ENFIELD — Scott Darcy has been reading and collecting comic books since the age of 5.
“We were on a trip that was going to take about three hours in the car. My mom bought a handful of comics to keep me occupied and one jumped right out to me. There was an android on the cover shooting lasers at Spider-Man, and I was hooked,” Darcy said.
Today, Darcy has amassed a collection of some 15,000 comics — 5,000 of which are his personal treasures and the other 10,000 he brings to shows to sell like at East of the River Comic Book and Collectibles Show on June 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event will take place at the American Legion Hall on 566 Enfield St. in Enfield. Admission is $1 and kids under 10 are free. If you want to get a head start on everyone else planning to attend the show, there is an early bird admission of $3 beginning at 9 a.m.
“The show is growing. It’s our fifth year in Enfield and we usually expect anywhere from 150 to 300 people to attend depending on the day. More vendors have been applying to be a part of the show, but up until now we have been limited in space and we’re putting them on a waiting list. This year we have expanded to a second floor at the American Legion Hall to accommodate everyone,” said Scott Pellin, show promoter.
Over 60 tables with be staffed with vendors selling comics from the 1930s to today, as well as non-sports cards such as Pokémon, comic book character cards, Star Wars and plenty more. There will also be all kinds of action figures from Star Wars to G.I. Joe to all of the Marvel and DC superheroes.
A longtime collector, Pellin begin reading comics in his youth and lost interest in collecting as he grew older.
“My wife told me about a comic book store down the street from us and my interest began growing again. One day I drove by another comic book store on the way to work. I started a friendship with the owner, who hired me to work in the store. And from there my interest in comic book conventions grew, eventually starting my own,” he said.
He continued, “Comic books are hot right now, mostly superheroes, it’s the No. 1 genre. But others are popular, too, like comics based on television shows and movies, some western and others such as war comics and combat.”
Beyond the Spider-Man comic that began Darcy’s interest when he was young, he noted “collecting came naturally to me.”
“My parents were collectors. My father collected old cars and my mother collected all kinds of knickknacks and crafts. So, I grew up in a household of collectors and that eventually drew me to collecting baseball cards, a hobby which came and went, but my love of comic books has always stayed with me,” he said.
Darcy said his goal is to help customers “fill in” their collections.
“I sell comics the way I like to collect them, buying runs of different series. My customers come to me with their lists of missing comic numbers hoping I have what they need to complete their runs of specific comics like Batman, for example,” he said.
A longtime dealer at the show, Bryon Kozaczka has a weekly podcast called “Geekonomics” where they discuss popular television shows and movies, wrestling, as well as promoting local events such as the East of the River Comic Book and Collectibles Show.
“I will have a little bit of everything, a lot of different things compared to other vendors, and I always have something different at every show for customers to buy,” Kozaczka said.
“I have some comics, a lot of old Dungeons and Dragons manuals, and enamel pins. The pins are really popular and include some from television shows, video games, Disney, all kinds of cartoons and movies like ‘Gremlins’ and ‘Beetlejuice,’ to mention just a few. I also have toys from ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Star Trek,’ ‘Lord of the Rings’ and other popular television shows, movies and video games,” he added.
And he has stickers.
“Stickers are very popular with the younger crowd attending the show — dogs, cats, Marvel superheroes, Dungeons and Dragons, video game characters and so many others,” Kozaczka said.
Attendees will receive a free comic book with paid admission.
“If you have never attended East of the River, it is a fantastic show. Dealers are very friendly and all like comic books and collectibles, so you will be among friends and vendors who want to give you the best deal possible,” Darcy said.
For more information, visit eastoftherivercomics.blogspot.com.
