Ariel Kim, Contributing Photographer

Hundreds gathered Sunday to sift through collections of new and vintage toys, games and comics at the New England Comic and Toy Convention.

Hosted at North Haven’s Clarion Inn, the convention drew all kinds of toy seekers — from parents and children lugging boxes filled to the brim with new toys, to adults scouring for childhood favorites.

“I love the atmosphere, the vibes,” Carlos Solis, a comic book collector and vendor from Boston, said. “Everybody’s hunting down stuff they used to have as a kid. In the morning, it was packed. You could barely walk.”

According to Solis, Connecticut shows always have a great turnout.

Organizer Andrew King said the convention was held in honor of the late John Kozin, the New England convention’s former organizer and a “huge” GI Joe and Transformers fan. Bob Budiansky, who wrote 58 of the original Transformers comics, Ron Rudat, the figure designer behind G.I. Joe, and Kirk Bozigian, former Vice President of Marketing at Hasbro, were all present on Sunday.

“I wanted to do the best GI Joe and Transformers show possible,” King said. 

Matt Ryan, creator of the “Brenda Steelhammer” comics and art director at Bad Elf, was also selling comics at the convention. He recounted fond memories of his grandparents sending him comic books in care packages from Florida. Now, he writes light-hearted fantasy adventure comics inspired by his daughters. 

Ryan wants his young readers to “forget about the outside world for a little bit and just have a little joy ride with [him].”

For Cliff Saccoccio, English teacher, aspiring author, and comic book vendor, walking through the packed aisles was a bit like walking through memory lane. 

“When I was little, my mom dropped me off at the comic book store when she went grocery shopping. It was more or less like a second home,” Saccoccio recalled. 

Ryan Lewis, a vendor of hand-painted and 3D-printed toys, first started making toys for his daughter to play with.

“I never had a printer until I brought my daughter to something like this, and I noticed I couldn’t afford anything that was at one of the events that was going on,” he said. 

Since acquiring his own printer, Lewis has not only been making custom toys for his daughter but also making sure that other kids can walk away with something, too. 

At his vendor stand, he had a $1 bin, and shoppers could roll a dice for the chance to win something. 

“I like having kids be able to get stuff that’s easier, accessible,” he said. 

Dan Ungar, vintage video game seller and full-time teacher, recalls an experience as a vendor where a man who lost everything in a fire picked up a few games that he had as a kid and started crying. 

“I ended up just giving him the games,” Ungar said. “It touched me… the fact that he had so many awesome memories of it”.

King also mentioned giving away toys at conventions, including Matchbox cars, Hot Wheels and Squishmallows.

“It’s seeing a little kid, and giving them a toy, and changing their day, and putting a smile on their face. That’s the best part,” King said.

The Clarion Inn is located at 201 Washington Ave.