BURLINGTON – Driving up to the Westland Mall, the first sign of trouble was the fact that the parking lot was packed.
Unfortunately (and like many malls across the country), Westland isn’t the shopping Mecca it once was.
Then after getting out of my car, I noticed several folks dressed up like superheroes walking towards the entrance.
I get inside the building and it’s noisy and bustling, with rows and rows of vendor tables and shelves set up.
As far as the eye can see, there are toy action figures and comic books and video games and other collectibles on display.
I only made it 15 minutes and two booths deep before I dropped $60, was walking around with a copy of 1991’s “Joe Montana Football” for Sega Genesis and the (possibly) entire collection of the “Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire” action figure line in my arms.
I walked the goods to my car and then decided to drive home to drop it all off, calm down, collect myself, get back to the mall to work on the story, and hopefully leave without cleaning out my entire bank account.
The mall hosted the Burlington Comic & Toy Show from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. The event was free, had over 60 vendors, and billed as a “celebration of all things pop culture,” attendees were treated to a seemingly endless selection of comic books, action figure toys, old school video games, comic/superhero posters and artwork, sports and collectable cards, role-playing games, cosplay fun, and much more.
Whether you were into action, science fiction, fantasy, horror, anime, oddities, professional wrestling, collectibles and memorabilia, or just plain nostalgia, there was something for everybody.
While some vendors have their own shops and websites and buy and trade using social media, for others, shows like the one on Saturday are their primary way of selling their treasures to the masses.
“I’ve been doing this show for the last three years,” said James Brewster, owner of Toys Unlimited Toy Trading Company of Moline. “It’s always a fun time. It’s just a great way to meet people, advertise for the business, sell some product and keep the business going.”
Brewster’s cut me a deal and sold me the “Shadows of the Empire” toys for $50 and had a large array of Star Trek and Star Wars action figures, as well as old “He Man” and “Spawn” toys and others at his booth.
And Brewster said the turnout made the trip to West Burlington worth it.
“This is actually very, very busy compared to what it’s been in the past,” he said. “This is a really good turnout.”
Matt Rybarczyk, of Bettendorf, was another vendor who came to the show with a large selection of newer and older comic books and toys. He says the rise of the big and small screen adaptations of comic books characters within the last 15 or more years has renewed interest in comic books and kept the business flowing.
“There’s a very strong correlation (between what sells) and if they’re going to a cinematic or TV show productions (of comic book characters and series), it may not get the books necessarily to go up in value, but it gets them to bounce out of the box,” Rybarczyk said, adding that anything associated with Marvel Comics and the Star Wars franchise (both personal favorites of his) consistently do well.
“I’ve been doing shows for about 30 years now. For me it’s just about seeing that glimmer in peoples’ eyes when you have what they’re looking for. I still get a joy out of that. Especially newer and younger collectors to get them going. Because that’s the future...You gotta get new blood in the hobby, otherwise it will slowly wither.”
Thunder Cards and Games was another vendor booth at the show that specialized in old video games and gaming consoles, toys, collectible cards, and other nostalgia.
“It started off just as a way to finance my hobby and it’s just kind of grown from there,” said Matt Robbins, of Muscatine, owner Thunder Cards and Games. “We come to shows, we have fun, and we shop for ourselves.”
Robbins doesn’t have a physical store, does most of his business either at shows all over the region and elsewhere in the Midwest, and Saturday was his first show in Burlington. He said some of his biggest sellers are games for the original Nintendo and Nintendo GameCube.
“Sales have been great (today),” he said. “I think it’s been a little more than the last show that we attended, so that’s awesome. (There’s) been lots of people really excited to see stuff that they owned as a kid or wanted to own as a kid...The nostalgia is real and we love to be able to supply (it) and see the smiles and memories come back when you stop in.”
Probably most impressive was the depth and variety of the comics and toys on display at Saturday’s show.
A few trips around the mall and I spotted sick-looking “Predator” and “Re-Animator” action figures, a Sega CD gaming console, an original Kenner brand Jabba the Hutt action (if you wanna call laying on a slab, puffing hookahs and eating frog creatures “action”) figure for $300, a copy of the 1989 Nintendo game “Iron Sword: Wizards and Warriors II” (complete with Italian-American romance novel cover model Fabio holding a sword on the front of the case), and a “Captain Power”(a fantastic 80’s live action sci-fi/action TV series that only lasted a couple seasons and was a true gem; look it up) Phantom Striker toy spaceship.
Perhaps the best booth in the entire show belonged to Geoff Schmidt, of St. Louis, who had an excellent selection of comic books from the 1970’s-1990’s from publishers Marvel, D.C., Image, Dark Horse, and Valiant (to name a few), as well as a great selection of independent and alternative comic books series, including “Love and Rockets” and “Eightball.”
“’Eightball’ was really surreal, and kind of a combination of horror and science fiction and romance and gritty realism all mixed up together,” Schmidt explained. “(The indie comics) were excellent back in the day. People should read more of them.”
The look of enthusiasm was spread all over the faces of many who attended the show.
Freddie Howard, of Burlington, came out with his daughter, Lily. It was Howard’s first time attending the Burlington Comic and Toy Show, and he was in the market for some anime.
“I’m a big anime enthusiast,” Howard said. “I’ve been into anime since I was a kid. I think my first anime I saw was ‘Dragon Ball Z,’ and it got me hooked.”
Other attendees came dressed in cosplay costumes, one of whom included WWE wrestler “The Undertaker.”
Landon Minnis, of Burlington, came dressed as “Star Wars: Rogue One” villain “Director Krennic” along with Scott and Adam Noll, both of Burlington, who dressed as “Boba Fett” and a “Jawa.” The three said they always go to comic shows dressed up in costumes.
“It kind of developed into a little secret nerdy passion,” Scott said. “We just really enjoy these events. It’s great to see them springing up in a lot of these smaller towns versus having to go to a larger city to celebrate nerdom.”
And some came out in their own personal costumes.
Paul Peterson, of Burlington, came to the show dressed as “The Masked Saint” with his wife and their children (who were not wearing costumes).
“I’m a superhero for Christ and we spread the message of faith, and we fight the forces of evil at the same time,” Peterson explained. “I’ve been a superhero fan since I was a kid, and so I love to come out and look at the comics and everyone in their costumes.”
“The Masked Saint” didn’t come to the show empty-handed, either. He had his own mini comics with him to share with the public to help share his message, and he even took the time to do a nunchuks demonstration.
“(The show has been) a blast,” he said. “We got a lot of cool toys for the kids, and it’s just a nice time out here with my beautiful wife and everyone.”
