I arrived at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre around 10:45am to find a lineup of around 200 people. Spent most of the time writing my first blog post and listening to the person in front of me have a conversation with the person behind me. This was my second convention, so I'm still not used to running into the vast array of people that show up at these events. Makes for an entertaining day!
Once inside, I made a beeline to the back of the room to line up for Kevin Maguire. The wait wasn't too bad, and I was able to get my Batman Confidential and Robin II books signed by him in no time. Apparently Kevin wasn't in the greatest shape as he was recovering from some food poisoning that he picked up before arriving in Toronto. A funny side note, the Robin II book was the last one in the pile, and he made a funny sigh when he signed it. I guess he's not a big fan of that cover! LOL!
After I was done with Kevin, went back outside to see Marcio Takara. Some of the guest artists were set up outside the room, which made it easier to talk to them. A fellow collector friend was telling me before the show that Marcio was the artist working on the new Incredibles comic coming out from Boom! publishers. Of course being a Disney fan, I had to ask for an Incredibles sketch, which he was more than please to oblige.
Next to Marcio was Kurt Lehner. I was admiring his wide variety of work when I noticed on his poster behind him a Gargoyle. Of course, that prompted a conversation, where I found out that he was the initial artist on the animated series. He told me that he created the original characters based on outlines provided by Disney. That meant I needed a Gargoyles sketch from him. Again, not a problem!
Once I was done talking to some of the artists, it was time to hit the sellers tables to look for some back issues. I had no problems finding most of my priority items. I will say the room was kinda difficult to navigate because of the size of the crowd. There were a couple of large sellers that had a lot of $1, $2 and $3 long boxes. I really wasn't in the mood to go diving as I was on a mission to find specific issues.
The 2 sellers that I did well with was Myths Legends and Heroes and All New Comics. I have bought from All New Comics online before. They are a really great bunch and I learned very friendly. I was able to pick up some great $1 back issues that were all from the last couple of years.
After a couple of hours, I was pretty much out of money (I actually left with some in my wallet) and done looking for other books. I went back to see Marcio and Kurt to see if my sketches were done, but they both needed some more time. I took a small lunch break (ya, fries aren't really lunch). I wandered the room for a little while and took stock of my purchases.
Kurt was the first artist complete and let me tell you the wait was worth it:
Marcio need a little more time, but his was also a great addition to my collection:
Next show will be the 2 day ComicCon/Fan Appreciation event April 18th and 19th, again put on by Hobbystar. Can't wait.
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