The following is an excerpt of the journey I had attending Stan Lee's Comikaze yesterday in Los Angeles. If you're interested in reading the whole thing, my journal is here: lordakiyama.deviantart.com/jou…
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I then find myself wandering to the Hollywood Heroes booth. Hollywood Heroes is the toy store run by Jordan Hembrough, star of "Toy Hunter" on Travel Channel. It was clear to see that Comikaze would be the setting for an episode of the show as cameras were out and about, looking to see if Jordan and his crew can sell some of the collectables they had apparently picked up specifically for the convention. Believe me when I say that I was only mesmerized by the cameras like the other attendees for only a brief moment. I saw right there hanging in the booth an item that just drew me in.
As soon as the producers told us that it was okay to walk in and check out the booth, I gravitated toward a Generation X Jubilee figure. Granted this is hardly of major value and is worth about $5 on average, this came with something extra. Two of Jordan's co-workers Steve, who appears regularly on the show, and Dave, who I don't recall seeing that much, notice my interest and immediately start to pitch. It turned out that literally right before the convention, Jordan was able to get his hands on the original design art sheets for numerous X-Men and other Marvel toys that were made by Toy Biz back in the 1990s. We're talking dream items for serious collectors. They further explained that they had to rush through their inventory to check if they had the corresponding figures to sell along with them and Jubilee happened to be one of the few. What concerned me was the $200 price tag. While they were open to negotiations, as seen on the show, I just wasn't sure if I was ready to commit. So I told them that I would think about it and return later. On my way out, one of the producers had me sign a waiver, giving them permission to air footage of me should they choose to do so.
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I walked around a little bit and I knew the Jubilee figure and design sheet was weighing heavily on my mind. This was because I was purposefully going from booth to booth searching for toys or figurines that would possibly do better in price and personal interest. But it was the fact that the design sheet was right there for the taking that really got the best of me. ... Then I headed back to the Hollywood Heroes booth, finding Jordan and Steve getting their pictures taken with a group dressed up as Batman and his Rogues Gallery.
I made it up to the counter and told Dave that I was going to buy the Jubilee figure and design sheet. He was real excited, which I couldn't blame him for as they were moving one of the key attractions for their booth at the convention. Just before I could pull out my wallet, one of the producers asked us to redo my walking up and saying I was making the purchase again so that they could film it on camera. Thus I spent the next 10-15 minutes chatting with Dave about my collecting habits, my decision to buy the piece, why I wanted it, my interest in Jubilee, etc. All this before I was finally able to hand over the credit card for them to swipe. Once the transaction was complete and the pieces were carefully bagged, I made to look like I was leaving only for the producer asking us to do another take of my leaving so they could get the full reaction of Dave and Jordan celebrating the sale.
With all that wrapped up, I stepped aside and waited for the booth to clear a bit so I could get my picture taken with the guys. One of the producers let me know that the Comikaze episode of "Toy Hunter" will air around end of February, beginning of March and we both were certain my transaction might make it in. It would certainly make for a great little plot in the show of me being tempted and then returning in the end to make the purchase. Jordan got in the middle of another deal before we finally got our picture taken with my newly acquired collectables.
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Fingers crossed this gets in the show.