Rare find at the ToyCon
Went to the Toy Convention at the Megatrade Hall last Sunday. Yeah, I forgot to post that sked on my Multiply calendar, but past is past… anyway, I got there at about 11AM. The line was already pretty long, and there were lots of people inside. Thinking my significant other Gio was there already, I stood in line and paid for the entrance fee. Once inside, I went around, joining the skirmish of geeks, nerds, cosplayers and the curious ones as well.
Then Gio texted me that he was still on the MRT. So okay, all alone (well, not exactly) I went around, marveling at the Star Wars replica (staring at the 7-foot Darth Vader statue… if he were real, I’d really be scared!), looking at the Darna and Encantadia displays (kawawa naman yung mamang naka-costume ng sundalo, init siguro), looking at what Raymond the VCD guy has to sell for half the price (damn, VCD set of Samurai 7!), and looking for nice old comics.
And that’s where it actually begins. Just beside Raymond the VCD guy’s spot was a stall selling 80s toys, comics and trade paperbacks. Hmm, trade paperbacks. Rummage, rummage. Saw the first printing of Gaiman’s Sandman books 1 and 2 (have latest eds though), Miller’s Sin City, and… wait, is this Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns? People have told me that this was one of the best graphic novels of all time, with a really cool story. AND it’s pretty rare. It’s a hard-to-find find. And I wanted one.
So I ask the guy there how much the DK Returns would cost, since there wasn’t any price tag on it. He gets a calculator, and blurts out, "700." No kidding? I was expecting it to cost over Php1000! Now that’s cool! I excused myself, ran to the nearest ATM (which happened to be at the 1st floor, for crying out loud), got some money, and went back running, literally. Went into Megatrade Hall again, hoping it was still there. And it was! Yes! Meant for me!
Ending: yeah, I bought it, took it home and up to now, still reading it. I’m at the part where Joker was released from Arkham Asylum and begins his reign of terror — again. The story is getting a lot more interesting as the story progresses. What’s interesting is that all of the characters are already old. Batman’s got white hair, Gordon’s retiring, Superman’s a bit bigger now. And the new Robin’s a girl. Hmm, interesting.
Can’t wait to go home later to continue reading. But before that, another round of Gunbound. Hehe.
