C2E2: What I Bought!

So, I knocked out my general thoughts on the show as a whole over here, but I bet you're wondering what kind of crap I bought at the show, right? No? Oh.

Here it is anyways:

What I got at Quimby's

SPELLBOUND? - Oh man! I had this issue as a kid, and it was one of those things always kind of rattling around in the back of my memory until I found a copy at Quimby's!! A large format Chick Tract extreme religion comic, this book involves devil-worshipers driving some party-goers off a cliff and someone drowning in a pool at a crazy cocaine party! I HAVE NO IDEA WHY I HAD THIS AS A KID. Seriously, this is like finding a long-lost video of me in the 4th grade.

THE BROKEN CROSS - Another Chick Tract comic, this issue never belonged in my collection, but thanks to an "Also Available" ad on the back of Spellbound?, I always wanted to check this sucker out. Thankfully, there was a copy on the shelf at Quimby's and it LOOKS like some hippies pick up a hitching girl and then drug/sacrifice here for Satan. Like you do. Great Gene Colan-esque '70s art, these feel SO MUCH like a Benjamin Marra comic.

STORIES VOL. 2 BY MARTIN CENDREDA - I had no idea there was a new minicomic from Martin Cendreda! I get so used to debuts at certain shows I go to that I forget to check out the blogs of creators I like in case they have new work available. Cendreda - like dudes like Graham Annable and Jeffrey Brown - are guys I'll buy ANYTHING new from.

QUIMBY'S STICKERS - I grabbed a couple.

Convention back-issues

SPAWN #16-18 - Did you know Grant Morrison wrote 3 issues of Spawn in 1993? I didn't! Until Kiel schooled me at his apartment on Saturday night. He also told me these were the first issues to contain Greg Capullo art and that Grant invented the Anti-Spawn concept, which tickles me and seems very Grant-like for some reason. PSYCHED to read these!

SPAWN #20 - This was the issue co-starring Houdini that came out after issue #25. Or something. I'm not sure, but it was a quarter, so I grabbed it.

B.P.R.D. - I'm missing a few issues here and there, so I remembered to look for them at the show. MAYBE my favorite mainstream comic to read in chunks? Probably.

More 25-cent con comics

CAPTAIN AMERICA #373-374 - I'm making it a goal to buy all of the Cap storyline "Streets of Poison" this con season. More on this when I finish finding it all...

CLIVE BARKER'S SEDUTH - Sean swears this 3-D book is a good read, and I trust Sean. I also like Clive Barker.

JLA: SUPERPOWER - John Arcudi of B.P.R.D. and Major Bummer and The Mask and many other books I enjoy did this prestige format JLA book a few years ago!

FINAL CRISIS: SUPERMAN BEYOND #1 - Going through my books, I realized I let somebody borrow my original issue #1 somewhere along the line and never got it back. 3-D comics!

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #208 - I've slowly been collecting this 5-part "Crisis on Earth-Prime" crossover starring the JLA, Justice Society and All-Star Squadron for a couple years now, but I'm still an issue away from having it all.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #210 - I have no idea what this issue's about, but the cover says "When A World Dies Screaming!" so SHIT YES.

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: CHILLIN' #1 - Look at the cover, you jealous monkey.

More 25-cent con comics

CAPTAIN AMERICA #286-288 - This Deathlok-centric run is near-and-dear in a way I'm never gonna reveal (unless I get really drunk one night and sob-y), and I found it by accident while waiting for a guy to finish flipping through a longbox. DEATHLOK.

VALOR #18 - Finally! The final issue of the "D.O.A." storyline! I've been looking so long!

JLA/CYBERFORCE #1 - Joe Kelly and Doug Mahnke! I've never read a Cyberforce comic, so I hope this doesn't hurt.

JLA: 80-PAGE GIANT #2 - I grabbed this cause of the DC One Million story inside and when I got it home I realized I already own it. Still: pretty cover.

Non-quarter comics!

INVINCIBLE RETURNS #1 - Some guy was selling recent issues for a buck, and since I was planning on buying this anyways: savings!

WOLVERINE: WEAPON X #12 - Same as above. This time: More Deathlok!!!

DRAWN TO YOU - I missed all of Lucy Knisley's comics at MoCCA, so I was slobber-happy to hear from my new buddy Matthew that she was at C2E2. This was the first stuff I bought at the show and Drawn To You is her convo comic with Erika Moen.

PRETTY LITTLE BOOK - A full-color collection of Lucy's online journal comics in a neat printing style that feels "raised" like the black inks have been branded in.

MAKE YOURSELF HAPPY - ANOTHER collection of journal comics from Lucy with a positive intro explaining the title of the book. GAWD, go now and buy her stuff.

CURSED PIRATE GIRL #3 - Wandering the floor, I ran into a table for Jeremy Bastian, the creator of the GORGEOUS Cursed Pirate Girl series. Maybe it's because I had such a hard time tracking down issues #1 and #2 or maybe it's cause I thought Bastian was some hermit artist whose meticulously crafted work demanded he remain locked away in some wooden cabin on a cliff somewhere, but I never expected to ever ever meet him in person, much less chat with him for a while. Bastian's a totally nice guy just making comics I wish more people cared about. Go buy them!

UNDELETED SCENES - I totally almost forgot to grab this new Top Shelf collection of Jeffrey Brown's miscellany anthology work while I was at the show, but remembered just in the nick of time to get it AND get him to sign it. Well, Sam did for me cause I couldn't leave the booth. She's awesome.

PROCESS - Jeffrey Brown made this mini about what the process of creation is like for him and it's PROBABLY the coolest mini I own thanks to the little torn-out sketchbook pieces and notes and doodles and other ephemera he includes as one-of-a-kind extras in each packaged copy. It's a pretty genius way to provide a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process of a dude who makes some of the world's most thoughtful comics.

And then these dope pins!

A random retailer was selling these babies. Rorschach, Watchmen smiley, Black Flash, Starman, B.P.R.D., and Captain Atom can now adorn my backpack and my thumb since I suck at picking them up without stabbing myself.

And that's it! I didn't get any sketches and couldn't find any cheap toys, but I got a lotta great books. I wish I'd hit the webcomic section a little harder, but it's okay. All-in-all, I found some great deals. Can't wait for the next show's treasure hunt.