It was honestly the most fun I had all weekend. And once more I do wish we could have went out for some grub and adult beverages but the drive back to Madison and then back to Kemper wiped me out. I didn't make it back till around 2100. Suffice to say I would revel at the chance to get together again if nothing else other than go to Hooters and then Jackson TRU to see if they have any hidden jewels.
Sorry gang, but I'm gonna rant and sputter for a moment.
This weekend, I attended the Jackson ComicCon in Jackson, MS. It's a small convention, only in its second year, and I had high hopes that it would be enjoyable, and perhaps grow in future years. The convention was held by a group called Heroes & Dreams, who also run a local comic shop in Flowood, MS. Overall, I'd say the con was fun. Small, simple, but nice, and with great potential. I had a great time talking with the H&D guys (one of whom, surprisingly, turned out to be an old friend of mine from years gone by).
Despite being slightly overpriced, I decided to buy two Diamond Select busts from the H&D booth to show my support. Starscream and Shockwave to be specific. Upon returning home, I opened them to admire my new prizes. Starscream was quite dusty; obviously he had been displayed at their store for a while, but was in perfect condition so I didn't really care.
The same cannot be said for Shockwave. Upon opening him, I noticed that his gun barrel seemed crooked. At first I thought it might have been some flaw in the design or molding. Then I noticed the small crack. These guys actually superglued the gun barrel back on and sold it to me at full price! A slight brush against his own packaging and it snapped right off again, leaving the flakes of superglue plainly visible. I suppose the upside is that I can now glue to back on myself in the correct position so it won't be crooked anymore.
Still, it really bothers me that they would sell a broken figure for a marked-up pricetag. Especially since I had already introduced myself, and they had been very appreciative of my posting info about their convention here on Seibertron.Com. Where's the loyalty? All the guy had to do was say, "You probably don't want that one, it's been broken," or maybe drop the price to something more reasonable. Sure, I suppose it's partially my fault since I didn't open and inspect the product prior to purchase, but still!
At the least, this was the dishonest representation of collectible products, and I'll be damned if I buy anything else from Heroes & Dreams or attend/promote any convention they try to hold in the future. When you're a smalltown comic shop in the backwoods of Mississippi, and you're trying to start up an annual convention, your reputation ought to be one of your highest priorities. In this case, it obviously wasn't.
However, I did have fun meeting and hanging out with Seibertron's own Forgotten. Hopefully, we'll be able to get together again sometime and geek out over TFs.
