Today was the fourth Electric City Comic Con, at the main branch of the Schenectady County Public Library (SCPL).

Once again, my wife Jennifer and I volunteered to help man their Artists Lounge. We were happy to be able to support our local convention, and I was able to spend some time speaking with Chad Burdette. Long-time readers of the Mercheum blog may recall that Mr. Burdette interviewed me for his newspaper blog, The Comics Multiverse, back in 2016. Is it really that long ago already? Where does the time go?

I really enjoy going on vacation. Who doesn’t? But I find that it is taking me longer and longer to “get back into the swing of things” after going away for even a short trip. I am finally catching up from my trip to TerrifiCon, and hope to resume posting exhibits shortly.

On my way to Mohegan Sun, I stopped at the PEZ Visitor Center in Orange, Connecticut. I knew PEZ had made a Casper head with two or more different colors of die-cut stems, and was hoping to see one in person. I found one very quickly in the history display near the front door:

On Sunday, April 3rd, I attended the Albany Toy Show. I was surprised at how many of the comic book show dealers were in attendance. While I don’t mind, I was a little upset because I did not bring my want list. I did find a very nice Casper item that I will feature once I figure out how to photograph it.

It has been a slow year for me so far on the comic convention circuit, but it is starting to improve. It started with a day trip to Manhattan, with a stop at the new Metropolis Gallery. They have a huge cover art collection, including Harvey Hits #6 featuring the Phantom:

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend New York Comic Con on Thursday. It is impossible to describe how large this show is. I came back very tired, but with a backpack full of comic books from Victory Comics to show for my efforts. No new merchandise for the Harvey Mercheum I am afraid, but I did get to speak with Steve Savino again, and I got to meet Jordan Hembrough!

While I had a great time at New York Comic Con, I will probably not return next year, as there are other conventions I wish to attend. Maybe the year after…