Contributed by collector and Overstreet Advisor Art Cloos
Photos by Alice Cloos

The 2025 edition of Dave O’Hare’s Garden State Comic Fest (GSCF) was held Saturday and Sunday, June 28-29 in its new location at the Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange, New Jersey. The move was made to provide additional parking, bigger panel rooms, with a huge lobby area, and New York City Public Transportation that stops in front of the arena.

O’Hare first had the idea to create his own comic convention after attending New York Comic Con in 2013. He told a friend about his idea to host a show, and that friend bet him $20 that he wouldn’t do it. After investing $3,000 into starting the new show and calling in favors, O’Hare hosted his first Garden State Comic Fest and won the bet.

This is a real comic book show, reflecting O’Hare’s love of the medium. His goal was a show that is fun, comic book centric, and one that would put North Jersey on the map as a go-to location for a comic con. “Our events have something for everyone, from the serious collector looking to find that super rare book to the casual fan looking to just have a great time. From comics and art to vintage toys and pop culture items. Over the past 11 years due to the high quality of vendors, artists, fans, and the comfortable atmosphere, I feel GSCF is certainly one of the best comic conventions out there,” O’Hare said.

As always the quality of the dealers was quite good, including Aardvark Toys & Comics, Absolutely Awesome Collectibles, Agents Of Slabs, AJ’s House of Comics, Alternate Universes, Amber, Arkham Asylum Comics, Bitter Pill Comics LLC, BlackBox Comics, Black Cat Baubles, Boone Enterprises, Bricks and Broomsticks, Codakhrome Comic Shop, Cody James By Cody, Collectors Crate, Comic Collision, Crossbones Comics/JP Productions, Digital Delightz Video Games, DiMuzio Comics, DJF Comics, Dreamscape Publishing, East Side Mags, Everborn Saga, Festers Funhouse, Force 1 Studios, Hooked on Sabers, Horror Bull Art, Hot Flips, Howard Tauber, Humble Comics, Irreverent Warriors, Isle of Comics, It’s Getting Dicey, JAF Comics, St. Marks Comics, Next Generation Comics & Cards, Mike Carbo, Koops Comics, and lots more.

There is a strong emphasis on comic book sellers but Allie was impressed with all the unusual craft and non-craft superhero related items available at the show that included towels, action figures, statues, Star Wars and Star Trek items, fudge, crystals, taxidermy, and more. Most dealers reported good sales with Saturday being the better of the two days.

The special guest list included Maitland Ward, Anne Dudek, Sean Kanan, Kevin Clash, James Saito, Sgt. Slaughter, James Pax, Jo Armeniox, Michelle Santiago, and Steve Whitmire.

Professional and amateur cosplayers are always well represented at the show, including Alexandra Bowman, Codename Citade, Kale Cosplays, The New York City Ghostbusters, and others. I have to admit that the cosplayers in attendance this year put on a great show especially as they walked through the aisles in a cosplay parade.

The quality of the creators at the show was excellent, led by guest of honor Larry Lieber. As a special treat, the first 150 people in line received a copy of his new novel Chips, which Lieber signed for a small fee. In addition to Lieber, other creators included Mark Bagley, Louise and Walter Simonson, Jim Starlin, Joe Staton, Tom Cook, Scott Hanna, Mike DeCarlo, and many others.

The panels were really good this year too. From a panel dedicated to the memory of Greg  Hildebrandt to one that explored grief through the lens of the hero’s journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, to my favorite run by O’Hare who answered questions about how a comic con works.

Before attendees entered the show they got to check out a beautiful Ghostbuster car. Inside, the aisles were wide and accommodated the large crowd without traffic jams. There were a lot of quality books on dealer walls especially Golden Age. Mike Carbonaro had the highlight book of the show with his Detective Comics #1 which attracted a lot of attention.

Allie loved the show and the fact that it is family oriented. We were especially impressed by Artist Alley. She said there were so many artists there that she wanted to connect with but did not have time. She did get to meet V. Ken Marion who impressed her so much that she bought a page of art from him. I was very happy to catch up with Joe Staton, a creator known for his work in Dick Tracy and Green Lantern Corps, and for creating Helena Wayne/Huntress and Kilowog.

I made a point to meet the artist Mike DeCarlo in person after having been friends on Facebook. I wanted to thank him in person because he did a special commission of Batman and Wonder Woman, which a friend purchased as an anniversary gift for us. I was pleased to see that Timothy Kupin, a dealer from Oklahoma, was set up at the show, and Allie and I bought things from him. I was glad to see Charles who runs Hot Flips Comic Book and Art Supplies was there because we use his materials to protect all our comics.

The Cody Arena has multiple food options including a snack machine area and a concession stand.

The Garden State Comic Fest will return in 2026 with a date to be announced. It will return to the Richard J. Codey Arena at 560 Northfield Avenue in West Orange, NJ. More details are available on the Garden State Comic Fest website.