John Bishoff's favorite part of attending collector conventions is the bartering, and there's bound to be lots of opportunities this weekend at the Q-C Fun Con, which will feature 150 tables and is expected to draw 2,000 people.

"When you get 50 dealers in a room, you get some variety, you get some difference in prices," said Bishoff, the organizer of Fun Con. "You can actually negotiate face to face. You get to see the product visually, you can see the product and be sure that it's up to your standards as opposed to just assuming by being online."

The response to the second Fun Con has been four times what the first event drew last year, which has Bishoff pretty excited since he wants to grow the convention into an event that draws 5,000 to 10,000 people over a weekend. Other conventions in larger cities such as St. Louis, Des Moines and Chicago attract upwards of 15,000 collectors, but they do so at a price of $25 to $30 a day. Bishoff keeps admission prices low at $1 per day or $10 for a two-day gaming pass that includes admission.

"We're slowly building up to have something in this area the size of what they do in Chicago, where they have 15,000 people in a weekend, just at a better price," he said.

The convention also will feature appearances by Gary Friedrich, the creator of the Ghost Rider character, The Defuser, who won season two of "Who Wants to be a Super Hero," and William Messner-Loeb, who has worked as a writer and artist on The Flash, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman and Jonny Quest.

"A lot of these guys are really nice," Bishoff said. "If you're an aspiring artist or writer, you can come in and maybe show them something and ask for a few pointers. They're really friendly, really nice. They'll give you an autograph and maybe critique your stuff and give you some ideas on how to go further."

In addition to offering gameplay and tournaments for popular games such as Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft and Star Wars role-play games, attendees also will get a chance to test Monsterapocalypse.