Comic-Con

I went, but I was coursed! Just kidding, Mike and Angela extended the invite on Thursday because they were buying tickets online and figured that was a good time to invite me. Mike and patience are not a combination that is created on a regular basis. NY Comic-Con, or New York Comic Book Convention, is exactly that, a large gathering of creators and resellers of comic books, related materials, toys, etc, all in one large hall under the Javits Convention Center. And the place was packed.

First a few gripes. This place was the most disorganized mess of an event I have ever been to. Maybe we showed up at opening, but it was apparent during the first few hours of the day that no one had any idea what the hell was going on (paraphrased from Mike). Lines seemed to be forming just to get out of the Center, entrance bracelets were being handed out at random to people who may or may not have had tickets (we did). Finally, the game section (which sucked so badly I didn’t take any pictures) was completely separate from the rest of the show and required an exit and reentrance of the building to find.

The show had many things of mention. First up were huge displays by the big players, Marvel, DC and Dark Horse. Many artists were on hand to autograph comics, although I couldn’t grab anyone to comment on the awful, yet hysterical Japanese Spiderman. Also enjoyable were the large number of resellers specializing in older comics, featuring a ton I had never seen before. Plenty of toy shops were around, providing things like this, and that. Fans filled the ranks with a large number of costumes from various places, including one excellent Marine from Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. Don’t forget clothing. I’m not sure which shirt I like better. I should have bought one…. Japanese manga even made an appearance with a small shop straight from a Japanese company feature books and statuettes. I had a very interesting conversation with an Osakajin who happened to be working at the desk. Still, she couldn’t answer the question as to why most of the Japanese in NYC live in Astoria. The last thing I forget to mention were the Lego statues, Batman and random gargoyle dude #1.

Overall it was a fun day. If I go back tomorrow, which is highly unlikely, who wants a Christ t-shirt?