Supermegafest Spring 2016

Last Friday, I went with a couple of friends to the Supermegafest Comic-Con in Marlboro Massachusetts. This is one of those comic-cons in name only. There was an artist alley and there were a few guests worth heading out to see. But this con is heavy on pop culture celebrities and that seemed to be the main draws.

In fact, I don't know if I would have gone but a close friend of mine is huge fan of the movie The Warriors. Three cast members were in attendance at the con. My buddy was pumped to meet them and so three of us headed west. Comic guests I was hoping to meet were Alex Saviuk and Graham Nolan.

Now, because of #adultlife, we went up for the opening of the show, 4P Friday and could only stay until early evening. That meant we were the first to thumb through the exhibitors' comic boxes. That was great. The bad part of going early and leaving early is that not all the guests even showed while we were there. I only got to briefly see Saviuk and have him sign my copy of Flash #275. But Nolan, Mike Grell, and Bob Budiansky were never seen. Bummer.

That also held true for the celebrities. I was hoping to see Dina Meyer and talk about Starship Troopers and Birds of Prey. But she wasn't there during our stay. Luckily, The Warriors cast was there.

Without any big purchases or commissions lined up, it meant the money I bought could be spent on ... gasp ... comics. Thought I'd share the big purchases, including a Supergirl cameo I wasn't expecting. Lastly, pay no attention to the price tags on the issues. All prices were renegotiated.

Most of the purchases were grabbed from $1 boxes. There was one dealer with some great deals out of the bargain bin. I feel they might not have known what was in there as there was the majority of Alan Moore's Miracleman there, including the coveted Miracleman #15. Insanity!

There was some bronze age Justice League of America issues, including JLA #192. How could I say no to a George Perez cover promising a new origin of the Red Tornado.

But there was a bonus! The villain of the piece is T.O. Morrow and we get a lot of reminiscing by Morrow, reviewing his own origins. And that includes these panels remembering the fight against Flash, Supergirl, and the Atom in Super-Team Family #11. I have reviewed that issue here.

Gerry Conway wrote that issue as well as this one, so no surprise he hearkened back.

But the big win here is seeing the hot pants Supergirl drawn by George Perez. There is some great action here! Any surprise Supergirl appearances are welcome! But beautiful ones like this? Greatly appreciated!

Now onto a handful of other issues I bought which are Kara-free.

There were plenty of comics from my youth which got lost/discarded over time. Action Comics #484 was one of them, the famous issue issue where the Earth-2 Superman and Lois got married. This was where the 'Mr. and Mrs. Superman' stories in Superman Family originated.

I was thrilled to find it again for cheap ($2). Love that Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (praised be his name) cover. Hope I see him at a con again to get him to sign it.

The biggest purchase was Adventure Comics #462 which included the story where the Earth-2 Batman dies. This sort of flew under the radar in the comic world back then. It wasn't trumpeted. And, to be honest, the story isn't great. But I have always wanted to own the issue. There was some finagling over price but it ended up being mine.
 

But I left with a stack of books from the $1 box.

One which was fun was Kobra #1. The art is by Jack Kirby! But the text page in the book is fascinating about how the book went through the hands of great talent, was going to be a First Issue Special before heading to its own title, and how Kirby did the art but left DC before it was printed.

Fascinating.

Another fun purchase was Marvel Team-Up #67 which had Spider-Man teaming up with Tigra. I was never a big fan of Tigra until I heard about her origin and early stories over on the Rolled Spine Podcast. Since then, I have grabbed issues about her when I see them in the $1box. This was standard team-up book, done in one and fun.

Trust me, there were more. But those were the highlights.

It did whet my appetite for Boston Comic-Con, a mere 4 months away!