The Super Megafest Comic-Con, held in the very elegant Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, MA. is an event that I have been aware of for quite some time, but for one reason or another, I was never able to attend ”“ until this past weekend. Accompanying me were my longtime pal Al Mega (he’s the owner of this website, but you already knew that) and my younger brother, an aspiring photographer who calls himself Snapshot.
As we made our way towards the venue, we saw several popular vehicles from yesteryear parked closely together right outside of the entrance:
Once we were inside, we didn’t have the slightest idea of where to go. I didn’t notice any booklets or programs that might have helped us as to where everything or anyone was located. We had to walk down a long and narrow corridor, loaded with vendors, just to get to several small rooms where there were more vendors”¦then, once we made our way through that, we found ourselves inside of a much bigger showroom. Part of the big showroom, as we learned, was turned into a celebrity guest area; what we didn’t know was what time any of the invited celebrities would be available for photos and autographs.
We “discovered” several comic book creators in a downstairs area (more like a furnished basement) underneath the main showroom. Joe St. Pierre, Hannibal King, Dave Devries, Bob McLeod, Mark Texeira, Jose Delbo, Bob Camp and others were stuffed in a small room in the basement away from the main showroom! Worse yet, there were no signs pointing towards where they were going to be! In my opinion, that’s not cool at all and borderline disrespectful.
The comic book vendors that were on hand for the show were friendly for the most part and they carried ample amounts of classic Marvel and DC books; however, indie titles were scarce. Overall, only a handful of vendors actually sported good deals. Al and I raided one particular vendor’s dollar bins and found several first character appearance issues”¦definitely a bargain for the both of us to say the least. Comic book paraphernalia was abundant and scattered throughout the multiple showrooms”¦and its hallways. Shopping here was not an easy task at all, as the crowd seemed to increase almost exponentially as the show went on. With very little space in between each vendor setup, stopping to look for books or merchandise meant holding up the foot traffic. Al and I lost count of how many times we were bumped as we were going through comic boxes.
Climate control inside of each of the showrooms was another factor ”“ it was HOT in there! The heat emitted from Mephisto’s realm would have paled in comparison to the sweltering temperature inside of the main showroom. It’s a good thing that this event was held in November instead of one of the summer months”¦
With the large crowd, narrow passageways and heat at the Super Megafest, attempting to meet or even see all of the available celebrity guests was an ordeal. Trying to meet Dennis Rodman, John Schneider or Catherine Bach was impossible. Fortunately, Comic Crusaders was able to meet with Star Trek icon Nichelle Nichols, the lovely Kristanna Loken and the “Man of 10,000 Sound Effects” Michael Winslow.
Despite the muggy, claustrophobic atmosphere of this Sheraton Hotel, there were plenty of cosplayers present for this event and each one of them made the best out of this stifling situation:
In closing, the Super Megafest in Framingham, MA. has the potential to be a great event; however, mentioning that this venue couldn’t accommodate the crowd and all of its vendors would simply be stating the obvious.
I would like to extend my gratitude to Al Mega for helping me cover this event along with Snapshot (thanks bro!) for assisting us with all of the photos!
Until next time Crusaders!
[yasr_overall_rating]
Author Profile
- Real Name: Mike / Occupation: (As Mike) Classified; (as The 13th Crusader) Host of The Definitive Crusade, DC Podcast, for Undercover Capes / Known Aliases: 13, The Iron Mike, Ironhide, The Walking Human Encyclopedia, Professor M / Affiliations: Comic Crusaders / Base of Operations: The 13th Lair (location classified), often mobile / Abilities: Photographic memory (to the extent where he is capable of memorizing the comic book inventories of several stores simultaneously for lengthy periods of time), voice impersonation, acute senses (The 13th Crusader possesses an uncanny ability to track down vintage comic books, and on several occasions, with his eyes closed, he has been able to determine the exact year a comic book was published just by smelling the ink inside of it), capable of drawing sketches; however, he prefers to write. He has a substantial amount of resistance to alcohol, surpassing the levels displayed by Marvel’s Volstagg and Valiant’s Aram Anni-Padda – combined. Multilingual (Proficient with English and Spanish, adequate with Portuguese and Italian). Above average marksman (he is capable of throwing objects accurately at high velocities), limited sword fighting skills and kickboxing techniques. / Known Weaknesses: Anything that involves the original Gwen Stacy, 2 for 1 drinks during Happy Hour, 50 cent comic book bins, the scent of 1983 comic book ink / Hobbies: Vintage comic book collecting, baseball, listening to excessive amounts of 80’s music / History: Little is known of The 13th Crusader. He is a man of many talents who was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He has extensive knowledge of the comic book world and he’s been collecting comic books since before he was able to read. He’s a BIG time fan of Silver and Bronze Age comics, and as such, his personal collection is truly impressive. He owns books that range from the 1950’s and onward. First Appearance: Comic Crusaders Column – What Defines A Characters First Appearance (Feb 2014)
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