A Real American Book!

In our last episode, Tim bought astronaut napkins, serenaded a crowd of 40, and drank terrible booze.

[Part One/Thursday] [Part Two/Friday] [Part Three/Saturday]

Click all photos to enlarge. “Mark” with no last name is the host of Talking Joe, a podcast I co-host.

SATURDAY——

[Part One/Thursday] [Part Two/Friday]

In our last episode, Tim spent hours at a toy convention looking at, sorting, and buying comic books. Then, he tried to talk to everyone he could.

This is the big day. Whereas Friday is set-up for vendors and just a few hours of shopping, plus two panels, Saturday at JoeFest 2025 was eight floor hours, from 10am to 6pm (with an early entrance for folks who paid extra), plus eight panels and other activities, and that’s all before the evening’s planned and unplanned socializing. But a day like this goes by fast. Blink and you’ve run into a long-lost friend, looked at two dealer tables’ worth of march, and then it’s time for a panel, and three hours have zipped by.

INTRO——
Going into JoeFest, held in Augusta, Georgia, I was excited. This would be my third year, and I had made more friends, so the socializing would be, should be, a little easier and enjoyable. Attendance at 2023’s show was 10,000, and I heard an estimate that 2024 was 12,000. Would this year’s be higher, as more people hear about the show and maybe the Skybound comic books get more people (back) into G.I. Joe? Yes. I don’t have a number, but I do have confirmation that this year’s attendance was over last year’s. Neat.