Fan Expo Canada: Day 3

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Saturday was supposed to be a good day. SUPPOSED TO BE. And while it wasn’t necessarily a bad day, it did present me with a problem I hadn’t anticipated.

After I was pretty much ready to go, had makeup and clothes on, something happened. I picked my glasses up from the bathroom counter… and they fell apart. Turns out, I lost a screw.

Have I mentioned I wear glasses because I’m blind, and not for a cute fashion statement or slight vision correction?

Ugh.

Navigating an unfamiliar city when you can’t see is slightly horrifying. Everything already seems weird and blurry, but it’s so disorienting it nearly caused a small panic attack. Made it to the con just fine, thankfully. But then came a new problem:

Trying to navigate this HUGE con on the busiest day.

Let’s just say – not my easiest day.

But, let’s move on:

I managed to make my way to another DC panel. I couldn’t see much of anything, but that’s what terrible cell phone pictures are for, right? Haha.

So, this panel was all about Dark Matter. All that amazing Metal goodness DC has going on? Yeah. I know ALL ABOUT EVERYTHING, now. Which is great, because I was already loving Metal and excited for everything to come. This just took my hype to the next level.

Now, this was supposed to be Snyder, Capullo, and Lemire. But, as it was with the Friday panel, more surprise guests! And two VERY exciting ones, at that: Jason Fabok, and JIM LEE.

Yup. Jim Lee just walks in. I was pretty ecstatic.

If you aren’t reading Metal, the tie-ins, etc — you’re missing out. And now that I’ve had a taste of what’s to come, I can assure you… it’s only going to get more badass.

Remember the cool Metal variant I bought the day before?

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I was lucky enough to meet Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo later that, and they kindly signed my variant. I’m shocked on Saturday, the busiest day of the con, I managed to meet them – but, hey. I’m a lucky girl.

Despite the whole breaking my glasses thing.

Overall, despite my setback in the morning, Saturday was great. I returned to my hotel room with nourishment – well, Coke, Powerade, and Doritos: The Dinner of Champions  – and started packing for Sunday.

My last day of con, and my inevitable return home, were already on the horizon.

~Angel

Batman Day: Harley Quinn Takeover

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This weekend was Batman Day – an annual celebration of Dark Knight, himself. With events held at various comic shops, Barnes and Nobles, and Books-A-Million locations, with goodies supplied by DC Comics – such as free comics and nifty paper masks – there’s something to do every year for Bat Fans of any age.

But this year, DC Comics did something a little special for Batman Day: A Harley Quinn takeover.

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September 11th, 2017 marked 25 years since Harley Quinn first appeared on Batman: the Animated Series. So, it made sense that – given how close this special day is to Batman Day, that they let the Clown Princess of Crime share the spotlight with Batsy a bit.

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I had planned for a more ambitious Batman Day – a lot of driving, multiple shops, and a trip to Barnes and Noble. Unfortunately, I felt horrible on Saturday, and hadn’t slept. So we settled on a trip to a participating Barnes and Noble.

My nieces grabbed lots of goodies and their free comics, and I participated in trivia, as well as my own comics and goodies. I took advantage of a sale on DC graphic novels, and made it a pretty good day, despite feeling less than awesome.

The Haul:

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Overall, it was a fun time, and I’m always happy to take time to nerd out and jump on deals.

Did you go to Batman/Harley Quinn day? Get any deals? Make some insane hauls? Let me know in the comments!

~Angel

Fan Expo Canada 2017 – Day One

My very first trip to Canada went a lot smoother than I had anticipated. For some reason, I imagined quite a few hiccups and setbacks for a solo trip: forgetting some vital thing for travel, getting lost trying to find my gate, having some issue in customs because I haven’t been through anything like that since I went to the Bahamas when I was 13 and 15, both times my mom was there to take care of everything. Needless to say, when my mom and brother dropped me off at the airport, I was a bit nervous.

