Comic Reviews by Walt

This one wasn’t entirely on my radar. But a combination of marking "Interested" on Facebook events, creators creating events for their presence at conventions, and actually PROPERLY-targeted ads on Facebook) meant that I was loosely aware that this one was happening.

Having been unable to locate Spawn #s 20-24 and 26-29, I figured the best way to get them for a decent price quickly was to give this convention a shot where I otherwise would have passed on it. I’m not 100% certain that I came out ahead in the deal as it was a $10 admission on top of what I paid for what I bought…but I suppose it works out for a "convenience tax" or "immediate gratification tax" or such. And tax, period.

Also, my social/anxiety/introversion issues can make conventions seem extremely counter-intuitive. Why would an introvert with anxiety choose to put one’s self into situations ripe for setting off said anxiety?

Still…this was a 2-day event (Saturday and Sunday) and I went in the afternoon on Sunday, so pretty sure I missed the bulk of the crowd(s).

After quickly browsing one section and it not seeming that anyone had comics other than DC/Marvel stuff I was not at all interested in for the day or toys priced higher than I was planning to spend, I made my way to the 2nd main section. Browsing quickly, I determined that one dealer had a good chunk of "early-Spawn" including the ones I wanted. But the prices were higher than I really wanted to spend. So I made a mental note to come back after browsing the rest of the space.

I came across the New Dimension Comics‘ tables. They had a bunch of Sonic the Hedgehog digests–Sonic the Hedgehog Archives. For a whopping $1 apiece.

I already had several volumes from the series…but for $1 each, I decided I was ok with duplicates.

I snagged 10 volumes in total, out of at least 25. While not ideal, these were originally $8 or so apiece when they were published, so I made out on the deal. To best of my knowledge, these all reprint issues of the Archie run of the title, that ran for over 200 issues.

But what about #Spawnquest?, you might wonder.

I did manage to find another dealer that had issues in the range I was looking for, each issue several dollars cheaper than the first dealer I’d found.

So I snagged 20-22, 24, and 26 there.

A bit more browsing to wrap up, and I went back to the first dealer, where I picked up 23 and 27-29 to complete my Spawn 1-30 run.

And on the second pass, I realized that one of the copies of #1 was $10, where I’d only seen $20; so for the novelty of it–AND for it being "only" the price of 2 throwaway/I-probably-couldn’t-care-less-in-general generic Marvel modern issues–I bought it. Which gives me a copy I have framed on the wall, one with a smallllll stack of "key" or "special" books, and this copy. I really like the cover, and I get more "joy" out of getting another copy (I believe I’ve now paid a grand total of $10.50 for actual Spawn #`1s!) than I’d get out of many other random issue-purchases.

I also bought #50 for $6. Which again–that’s no worse than a too-frequent $5.99 modern Marvel or DC issue. And only slightly more than the lowest-price Marvel or DC for an issue that’s a series I’m specifically interested in right now, and an issue that’s at least 20 years old!

Annnnd the way it worked out…for what I "saved" browsing further and finding the 2nd dealer with cheaper issues…that difference basically "paid for" the Spawn #1!

I think it would have been cheaper, though, if I’d "just" ordered these issues online. But not by MUCH…and I’d be waiting at least another week or week and a half for the shipping, plus having PAID for shipping. And I would not have had the "chance" of finding other stuff; and would not have found the Sonic digests.

So it was a bit of a gamble. But I’m happy for the immediate gratification of filling in the gap to know I have in my possession already #s 1-30. And #50 puts a nice boundary on the next stage of my #Spawnquest: I think I want to most focus on #s 31-49. Though if I find decent prices or bargain prices on other issues during the hunt, I’ll probably get those as well.

Filed under: 2019 Non-Review posts, 2019 posts, NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Cleveland, Cleveland Comic Con, New Dimension, New Dimension Comics, Sonic, sonic the hedgehog, Spawn, spawn #1, Spawnquest |