As I mentioned in my last blog I was headed to this past weekend’s FanExpo in Toronto. This, despite my dislike of large crowds and waiting in seemingly endless line-ups. Although the day proved to be exhausting, I managed to enjoy a wide range of activities: shopping, spotting celebrities (Larry Hagman butted past me on his way to the washroom as I stood in an ATM line) attending a few panels, and chatting with folks about comics. Here are a few photos which capture a little of my experience at FanExpo.
The lineup for tickets. I told you... didn't I tell you? I haven't even gotten inside FanExpo and already I'm waiting in line. Actually there are 2 lines here, the one on the left which I'm standing in is for cash payments. The one on the right is for debit and credit card payments, and moved considerably slower than the cash line.
Star Wars was well represented at FanExpo. Here, a whole family from Tatooine visit the show and pose for photos.
Some people have too much time on their hands. Not ony did these guys have time to build life-size models of R2D2, but they also organized themselves into a club as well.
These might not be as realistic as the models above, but these girls (yes there's a girl inside the R2) certainly deserve full marks for inventiveness.
What's fun is when you find people in costume taking photos of other people in costume.
There were plenty of cosplay girls (and guys) dressed up as their favourite anime characters.
People even dressed up as their favourite video games, like Super Mario.
These Knights from Monty Python and the Holy Grail were on their way to the Saturday evening Masquerade. Such great costumes, the servant even has coconut shells to do the galloping horse sound effects. I hope these guys won a prize!
The main floor of FanExpo as seen from one of the panel conference rooms above.
Of course, there were comics at FanExpo! These vintage Archie, Human Torch and Detective comics were some of the rarer finds, kept in a display case. The Detective comic is issue #33 from 1939. The grade for it was 3.0 (10.0 being perfect) and it was valued at $950.00.
Some of the haul I brought home. I found these books at the Silver Snail booth for 50% off the U.S. cover price. Couldn't resist the Reid Fleming: World's Toughest Milkman collection as I have 2 of the issues tucked away in a longbox.
I found a great deal on this Joker action figure.
As you can see, my new Joker figure will complement this Batman statue I got at a comic show last year.
Of course, I stopped by the All New Comics booth to pick up my regular comic shipment and have a chat with Peter. He and Brian (sorry I missed him) are great! They had generous gifts for their customers who stopped by their booth at FanExpo. My gift pack included all the books pictured as well as an All New Comics t-shirt and lanyard. Easily $100 worth of gear. Thanks guys!
Thanks for the update and taking us ‘virtually’ to the show.
Thanks Marilyn, I’m looking forward to doing even MORE coverage next year!
Sorry I missed you Eric, I was only able to make it to the show on Friday for a bit this year unfortunately. While Pete was doing the hard work of running the show, I was behind the scenes making some magic of my own that I hope to share by the end of the week.
Brian, sorry I missed you as well. Many thanks to both you and Peter for the great service you guys provide at All New Comics, your dedication to customer service makes comic collecting fun and easy! I look forward to seeing this new “magic” you’re referring to.