Recap From Rhode Island Comic Con 2021

---

The first thing we need to establish is whether or not I had a good time. I think I will let Frank the Tank answer that question:



It was a blast getting to take everything in with my new Con BFF, John Miko. Mr. Nomadacout has been fired.

The overall footprint of this convention is massive. It took place at the combined Dunkin' Donuts Center and Rhode Island Convention Center facility. The Dunkin' Donuts Center accommodates 14,000 seats for concerts. The arena floor was used for celebrity signings, and they needed that space. The lines for Giancarlo Esposito, Carl Weathers, William Zabka and Xolo Maridueña were massive. Mr. Esposito might be the classiest man on the planet. He literally wore a suit to the autograph signing.

Two levels of the concession rings outside arena were packed with vendors (pics below). If this was the entirety of the convention it would be impressive, but it's only half. The adjacent Rhode Island Convention Center packs another 100,000 square feet of space for more vendors and celebrity signings, such as Ashely Eckstein and the ageless William Shatner. The totality is almost overwhelming. I've been to cons where you can sweep through in an hour. You need to set aside a day for the Rhode Island Comic Con.

I highly recommend taking this event in. We'll try to get in front of it next year, and maybe we can have a Bantha Skull group descend on Providence.

---

I apologize for the quality of the first picture. This was in the 501st Legion area, and that is a Purge Trooper to the right. I was quite excited to see that trooper join their ranks. Also apologies to Sabine for photo with Mando where I caught her looking down. They are a husband and wife team, and it was really cool to see a pair of Mandalorians roaming the convention floor. Obviously, though, the Pat Patriot Mando was the highlight for me personally.

---

This area definitely did not disappoint, and Star Wars was well represented. We spent some time talking to Sy from Beantown Collectibles who has been in the collectible toy business since 2000. He had a massive inventory of vintage Star Wars, Joes, and Transformers. He even had graded Greatest American Heroes figures. I was particularly blown away by his AFA uncirculated POTF Endor Luke Skywalker. Uncirculated means that the figure was shipped to AFA in the sealed shipping case. That blows my mind. Sy's inventory of vintage collectibles is so impressive that it even got the attention of the one and only Kevin Smith who visited his booth.

We also talked to Brian from Red Five Toys & Collectibles. He had the biggest inventory of Vintage Collection at the convention, and at great prices. He was also well stocked with a massive amount of loose vintage figures from Star Wars, MOTU and other classic lines. You can see his booth in image 34 below. Even better, the cards were in great shape (not always the case with convention vendors).

My personal favorite score form the show was a complete vintage Kenner 12" Darth Vader (not pictured) from KnoWhere Toys, Comics & Gaming, who made the trip all the way from Hialeah, FL. They are also the ones who were selling the Sail Barge Yak Face and "Revenge of the Jedi" proof card pictured below.

---

Here you can see the size of the line for Mr. Esposito, as well as a general sense of the crowd, among other things. One of those things may be a certain offices right outside the convention center. No, John and I did not storm the gates.

---

comments powered by Disqus