In awe of All AmeriCon

July 11, 2016 at 12:00a.m.

WARREN

When John Haines says his specialty is dealing in rare comic books, he has numerous titles and countless items to prove it – and that’s no joke.

“I’ve been involved in comics since 1974,” recalled Haines, who owns Rare Comics of Mentor, a business that buys, sells and trades hard-to-find stock from the 1930s to the mid-1970s.

Haines was doing what he does best while talking to several customers who stopped by his table during Sunday’s All AmeriCon7 at W.D. Packard Music Hall, 1703 Mahoning Ave. NW.

The eight-hour gathering featured an estimated 80 tables and 50 local and regional vendors, including artists, illustrators and designers, noted Greg Bartholomew, event organizer.

An estimated 1,700 came to last year’s event, and 2.000 were expected this year, said Bartholomew, who noted that beginning next year, the show will take place at the Covelli Centre in downtown Youngstown.

Adding to the excitement for many was an appearance by James O’Barr, a graphic artist perhaps best known for having created the comic-book series “The Crow.” The 1994 superhero action movie of the same title starring Brandon Lee was based on O’Barr’s comic book.

The other special guest was Darryl Banks of Columbus, a comic-book artist and co-creator of DC Comics’ “Green Lantern” series.

Haines’ titles included some common names such as “X-men” and “Spiderman.” Nevertheless, just as prominent were less-common titles and finds, including “Silver Surfer,” a 1964 comic book featuring the Beatles, one called “Astro Boy” and a satirical issue of MAD Magazine from the early 1950s that pokes fun at the famous Leonardo da Vinci “Mona Lisa” painting by showing the woman on the cover holding a copy of the popular humor magazine.

Haines said his business offers fair prices, good customer service and consistent grading on a scale of 1 to 10 of comic books’ pages and cover.

“I still read them. They’re not just widgets to me,” Haines said, adding that he has traveled with Marc Nathan, who runs and promotes the Baltimore Comic-Con, said to be the world’s largest such independently owned event.

Among Haines’ longtime customers is Dennis Maher of Niles, who has patronized Rare Comics for more than 20 years.

“I’ve been a big comic-book fan all my life. That has translated into adulthood, if there is such a thing,” Maher said with laughter while looking through a 1949 book titled “Plastic Man.”

Maher estimated he has 500 vintage comic books, including from the “Batman” and “Superman” series. His titles also include “Little Lulu,” based on a comic-strip character named Lulu Moppet that debuted in The Saturday Evening Post in early 1935.

Assisting Haines was his daughter, Sarah Haines, an Ohio State University environmental-engineering major.

Plenty of merchandise easily visible included numerous boxes of highly recognizable names, among them DC Comics, Marvel and Dell. Also in abundance were comic books from popular series such as “Batman,” “The Green Lantern,” “Superman,” “Warlord,” “Star Wars,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Wonder Woman,” “Tarzan” and “Star Trek.”

Other items for sale were countless action figures, T-shirts, $1 magnets, potholders, trading cards, board games, prints, $2 coasters, videocassettes and DVDs, assorted jewelry and necklaces, toys and sets of decals ranging from $7 to $45.

Many people also flocked around sisters Elise and Brigitte Petras, who had a spread of many of their digital and makeshift comic prints and illustrations.

“I’ve been doing a lot of fan art based on ‘Batman’ and other examples from pop culture,” explained Elise, an artist, teacher and illustrator from Campbell. “I also focus on individual line work.”

In addition, Elise enjoys dabbling in watercolors and describes part of her style as free flowing, with “an airiness quality” to her watercolor works.

Like Elise, Brigitte likes to emphasize elements of pop culture in her artistic efforts. Typically, one of the sisters comes up with an idea, and both often take several days to consider it. Then descriptive words they agree upon soon translate into drawings as each consults the other along the way, she continued.

That doesn’t mean, however, that Brigitte is averse to having a little fun during the process.

“I like to poke fun at things for sure,” she said. “It’s very satirical, to an extent.”

The All AmeriCon7 also included a costume contest for adults and children, which was judged largely on best in show and most-original wear, Bartholomew said.