NYCC Saturday February 6

Convention Report By: Pugilist

I've been to a lot of conventions and shows and reasonable facsimile thereof but I've not been to the New York Comic Con even though the show is less than three (3) hour drive from my house and could easily be a day-trip followed by a nice dinner at a diner.  I'm hooked on diners, you see, good food, reasonable prices, many of them ethnic in ownership which reflects on their menu.  I had the Greek Sampler in one diner with stuffed grape leaves, a salad, and other items of which I can't remember the names but still get a warm feeling in my stomach remembering the taste.

But the reason I've not attended the Comic con was that I am not that type of geek.  I enjoy comics for their art and stories and interesting take on the female form but I can't tell you who's currently the creative talent behind Batman or Green Lantern or why Marvel is better than whoever or what independent artist or company is setting trends in the industry.  The only thing I know about comic geek culture is what bleeds over into general geek culture. 

Sure, I know the NYCC features a lot more than mere comics but the whole thing was not a priority and, admittedly, I'd had my fill of justifying why Spewgilist.com should get press passes to specialty cons when organizations like GAMA, Gen-Con, Philly Film Fest, and many others are so very accommodating when we make requests.  Time, she is limited, and if I've got to fight for a press pass I am not spending time on things that are both more enjoyable and more productive.

But Stefan Soo Tim, our Editor of Comics and Computer gaming made the suggestion we check it out.  I was OK with a day trip; he wanted to make a weekend out of it.  I made the Press Pass requests, they were only too happy to grant them to our team of four (4), and suddenly I found myself planning a trip to NYC.  I happen to be one those people who love multi-day trips to NYC.  I worked in the city some years back and appreciate the convenience of nearly anything you need on a block.

Short story much too long, we got a late start on Friday night, I was, big surprise, held up at work and as we approached the Lincoln Tunnel I remembered the Coach House Diner, the place I'd haunted when I lived in the area many, many years ago.  So we stopped for a great late dinner and got into the city at the Hotel around 1:00 AM, prepped out stuff for the next day and settled in for a few hours of sleep before braving the then chilly NYC weather.

Saturday was crowded.  No, let me rephrase that, Saturday was a madhouse.  Even in this economy the show was sold out and the aisles were packed and that made our standard "once around" walk an all day affair.  We talked to a few folks, got a couple of great interviews, and saw more interesting takes on costumes than you may have believed possible from the marker on the shirt to the guy with duct tape wrapped around the joints of his sweat suit to standard Halloween costumes to near professional get-ups that would look at home on a movie set. 

But all in all, it was a good day Saturday and I can't say enough good things about the even staff.  From the press pre-reg to the badge pick-up, to the professional’s entrance to the press room it was an easy con to cover.  I'd argue for more seating but that's because I like to do some write-ups at the show while information is still fresh in my head, but, in general, the only thing I can complain about is parking.  Parking costs a kidney and it reminded me why I take the train in normally and why I thought of parking in Jersey and taking the Ferry over but we decided on convenience and $150 in parking and cabs later, we had it. 

Next time, we shall plan better.

Sunday is supposed to be a quieter day and we've got a few folks we want to speak with so it will be interesting to see how the day fleshes out.

Stay tuned, I might write something amusing.

NYCC Sunday February 8

So, Sunday was the last day of the NYCC and since it had been sold out on Friday and Saturday I'd looked for a quieter day and a chance to talk to people I'd seen on Saturday but had no chance to spend time with.  Right up until about 1:00 PM this was a great idea.  Then the kids arrived.

You see Sunday was 12 and under free admission day and around 1:01:38 the place was mobbed with children.  And then it got worse.  But prior to this influx of families who thought it was a wonderful idea to not only stop and block an entire isle but to have the children sit down in the isle while they debated the finer points of pornography in comics, Sunday was enjoyable.

That is probably a bit unfair but reflects my temper the 15th time I was poked in the head by some unwatched child waving his light saber around.  Rather than get upset I retired to the food court area and did some writing and tried to get some candid shots of folks in costume.  It was too crowded for that as well so I stuck to writing which I can do in the middle of a hurricane during an earthquake on an airliner landing in the Hudson.

Once you learn to watch TV with four (4) brothers doing their best to provoke you anything else is a cakewalk.

But I was able to talk to Big Kev of Big Kev's Geek Stuff early on Sunday and that write up will appear in a few days.  I also spoke, briefly with Bryan Deemer from Comic Geek speak and wanted to get by to do a more formal interview but crowds and the like put the kibosh on that so we'll be doing an e-mail Q&A based off of our very brief conversation.  We did get a video interview with the crew at the Neal Adams booth, and don't worry, it's not me doing the interview it's Kim Albert.  You can tell the difference because she is a smokin' hot young woman and I am a cantankerous old man.

All in all though it was a great trip.  My problem with Sunday is typical of the first year covering an event and not a reflection of the con.  Next year we'll structure our schedule appropriately and Sunday will be a relaxing day where we schedule interviews and have people meet us outside the exhibit hall, away from the children.

Also, next year, we'll book our hotel a bit earlier and determine our travel plans with more deliberation.  The parking fees were annoying and while the hotel was fine, I'd've preferred being a bit closer to the convention.  Walking distance would be great, parking in Jersey. leaving the car static for the weekend, and shuttling our stuff over to the walking distance hotel once would be even better, using the money we spent on cabs and parking to upgrade the hotel thus getting a more enjoyable stay that is more convenient. 

Every con is a learning process and what really matters is that the opportunity for interviews and talent discovery is high and the NYCC certainly hits the spot on that one.  So we'll be there next year and I might even, finally, convince Stefan, the Editor of Comics and computer Gaming, to travel light.

Hey, I've got a year and a half, NYCC 2010 is in October, so nearly anything is possible.