Toronto ComiCON March 20-22/15 - Presented by Fan Expo HQ

[ChristopherHynes]

Just spent day 2 at this con.

 

Picked up a couple sketch covers from Lashley, couple freebies from Kaare Andrews, and a beauty from Vince Sunico.

 

Picked up original Spider-Man: Reign artwork from Kaare Andrews for $40 a page.

 

Crowds were typical for Toronto show...narrow aisles and lots of baby strollers!

 

Picked up a ASM 20 CGC 4.0 for a fantastic price from Forest City Coins. Great guy to deal with! Happy to have a 1st Scorpion!

 

Autograph line for Chad Coleman went well, the volunteers were abit power happy however. . Typical Toronto volunteers!

 

Bunch of autographs received for TWD 100 HC. All the artists were super nice.

 

Neal Adams wanted $20 per auto. Felt kinda ripped aftwerwards. . Got the "Beatles/Batman" issue #222 signed.

 

Shout out to Jimmy Linguini!

[Dwitkin82]

I'm leaving buffalo in less than 10 hours..excited..

It's my first time going to a con by myself as my friends couldn't make it, so now I wont feel bad walking around artist Ally 15 times

[jjonahjameson1]

Do any boardies have any pull here where me and my family can by-pass that horrible slow line, I would buy the tickets, I just don't want to wait 4 hours in line

I didn't need any help to get in....the show was pretty slow

Some of the big dealers came with smaller booths and way less inventory, if you were looking for any silver or bronze.

Andy from Forest City had the best selection of silver and bronze from what I saw .

The show stills lacks inventory like the big show in the States.

It is a shame.... we are the 4th largest city in North America and we cant get any large dealers from the States to come because it is too much of a hassle to deal with Canadian customs.

 

 

 

Where in the US could someone come from that it would be reasonable for them to set up in Toronto?

In the 80's people use to come from New York and Chicago and further to the old Hilton shows on Richmond which drew way less population then your current Fan Expo and they came.

Am I mistaken are there not boardies that travel across the whole U.S. and set up at shows far from their point of residence e.g. dealer from New York setting up at San Diego

 

 

That's correct. Several dealers from Ohio, Michigan, and upstate New York would come to Toronto for 1-day shows at the Hilton, Ontario College of Art and other small venues...before the GST was implemented. Now, its such a hassle in terms of paperwork, upfront tax payment/customs, and time that's its just not worth it for them to come up here. There are a few exceptions (Harley Yee comes to mind), but with current exchange rates, they have to apply a 25-30% surcharge on their prices, making their books less affordable here, and impacting their sales.

[cheta42]

Do any boardies have any pull here where me and my family can by-pass that horrible slow line, I would buy the tickets, I just don't want to wait 4 hours in line

I didn't need any help to get in....the show was pretty slow

Some of the big dealers came with smaller booths and way less inventory, if you were looking for any silver or bronze.

Andy from Forest City had the best selection of silver and bronze from what I saw .

The show stills lacks inventory like the big show in the States.

It is a shame.... we are the 4th largest city in North America and we cant get any large dealers from the States to come because it is too much of a hassle to deal with Canadian customs.

 

 

 

Where in the US could someone come from that it would be reasonable for them to set up in Toronto?

In the 80's people use to come from New York and Chicago and further to the old Hilton shows on Richmond which drew way less population then your current Fan Expo and they came.

Am I mistaken are there not boardies that travel across the whole U.S. and set up at shows far from their point of residence e.g. dealer from New York setting up at San Diego

 

 

That's correct. Several dealers from Ohio, Michigan, and upstate New York would come to Toronto for 1-day shows at the Hilton, Ontario College of Art and other small venues...before the GST was implemented. Now, its such a hassle in terms of paperwork, upfront tax payment/customs, and time that's its just not worth it for them to come up here. There are a few exceptions (Harley Yee comes to mind), but with current exchange rates, they have to apply a 25-30% surcharge on their prices, making their books less affordable here, and impacting their sales.

I agree, with more bureaucracy at the border within regards to paperwork and taxation it makes it less attractive...but having said that in the 80's our dollar fluctuated from a high of 85 cents U.S. and as low as 71 cents U.S. and they still came.

 

[jjonahjameson1]

Do any boardies have any pull here where me and my family can by-pass that horrible slow line, I would buy the tickets, I just don't want to wait 4 hours in line

I didn't need any help to get in....the show was pretty slow

Some of the big dealers came with smaller booths and way less inventory, if you were looking for any silver or bronze.

Andy from Forest City had the best selection of silver and bronze from what I saw .

The show stills lacks inventory like the big show in the States.

It is a shame.... we are the 4th largest city in North America and we cant get any large dealers from the States to come because it is too much of a hassle to deal with Canadian customs.

 

 

 

Where in the US could someone come from that it would be reasonable for them to set up in Toronto?

In the 80's people use to come from New York and Chicago and further to the old Hilton shows on Richmond which drew way less population then your current Fan Expo and they came.

