Two-in-One featuring Black Goliath (another one of my favorite Marvel Bronze Age characters) and a few copies of The Flash from the mid 1980s.  One day I hope to put together a full run of the Silver Age Flash series as well.  So I guess I ended up with a nice haul after all.

Mid-Ohio is a nice experience and all, but in times like these, a $15 admission fee is more than a little steep.  It took patience and tenacity on my part to find a handful of good deals this year.  Still, I got to see a lot of nice comics and toys and I ended up with some nice new additions to my collection.  Now if I only had time to read all of these comics that I just bought…