OAF-Con 2019, for GA, an interesting alternative to NYCC... 0

[Mr bla bla]

9 hours ago, PUNYHUMAN said:

Love it!  Who's who of Fandom. 

Carbo' s back ...?

[Mr bla bla]

3 hours ago, miraclemet said:

Can I ask... who is this guy? I kept running into him at Baltimore and it seemed like every dealer knew him, but I had no idea who he was. He seemed like either a former dealer, or a dealer who didnt run a booth at cons but made the rounds to all the big cons (and apparently the small ones too based on the pictures here!) 

 

so who is he? 

A major pop culture impressario ...

[telerites]

43 minutes ago, Cat-Man_America said:

That kinda defeats the purpose since so much of the great material that shows up here is brought in by Oklahoma collectors and dealers.

Besides, the Embassy Suites convention center ...while modest in size... is so much more comfortable than the Javitt's Center bunker.  Great restaurants nearby too! 

Waaaaay doggies. Y'all come down now, ya hear! 

And so much nicer than the old digs - the Biltmore on I-40 and I forgot where it was before that.  Bart does a great job.  

[batman_fan]

10 hours ago, Cat-Man_America said:

Oh, BTW, I did mention a painting earlier, right?

Well, after negotiations with the former owner at the OAF-Con I'm now the proud new owner of another original George Rozen painting,

this Shadow pulp cover from June 1, 1942... 

This goes well with my other Shadow painting, that one coincidentally for the June 15, 1942 cover!  

 

Wow, that is just plan spectacular. Going to post a picture of the pair 

[Cat-Man_America]

10 minutes ago, telerites said:

And so much nicer than the old digs - the Biltmore on I-40 and I forgot where it was before that.  Bart does a great job.  

Absolutely! No comparison. That Biltmore fleabag was such a run-down nightmare of hotel that it's doubtful social services could've convinced homeless folks to stay there voluntarily.  

Seriously, I'd urged Bart to relocate for years.  He probably got special rates to keep coming back, but it finally reached a point where my wife & I quit attending.  I guess Bart finally saw the writing on the wall ...probably gang graffiti... and decided to change venues.

When the Embassy Suites opened just south of OKC near Norman, Okla. it must've been a godsend.  Bart could not have selected a better location, IMO.  When he contacted me about the decision to move we were on board again.

Honestly, I think this location is a big part of OAF's resurgence.  Where a number of larger cons are downsizing or deciding whether they can afford to continue, the OAF-con has grown.  I expect next year's OAF gathering will be even bigger and better. 

[telerites]

5 minutes ago, Cat-Man_America said:

Absolutely! No comparison. That Biltmore fleabag was such a run-down nightmare of hotel that it's doubtful social services could've convinced homeless folks to stay there voluntarily.  

Seriously, I'd urged Bart to relocate for years.  He probably got special rates to keep coming back, but it finally reached a point where my wife & I quit attending.  I guess Bart finally saw the writing on the wall ...probably gang graffiti... and decided to change venues.

When the Embassy Suites opened just south of OKC near Norman, Okla. it must've been a godsend.  Bart could not have selected a better location, IMO.  When he contacted me about the decision to move we were on board again.

Honestly, I think this location is a big part of OAF's resurgence.  Where a number of larger cons are downsizing or deciding whether they can afford to continue, the OAF-con has grown.  I expect next year's OAF gathering will be even bigger and better. 

The Biltmore is cheap to rent out and with good reason.  It also reeked of cigarette smoke and if you are like me, that is a killer but I still went each year. 

But obviously a good move to go to Norman.  Bart lives there I believe and for us in OKC, the drive is easy , especially since the I-35 stretch is finally finished of all the construction which took years.  

[Cat-Man_America]

14 hours ago, batman_fan said:

Wow, that is just plan spectacular. Going to post a picture of the pair 

Why not... 

The Shadow, June 1, 1942 issue cover

 

The Shadow, June 15, 1942 issue cover

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by Cat-Man_America

[entalmighty1]

2 hours ago, Badger said:

First Oafcon in a few years and it did not disappoint!  Got to talk to Richard for a few minutes. Missed Cat but talked to his lovely and wonderful wife.  Picked up a few books at what I thought were great prices! I have some wall pictures but I will have to post them later tonight.

Great pickup!  I didn't see this one, else it might have gone home to Memphis.

[Robot Man]

23 minutes ago, Cat-Man_America said:

Absolutely! No comparison. That Biltmore fleabag was such a run-down nightmare of hotel that it's doubtful social services could've convinced homeless folks to stay there voluntarily.  

Seriously, I'd urged Bart to relocate for years.  He probably got special rates to keep coming back, but it finally reached a point where my wife & I quit attending.  I guess Bart finally saw the writing on the wall ...probably gang graffiti... and decided to change venues.

When the Embassy Suites opened just south of OKC near Norman, Okla. it must've been a godsend.  Bart could not have selected a better location, IMO.  When he contacted me about the decision to move we were on board again.

