A most excellent weekend haul

This weekend was a busy one for me in regards to my collecting pursuits. The weekend started with the LEGO Brickfair, and on Saturday morning, I visited the Arlington Flea Market for the first time. This market takes place on the first Saturday of the month during the summer, and is held in a parking garage that is literally directly above Route 66. It was loud, hot, and crowded, but I will definitely return again. There were plenty of bargains to be had, but I could only give it a fraction of the attention it deserved since I took my kids with me and they weren’t nearly as enthusiastic as I was.

The highlight of the trip was running into William West, a fellow pop culture blogger and Twitter friend. He was there with his fiancée, selling some items and raise some money for their upcoming wedding. I got some great deals from Will, but my best find was some ziploc bags of vintage trading cards I found buried on another vendor’s table.

The two bags I bought were a dollar apiece and stapled shut. I had no idea what was inside until I got home. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. These “You’ll Die Laughing” cards are always fun.

I would have easily spent two dollars on the Conan and Hulk sticker cards alone!

These Topps Ugly stickers typically sell for a few bucks each, so I think I got a pretty good deal.

On Sunday I visited a small comic book show, mainly because I was hoping it would have some retro items mixed in with the comics. Unfortunately, there weren’t any toys or memorabilia, but I did find some success at the dollar bin.

I don’t collect comics, honest I don’t but Conan #8 and #9 in pretty nice condition for a buck? Absolutely.

Whenever I browse through comic book boxes at shows like this, I really have no plan of attack. I don’t have a list, I just buy random things that I like for whatever reason. I can’t pass up a 20 cent book in great shape, so these Avengers and Hulk books came home with me.

This Blue Beetle #1 jumped out at me, and figured it had to be worth at least a few bucks. It’s not in horrible shape, but some punk kid did draw a beard on our hero on the title page. Those pesky kids!

I love old magazines and finding that “Gay Ish” National Lampoon with King Kong kissing Jeff Bridges made the trip entirely worth it. Oh, and that King Kong issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland is a pretty awesome addition to the Kong collection too.