Am I mistaken are there not boardies that travel across the whole U.S. and set up at shows far from their point of residence e.g. dealer from New York setting up at San Diego

 

 

That's correct. Several dealers from Ohio, Michigan, and upstate New York would come to Toronto for 1-day shows at the Hilton, Ontario College of Art and other small venues...before the GST was implemented. Now, its such a hassle in terms of paperwork, upfront tax payment/customs, and time that's its just not worth it for them to come up here. There are a few exceptions (Harley Yee comes to mind), but with current exchange rates, they have to apply a 25-30% surcharge on their prices, making their books less affordable here, and impacting their sales.

I agree, with more bureaucracy at the border within regards to paperwork and taxation it makes it less attractive...but having said that in the 80's our dollar fluctuated from a high of 85 cents U.S. and as low as 71 cents U.S. and they still came.

 

GST was introduced in Canada Jan 1, 1991 and US dealers started to slowly stay away as the cost/hassle was too great. A few made it up here occasionally (SuperWorld, Bechara, Graham Crackers), but they haven't been back in several years.

[cheta42]

Do any boardies have any pull here where me and my family can by-pass that horrible slow line, I would buy the tickets, I just don't want to wait 4 hours in line

I didn't need any help to get in....the show was pretty slow

Some of the big dealers came with smaller booths and way less inventory, if you were looking for any silver or bronze.

Andy from Forest City had the best selection of silver and bronze from what I saw .

The show stills lacks inventory like the big show in the States.

It is a shame.... we are the 4th largest city in North America and we cant get any large dealers from the States to come because it is too much of a hassle to deal with Canadian customs.

 

 

 

Where in the US could someone come from that it would be reasonable for them to set up in Toronto?

In the 80's people use to come from New York and Chicago and further to the old Hilton shows on Richmond which drew way less population then your current Fan Expo and they came.

Am I mistaken are there not boardies that travel across the whole U.S. and set up at shows far from their point of residence e.g. dealer from New York setting up at San Diego

 

 

That's correct. Several dealers from Ohio, Michigan, and upstate New York would come to Toronto for 1-day shows at the Hilton, Ontario College of Art and other small venues...before the GST was implemented. Now, its such a hassle in terms of paperwork, upfront tax payment/customs, and time that's its just not worth it for them to come up here. There are a few exceptions (Harley Yee comes to mind), but with current exchange rates, they have to apply a 25-30% surcharge on their prices, making their books less affordable here, and impacting their sales.

I agree, with more bureaucracy at the border within regards to paperwork and taxation it makes it less attractive...but having said that in the 80's our dollar fluctuated from a high of 85 cents U.S. and as low as 71 cents U.S. and they still came.

 

GST was introduced in Canada Jan 1, 1991 and US dealers started to slowly stay away as the cost/hassle was too great. A few made it up here occasionally (SuperWorld, Bechara, Graham Crackers), but they haven't been back in several years.

You are correct sir!

(thumbs u

[romanheart]

I overspent. I bought some books I never thought I'd buy. Picked up a sweet copy of NM98 and ASM238. I picked up some DD upgrades but only one new DD for my collection. I wished I could have found more.

 

For the most part I loved the dealers that were there. I was glad to hear that a couple of them were definitely coming to Ottawa. I picked up cards and kept in touch with some new folks I met too.

 

I think this is the first time I didn't care about costumes or visiting all the aisles. It's just too much work fighting the crowds. I noticed the celebrity lines were bleak. I visited two artists. I got a couple of prints from Neal Adams and talked to Ronn Sutton about a commission.

 

Still in the end it was a good day.

[thirdgreenham]

Great show!

[Chillax23]

I picked up a couple of books I was looking for at very good prices. Including an all time grail from ForestCity/Thirdgreenham

 

So I would consider the show a success for me, not so much for my savings though

[thirdgreenham]

Your savings are in comic books. (thumbs u

[Dwitkin82]

I had a good time as well. Bought a OA Superman:Doomed page from ken Lashley as well as a sketch from Chris Sprouse.

Long day to say the least as I was still there when they were tearing everything down while Chris finished

[letsgrumble]

I'm in a good mood tonight so I'm going to add some shots of the show.

 

I attended only for part of the day on Sunday. Pictures only represent a snippet of my travels.

 

Let's get this started.

 

Neal. Trying to sell me a book.

 

[Jimmy Linguini]

[letsgrumble]

Neal. Personalizing a book to one lucky fan.

 

[letsgrumble]

 

You know what's coming...

[letsgrumble]

Good times at the Adams table!

 

 

 

[letsgrumble]

Adams boner. Misspelled "Patrick" by writing "Batrick." He tried to cover it up but just couldn't work his way out of that pickle.

 

[letsgrumble]

Who's table is this? Who? WHO? WHO?

 

Stay tuned. You won't believe your eyes.

 

[letsgrumble]

You got it! None other than Harley Yee!

 

[letsgrumble]

Andy (in orange) aka Forest City Coins aka thirdgreenham aka the man who has a book I want.