Shows

Comic-Con International Final Day and Wrap-Up!

The last day of the show on Sunday was as busy a day as the preceding three and a half days, and it was going strong until the final bell at five. I worked the floor as much as I could to try to pry.

By Jul 26,2011  3

The last day of the show on Sunday was as busy a day as the preceding three and a half days, and it was going strong until the final bell at five. I worked the floor as much as I could to try to pry those last few additional promos I needed to get for friends before I departed for my trip back to the Jersey Shore. I was able to locate some additional promos that I had not seen in my travels before, a nice four card set of Dan vs. from the HUB, a strange four card set of Ndbag the Boogeyman, and a blank back card from “Tokyo Toys”. I was also surprised to find when asking for the Sunday Speed Racer sketch card, I also received two cards numbered five and six to make a complete set of six. Some cool finds for the last day!

Promos found on the last day of Comic-Con

The show itself has changed dramatically over the last four years, and depending on what you like, that change can be good or bad. It has become increasingly difficult to get into any of the popular panels unless you are willing to sacrifice a lot of time to wait on line and be prepared to do it well in advance of the start time. Freebies can still be found on the convention floor and outside of the show as well, but even these are getting much tougher. It is not unusual to have to wait in line for a ticket to get a freebie, and even then you need some luck to be in the right place at the right time. The convention is crowded, so you need to be prepared to tackle the crowds.

I can relate the above to my journey trying to obtain promo cards during the show. The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund cards from Crytozoic were easy to obtain, but the Vampire Diaries was much more of a challenge, and the Walking Dead card was next to impossible. The nine Marvel Universe 2011 cards from Rittenhouse were a mixed bag; Some were easy to obtain at no charge, while others were much more difficult and required some type of financial outlay. I tried to spread my purchases around all the dealers as much as I could to support their setting up at the show. The toughest Marvel card was the one that had to be obtained at the Marvel booth. I was lucky to get three. I never did find the Dungeon Dolls promo that was supposed to be at the show, but I did find a number of other promos that were unknown to me until I saw them. I came home with a nice assortment of cards, but I was frustrated that I could not get more in order to help others who could not attend this year.

As I mentioned, the Breygent Mystery packs were the hit of the show for non-sports collectors, and the dealers I spoke with had good days and slow days. I did get to see several non-sports friends, but many of the regulars I have enjoyed seeing and getting together with are no longer attending, due to many factors, but cost of hotels and the difficulty of securing passes are primary reasons, and the massive crowds that have to be navigated also must enter into the picture. Lack of manufacturers at the show is also a negative for card collectors, the only one with a booth was Artbox, and their Harry Potter offerings were not even close to previous years, and no 2011 promos or anything relating to the new Deathly Hallows movie were evident. They had a sign up saying see you in 2012, but I’m skeptical we will see them back.

Don’t get wrong, it’s one big four and a half day party, with something going on all the time–parades, fireworks, science fiction themed music on the bay each night, everyone from attendees to restaurant workers dressed in costume for the convention, great restaurants, movie premieres and other special screenings well into the night. It’s a spectacle to be seen if you have never been there and want to go. It’s a great show, but it’s also a lot of work and it’s becoming just too much work for me, I long for the more relaxed and laid back shows where there were less than 100,000 attendees!

I hope you have found some useful information and enjoyed my show blogs, thanks to Harris and NSU for allowing me to share my convention experiences with everyone. I enjoyed doing it. I was tired and ready to come home at the end of the day Sunday, but now that I’m home posting this final blog, I’m a bit sad that the big show is over for another year. Go figure!

Editor’s Note—The above show report has been written by guest-blogger (and friend of Non-Sport Update) Batman (i.e. Bob Hulsart). All photos in this report were taken by Bob.

NSU would really like to thank Bob for his reports. We have received a great number of compliments on these reports and a decent uptick in website traffic, which can easily be attributed to Bob’s posts.

Goodbye Comic-Con! - Notice the arms and legs sticking out the back of the truck!

 

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3 Comments

  • Graham July 26, 2011 Reply

    Superb set of reports, Bob. I’m still aching at not being able to get a pass early enough to afford the flight and hotel. Thanks for making me feel as though I was there.

    1

  • hammer July 27, 2011 Reply

    Top Class job Bob – Maybe one day I’ll get there but you made it as real as it could be

    2

  • Alan August 2, 2011 Reply

    What do you think they’ve got in the truck?

    3

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