This vendor from a toy show at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds has a variety of items including Monster High dolls which are what many doll collectors are currently looking for. After all, not everyone likes Barbie. Who said women don't go to toy shows or comic conventions?
If you thought you were a big fan of Ghostbusters, think again. These four are best friends who love to dress up at every collector event they go to as characters from their favorite movie; Ghostbusters. If that's not dedication then I don't know what is. But they're not at a toy show just so they can show off their homemade costumes. They're at a toy show to look for some items at add to their collections. Luckily for them they did find some things they needed and will be going home feeling very accomplished as many collectors do at these events.
At many events especially such as toy shows, the corner tables are usually more expensive than aisle tables. Here is a vendor taking advantage of his space by putting his largest and brightest object front and center. Although he does have a reason for displaying it there. It just so happens to be logo of his company. It's a good thing he doesn't work for Apple because I don't think having a small silver apple with a bite taken out of it would attract as much business as a large red robot.
Here is a panel at a convention called Babscon in Burlingame. The voice actors have already spoken, answering general questions and giving a background of their time in show business but now it's time that many fans have been waiting for, fan questions. As it is, there are people sitting on the floor because all the seats were taken so one can only imagine how long this line would take had hey answered every fan's questions. Unfortunately there was only time to answer about half of everyone in line's questions but knowing Bay Area fans, they'll be back in that line next year.
At Big Wow! Comic Fest at the San Jose Convention Center, the fans aren't shy when it comes to dressing up as their favorite heroes from comic books, nor are they shy when everyone wants to take their picture. They each have a sense of pride as they created their costumes from scratch. That is no easy task but worth it at times like this.
Many of the attendees at Big Wow! Comic Fest got to meet Neal Adams who is one of the most popular and accomplished artists in the comic book industry. What is just as noteworthy as meeting him is getting some of your comics signed by the legend himself which he did at his booth. He is definitely in the upper echelon of artists in the comic book industry and he was humbled by all the fans who came by to see him.
Here is a replica of the Batmobile from the 1966 Batman series starring Adam West as the titular character. It got more attention than some of the guests at Big Wow! Comic Fest as it's engine's roar could be heard across the convention center.
There are a lot of Ghostbusters fans in the Bay Area who attend many events. Those fans got a big treat when they arrived only to see the Ecto-1 from the films. Making its way to a convention is rare enough but the Bay Area prides itself as to having one of the largest Ghostbusters fan bases around so there was no better event to bring this vehicle to than Big Wow! Comic Fest.
My Collection:
I started collecting in 2006. That's when I bought the first figure that's currently in my collection. It was a Ben 10 alien from my local Target that I planned on opening but convinced myself to wait until I got the whole set. Once I got the set it popped in my head that I should keep each figure in its packaging so they can retain their value with the hopes that eventually they would increase in value. From then on I followed that same principle for everything I bought for my collection. The manufacturers know that a lot of consumers don't open their figures so they're getting pretty good when it comes to making their packaging appealing to keep the figures in. As for my collection, I don't just collect from one company or character. I collect comics, figures and even items as obscure as soda cans from various comic, video game and movie franchises such as Harry Potter, Star Trek and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Here are some of my comics stacked meticulously in an organized system based on publisher, event, etc. so if I needed a specific one I could just pull it out right away without wasting time sorting through each and every one of them. Unfortunately, there isn't enough room to store all of my comics here so the rest are in the closet.
This is one of the walls of my room. Although room sounds a little generic so I'm thinking about giving it a cooler name. Another collector I know calls the room where he has his collection the dork room and everyone knows it by that name. I'd like my collection to have the same recognition once it gets more exposure.
This wall is my favorite because it's the only one without any obstacle when it comes to displaying my collection items. One wall has my television mounted on it as seen above, another has a large window taking up most of it, and the last wall contains the closet as well as the doorway. Overall my collection is big and always expanding. It's fueled by my passion for these rich characters and stories that resonate with each and every fan whether they collect or not. I'm just one of the many devoted fans in the Bay Area who go to every event they can attend and have their collections at home celebrating what they're a fan of.
