San Diego Comic Con: Unopened Packs Wars!

Join me on a heroes quest through comic books and cosplayers in search of the holy grail of trading cards: vintage unopened packs.

San Diego Convention Center. You’ll never find a more crowded hive of nerds and vendors. We must be cautious.

On the way in, I asked Pink Chewbacca and Tiny Rey for guidance. How can I find trading cards in this sea of sci-fi and super heroes? They told me to seek out an old warrior on the edge of town. For he was one with nature, boy.

Woo! I found the old warrior. With much flair, he told me to seek out a mustachioed scribe, who could draw me a map to my destination.

North of the Wall I ventured, past an army of Slow Walkers I found Sir Aragones. He gave me a map and a warning. “Go with haste! There be a Funko Pop exclusive line that grows by the minute, waiting to devour anyone in it’s path!”

To the very back of the convention center I pressed on. T-shirts and toys, fewer comic books. Was I getting close? Suddenly, a large, no nonsense sign declared “NON SPORTS CARDS”. Chewy, I was home. I was so stunned at the glorious collection, I didn’t shoot an establishing shot of the cramped booth.

Stacks of unopened boxes. Stuff wasn’t cheap though.

Owner Mark was a nice guy and very knowledgeable. His sister used to work for Topps, that’s how he developed passion for cards.

I was tempted to buy everything in sight, but I went with these seven packs. Should I open them up? Stay tuned for part 2, The Empire Packs Back!