This last weekend I drove down to Albuquerque for the Annual Collectors Con. It showcases comic books, anime and toys. I went last year after moving back to New Mexico from Las Vegas, NV and I had a blast. This year I was excited to see what other cool and fun stuff would be there. The con is sponsored by Lobo comics, a local comic book shop in Albuquerque, NM.
I found a personal treasure this year at one of the booths. The Mighty Avengers issue #242! When I was a kid this was the very first comic book I read. A few years back when I opened my own comic book store, “Modern Age comics” in Las Cruces, NM. I used my personal collection as the starting inventory. I had comics from 17 years of collecting, about 8,500 comics and Avengers 242 was among them. I remember selling my copy during the first few weeks. I was happy it was sold to a kid who was starting to buy comics for the first time. That was actually really cool. So it was very cool for me to find a copy this weekend. This one will stay in my new collection.
There were a good amount of booths this year, with comics ranging from the Silver Age to current issues. Of course there was those hard to find issues like the Amazing Spider-Man with President Obama in it. There were rows and rows of great comics, toys and models. There was also a good variety of movie merchandise and collaborates. It was really fun to see a Kryptonian crystal from the newest Superman movie and lifesize green Kryptonite. My favorite collectible I saw at the con was a set of Star War Return of the Jedi glasses from Burger King. I remember having the full set when I was a kid until our dishwasher ate them.
There were some booths with super hard to find toys from G.I.Joe, Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and Dc Direct. Some of the older figures were out of print originals from the 80′s and 90′s. I’ve never been the biggest toy collector, but I was impressed with all the cool toys at this con. The sculpts on the more modern toys were so good, they look like they could be models and statues. I think the McFarlane Toy line that started out in the 90′s really brought up the bar in toy manufacturing. I found myself wanting to buy every figure there, so I could take them out of the packaging to play with….I mean put on display. :p
If I hadn’t given myself a $20 limit I think I could have spent my whole paycheck easily. I think I actually spent around $30 bucks though. I was close to my budget. It’s fun to just browse the cool back stock of comics. You never know when you’ll find that issue you’ve been looking for. It’s even more fun to find comics you’ve never heard about. I was able to find some great comics. The Mighty Avengers 242 was the most exciting for me personally, but I also found a whole set of Superman: the Dark Side (an awesome Elsworlds comic where Kal-El lands on Apokolips instead of Earth, he’s not a nice guy in it), I also bought Ka-Zar #16 for a buck. It’s a fun issue where he fights Klaw.
Comic books and toys weren’t the only thing to see at this con, there was an “artist alley” of sorts too. It was really cool to meet people that not only like comics, but like them so much they create them too. Andy Kuhn who draws Firebreather from Image comics was there. He lives and works out of Albuquerque, NM. His stuff is fun and very dynamic. Next to him were the guys from 7000 BC, a locally run comic book organization for independent comics in New Mexico. These guys are very cool, Paul Ziomek and his brother Peter Ziomek who were both at the con representing 7,000 BC. The groups also teaches classes to kids showing them that anyone can have fun with creating comics. Their booth at the Collectors Con showcased the great work of different styles the group puts out.
I had a blast at this years Albuquerque Collectors Con. I will be planning on going again next year. Maybe I’ll take some of the comics I still have from my closed shop or maybe I’ll try to get into the “artist alley” with my own comic book. Right on to everyone that was there and to all my fellow comic nerds! SHAZAM!!
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- My Introduction to the World of Comic Books
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- 24 Hour Comics Day 2009 – Santa Fe, Part 1
