WOW! What a day, only after a couple of days of reflection and healing can I now fully comprehend what Jimmy and I experienced on Saturday October 8, 2016.
This was only my 2nd NYCC, my first was in 2008, when I went with my wife (then girlfriend). 8 years saw a lot of changes though. For one thing, it was SO CROWDED this year! In 2008, there were places on the showfloor that you could sit down and take a break, but this year it was wall to wall with exhibitors and people shuffled by each other shoulder to shoulder.
Despite how crowded it was, I can honestly say that everyone was extremely friendly. The vibe was fun loving with some buzz of excitement in the air, although the buzz dulled by the middle of the afternoon.
Jimmy and I planned on arriving before the doors opened at 10, and after hearing that it took people 3 hours to get through the doors on Thursday and Friday, we left my house really early. 7:30am actually, 2.5 hours before the doors opened. We found free parking in Weehawken, and took the ferry over from Lincoln Harbor. We weren't the only ones to have this idea, so we got to follow the crowd. The great thing about the ferry, aside from how gorgeous it was outside, was that it dropped us at 39th Street and 12th Ave. The Javits Center is 39th & 11th! We did have to walk up to 10th to get in, but it was really nice to not have to walk far to get to the Javits Center considering how long we were about to spend on our feet.
So we made it through the line no problem with bag checks and everything. I don't know why it took 3 hours to do this the last 2 days before, but we had 0 issues. **NOTE FOR NEXT TIME: Pack a SEALED lunch to picnic with later. It will save you $$$$ and time when on the floor**
As we waited for the doors to open, we got our first looks at the cosplayers. Probably the biggest takeaway from this trip was how awesome the cosplayers looked and how much work they all put into their costumes. I really have to give these people credit, it's not easy to walk around for 6 plus hours all day with merchandise when you're in street clothes, but some other these costumes were so detailed, or BIG or unruly! I couldn't imagine dealing with that all day. Party on, cosplayers, you all looked great!
Once through the doors, our first stop was to the queue hall to see if we could get any tickets to any panels. We couldn't. We were only interested in 2 or 3 panels for the day, and we were realistic about our chances of actually getting into one. BUT what shocked us was that the biggest panel we wanted to see (the Iron Fist Netflix panel) was closed 10 minutes before the doors even opened! I don't know how this was possible, I guess there were VIP ticket holders that got in there or something. Like I said though, our expectations were low, so we weren't very disapointed. Besides, there was so much good shit to see on the show floor that it was impossible to be disapointed!
I'll get to what we found on the showfloor in a second, but first I want to mention what was both the highlight and lowpoint of my day. So, I will admit, I went to NYCC with an agenda. I had business cards made up and I was determined to hand out a bunch to people that were established in the industry already. In a total "shooting for the stars" situation, I set my sights on the Marvel booth because at 1pm, one of my favorite writers Dan Slott would be signing autographs AND sitting next to him would be none other than Joe Quesada, the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Comics and a name that I have been familiar with for 20 years!
The highlight, of course, was actually meeting these 2 gentlemen and having a brief conversation with both of them. It was so awkward and weird though, because I get really nervous around people I admire as much as I do these men. It was still really great to meet them and give each one my own business card. I don't know if anything will ever come out of that, but I'm proud of myself for at least attempting to create a great opportunity.
The lowpoint here was how the Marvel exhibitor crew behaved. They were rude and very dismissive to me and other people. I almost missed my opportunity to meet Dan Slott and Joe Quesada because I was standing in the wrong spot. I picked my spot based on the layout of the booth, and just before Mr. Slott and Mr. Quesada arrived, the last bunch of artists were on stage and they were allowing people to line up to the left of them. So that's where I stood. I tried talking to 3 different people while waiting, and they all brushed me off and NOT ONE OF THEM told me that the NEW artists line started on the other side. They just pretended I wasn't there. It wasn't just me though, there were at least 4 other people behind me that they ignored! Ridiculous. I don't know if they worked for Marvel Comics or were an outside crew hired to do conventions, but either way Marvel should take a look at how their crew treats their fans.
Last two things to mention. Jimmy and I are collectors. I am a big time reader, and so felt as though I was in heaven while wondering between booths that offered all kinds of great comics. I wound up finding the complete series of Marvel Comics Presents: Wolverine for a great price and also X-Force #2, the first appearance of Deadpool in X-Force, as well as 3 trade paperbacks (Avengers: Time Runs Out Vol. 1 & 2, and World War Hulks) all for under $25, and I also found 2 very interesting original trades. Published by an indie publisher called Zenescope, who have created several series of adult themed fairy tale books. I bought Neverland and Wonderland: Down the Rabbit Hole.
Neverland is about "The sinister Pan (who) has found his key to immortality. By feeding off of the souls of children he steals in the night.
Once a magical paradise, Pan reshaped Neverland into the ultimate nightmare for any child unlucky enough to end up there. In fact, only one child has ever been able to escape from Pan's world, and it cost him the life of his little brother as well as his right hand. Now an adult, Nathan Cross, the one they call "Hook" may be the only person who can put a stop to Pan's evil reign."
WOW! Sound really interesting, can't wait to crack that open.
Wonderland is the first in a series. Synopsis says, "What happens when a lost little girl grows up in a world full of madness to become a woman with a family of her own? What happens when that world wants much more from her than her sanity? Struggling with a now shattered psyche, Alice Liddle must prevent the evil of Wonderland from slipping into this world and infecting those closest to her. but that is much easier said than done as Wonderland's reach is more powerful than she could have ever imagined."
I am very excited to read these. I really enjoy a good alternate reality story.
One of the other collections I'm putting together is for a "trophy display". I want to collect icons of famous heroes and villains and display them like the Red Skull does in Old Man Logan. So far I have the Sword of Omens, the Infinity Gauntlet, a flight ring from the Legion of Super Heroes, the idol from the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, a Duff Beer can, Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber, Darth Vader's lightsaber, a baby Groot, all the power rings from every Lantern Corps (Green Lantern ring, Red Lantern Ring, Sinestro Corps ring, Black and White Lantern Corps, etc...), Deadpool's mask, Bud's sword from Kill Bill Part 2 (with the inscription and everything), Indiana Jones' fedora, and now I have added a major piece to the collection. Thor's hammer Mjolnir!
Jimmy and I had a really great time. We're going to record an episode of the Good Shit within the next week or 2 and go into all the details of our experience, so stay tuned for that. Thanks for reading and enjoy the pictures!
OH YEAH I ALMOST FORGOT! I also found a Spider-Man action figure from the Secret Wars line that came out in the early 1980's. This was one of the first action figures I ever had and also my favorite. I lost him a long time ago, but was reunited on Saturday. It was like seeing an old friend.
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