However, breaking in my passport on my own was an interesting experience. There was a blend of anxiety from just being by myself, and also a strange sort of relaxation from it. By the time I arrived in Canada, got my phone working, made it through customs and had my money exchanged – I felt like I had the hardest part of the trip over. I made my way to the train with ease, boarded and stowed my luggage, and took the peaceful 25 minute trip from the airport to Union Station – just across from my hotel.

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The Fairmont York Hotel in Toronto

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STL Comics Summer 1 Day

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I first heard about the STL Comics Summer 1 Day show when I saw a flyer at Villainous Grounds, a while back. It sounded awesome – a con focused on comics, with loads of vendors, and only $5 admission for adults. THIS was something I severely needed in my life, since our area feels like it’s lacking this sort of event. That was one of my huge complaints about Wizard World St Louis this year – where the hell were the comics?

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Con Essential: The Comic Book Stor-folio

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The Comic Book Stor-Folio is a handy dandy little box that opens up for you to slide comics into, either to carry around in your normal life or shop trips, or for cons. I was wanting one of these bad boys for a while, and just before Wizard World St Louis, I decided to order one to give it a proper go.

IT WAS AMAZING!

My first time out with it, it was for the con. It fit perfectly into my new con bag, and it’s super light (well, when it’s empty), so it isn’t like I’m hauling around some heavy duty thing. Enough junk has to get stuffed into my con bag as it is, so light was definitely a plus.

This was really beneficial to me in two ways:

  • Putting fancier books into the Stor-Folio to protect them a little more, even if they were already bagged and boarded.
  • Putting things that aren’t bagged and boarded, like a decent haul from a 15 for $10 booth, in for protection, so they didn’t get all banged up and destroyed in my bag.

The Stor-Folio can hold around 15 current or silver age books, and has this fancy little slot on the front, where you can put in some art to make it look cooler, or store an extra comic. I’d like to put some nifty art in there, myself. Just need to decide on something.

Anyway, I’ve obviously used this for con, but I’ve taken it to shops a few times so I can store my books in my bag and know they’re well protected. It’ll probably go with me the next time I go to New York or anywhere similar, where I go into a lot of shops.

This little baby is currently full of books that are heading to FanExpo Canada with me in roughly three weeks. I’m so excited! Expect a post on my packing progress within the next few weeks.

~Angel

Fan Expo Canada: July Updates

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This is it, folks! Nearly a month away from my first trip to Canada, and my first time at Fan Expo. Here’s what’s new:

  • Flight – BOOKED! I arrive Thursday, return Sunday. It’s all fancy and official. Which leads to…
  • I’ve figured out my transportation to the hotel from the airport, and vice versa.
  • MY FREAKING PASSPORT FINALLY CAME IN! Which, you know, was pretty vital for this adventure.
  • I have tickets to the con! I went with the Premium Package, because it comes with some exciting goodies:

PREMIUM PACKAGE INCLUDES THE DELUXE FAN EXPO PASS, PLUS:

• Admission to all 4 days of FAN EXPO CANADA™
• Access to Special Preview on Thursday at 2pm
• Exclusive Priority Access into buildings
• Exclusive Premium Lounge Access
• Limited Edition FAN EXPO CANADA™ Premium Badge
• Exclusive FAN EXPO CANADA™ Bag
• Exclusive Comic from Major Publisher
• Limited Edition Superhero Lithograph
• Exclusive Collectible
• Limited Edition FAN EXPO CANADA™  T-Shirt
• Limited Edition Show Program
• Exclusive Pre-Sale for Celebrity Photo Ops
• Exclusive Pre-Sale on Select Events
• Exclusive Ticket Counter
• Free SINGLE DAY General Admission pass (excluding Saturdays) 
  to ALL FUTURE FAN EXPO HQ events until, but not including,
  FAN EXPO CANADA™ 2018.

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Hellooooooooo, goodies!

So, yeah. Here we go, guys. Next month, we pack and head north!

~Angel