HeroesCon 2009 In (Very Few) Pictures

Okay, so I know I said I was going to take more photos at HeroesCon this year. I really intended to do it, too. The best laid plans, and all that. Of course, I'm usually shopping for action figures, busts, statues, and various other collectibles at least as much as I'm shopping for books, but that wasn't the case this year. I only came home with seven or so action figures this time, which is less than I usually buy the first day. It wasn't for a lack of trying, either. The selection of stuff I didn't already have just wasn't there. No, I spent most of this year with my face buried in boxes of books, coming home with a dozen or so trade paperbacks and hardcovers and around 400 single issues. Sorting through all those books is a big part of why I haven't updated the blog yet. I did manage to snap a few photos, though, but I'll have many more pics of what I brought home than from the con itself. Anyway, here's what I managed to get:

This is the con floor from the seating area over near the concessions. That crowded booth in the background under the "Aisle 200" sign had just dropped from ½ price trades to $5 trades, so they were having a busy Sunday.


Here's the Sci-Fi Genre booth. I visited their store in Durham last year, and I've ordered from their online store several times. What a great, friendly group of people they are. Looking back, maybe I should have bought that $6 Supernova figure hanging there.


These next two photos are of The Outer Rim Collectibles' booth. He had a good selection of 25th Anniversary and "Modern Era" G.I. JOE figures available.




This guy was walking around in a Storm Shadow costume, so when he was standing next to me at the DC Comics booth, I decided to take a photo.


And here's a shot of Jennifer with a guy in a Cobra Commander costume. She's 5'6", by the way.


You can see larger HeroesCon 2009 photos on my Flickr, but that's pretty much it. As I mentioned, I'll have plenty of photos of stuff I brought home from the convention to post throughout the week, but those were the only photos of the actual con I managed to take. From what I've seen on the web, there were several attendees in recognizable costumes, but I didn't see many of them. I guess I was too busy digging through $1, fifty-cent, and even ten-cent comic boxes and wondering why no one had any recent DC Direct releases (or Marvel Universe, or JLU, or any of the pricey G.I. JOE variants). Where I failed, though, others succeeded. Here's the official Heroes Aren't Hard To Find convention set on Flickr. Seriously, I never even saw this Cobra Commander & Baroness or any of these guys. Here's some more HeroesCon costumers on ComicBook.com, too. While I did see the GL from a distance, I never caught so much as a glimpse of Wonder Woman, Cassie Hack, Renee Montoya, or that Batman. I've seen that Harley before, though, and I hope to never, ever see her again.

Twenty-, Twenty-, Twenty-Four Hours To Go

HeroesCon 2009 officially kicks of in twenty-four hours, at least for those of us shrewd enough to purchase a three-day advance pass. I'm happy to see that Sci-Fi Genre is on the list of exhibitors. Unfortunately, I don't see many of the vendors from the Northeast who used to set up shop at HeroesCon up until a few years ago. I was hoping that with gas prices down from what they were last year, some of those guys might make the trip again, but it looks like mostly regional dealers from the Southeast. That's how it's been for the last few years, and the prices and selection suffer for it. There will still be plenty to buy and lots of great deals to be had, but the days of $5 DC Direct figures and $30 long boxes full of comics seem to be gone for good.

I always take my camera with me to the convention, but I never end up taking many photos. I'm going to make an effort to do better with that this year, so I'm hoping to have plenty of pictures to share here and on Flickr. I'll try to get shots of comics and toys at dealer booths, the DC and Marvel setups, some of the talent, and some of the costumers. And of course, I'll have images of whatever figures, books, and other goodies I bring home from the con.

Sci-Fi Genre (Durham, NC)

While I was in the Raleigh area over the weekend, I made my way to Sci-Fi Genre in Durham, NC. I've ordered from their online store at www.ScifiGenre.com before, so I wanted to check out their B&M location while I was within a few minutes of the place. They had a pretty good selection of action figures, along with a few statues and busts, but nothing I really needed. I did pick up several new comics, though, which they sell bagged and boarded for just under cover price. I liked that about the shop, especially considering I was traveling with Darby. She's nutty, she's a crazy kind of dog. You get in her way, she'll roll right over you. She's silly like that.