Honestly, I think this location is a big part of OAF's resurgence.  Where a number of larger cons are downsizing or deciding whether they can afford to continue, the OAF-con has grown.  I expect next year's OAF gathering will be even bigger and better. 

Looks like it was a great show. I believe shows like this are only the beginning of "going back to basics" for comic cons. Shows like this as well as the one day Berkley show and Terry's fantastic show are what has been missing to true comic book collectors. Good to see them popping up everywhere. 

[Mmehdy]

7 minutes ago, Robot Man said:

Looks like it was a great show. I believe shows like this are only the beginning of "going back to basics" for comic cons. Shows like this as well as the one day Berkley show and Terry's fantastic show are what has been missing to true comic book collectors. Good to see them popping up everywhere. 

I will second that, but why conflict with NYCC...why not do it a week after or before?

[Cat-Man_America]

14 minutes ago, telerites said:

The Biltmore is cheap to rent out and with good reason.  It also reeked of cigarette smoke and if you are like me, that is a killer but I still went each year. 

But obviously a good move to go to Norman.  Bart lives there I believe and for us in OKC, the drive is easy , especially since the I-35 stretch is finally finished of all the construction which took years.  

Exactly. The Embassy Suites location just off I-35 is easier for road travelers from both Kansas & Texas.  It also interconnects easier for travelers from Tulsa (I-40) and points east, Arkansas and beyond (via I-45). 

[batman_fan]

46 minutes ago, Cat-Man_America said:

Why not... 

The Shadow, June 1, 1942 issue cover

 

The Shadow, June 15, 1942 issue cover

 

Don’t hate me for saying this but I like your most recent pick up the most !  (Although both are amazing)

[Cat-Man_America]

43 minutes ago, Mmehdy said:

I will second that, but why conflict with NYCC...why not do it a week after or before?

The 2018 OAF-Con may have had those dates locked down earlier than NYCC, but that's purely conjecture on my part.  I do know that date selection for a local convention is often driven by venue availability combined with potential for good attendance rather than competition with a mega-media convention.  In either case I don't see a direct competing interest.  Some of the bigger comic conventions ...SDCC, Chicago Wizard, NYCC, etc., are more celebrity, toy and cosplay driven affairs these days.  Sadly, comic books have almost become a perfunctory sideline attraction at the mega-shows with little consideration given to either the dealer's or the collectors. 

Of course, mileage varies.  I like both large & small venue events.  But, if you still have lingering doubts that a smaller convention can provide BIG opportunities, just take another look at that George Rozen Shadow painting. 

Edited October 9, 2018 by Cat-Man_America

[Badger]

1 hour ago, entalmighty1 said:

Great pickup!  I didn't see this one, else it might have gone home to Memphis.

It was in a weird place: a dealer that really didn't have many comics and only one other GA.  I think it was WW II Sandman cover Adventure Comics but I do not remember the number.  What time did the doors open?  I got there at 10 till 10 thinking it opened at 10 but the doors were open and dealers were already talking to each other about how good the sales were. 

[Primetime]

12 hours ago, Cat-Man_America said:

More dealer long boxes than walls, but lots of cool collectibles ...both raw and encapsulated... and lots of recognizable folks in these images:

 

 

 

Bedrock stayed closer to home instead of doing NYCC...

[entalmighty1]

4 minutes ago, Badger said:

It was in a weird place: a dealer that really didn't have many comics and only one other GA.  I think it was WW II Sandman cover Adventure Comics but I do not remember the number.  What time did the doors open?  I got there at 10 till 10 thinking it opened at 10 but the doors were open and dealers were already talking to each other about how good the sales were. 

I'm not sure.  I got there a little bit after 10, and it was already hopping.  I think I know which dealer you were talking about though.  He had a few comics pinned up on a board behind his table?

[Badger]

50 minutes ago, Cat-Man_America said:

Exactly. The Embassy Suites location just off I-35 is easier for road travelers from both Kansas & Texas.  It also interconnects easier for travelers from Tulsa (I-40) and points east, Arkansas and beyond (via I-45). 

I really like that Embassy Suites.  It seems like a great value for the cost and leaves more money for comics when you have stay overnight.  

[Badger]

Just now, entalmighty1 said:

I'm not sure.  I got there a little bit after 10, and it was already hopping.  I think I know which dealer you were talking about though.  He had a few comics pinned up on a board behind his table?

Yep, that was him.

[Primetime]

5 hours ago, Robot Man said:

Mike Carbano (Carbo). Surprised he wasn't at NYCC instead.

It's Carbonaro...long time collectibles dealer from NY...I think something happened and he's not allowed at NYCC for some reason...

[Primetime]

6 hours ago, telerites said:

Here are my pickups from the show

From the tall Houstonian, Richard Evans (Bedrock City) - always a joy to visit with

And from Bud Plant, whom I spent a while talking early comic fandom and his history (I did not realize he acquired the O'Reilly San Francisco ped way back in 1973 - he told me recently he was going through some of his books and he found an O'Reilly mixed in and also no telling how many others might be mixed as well since he has so many books)

 a trio of crime related books - the T-Man is the Crippen copy

 

Nice books...you mean Reilly, not O'Reilly