Fun times at NYCC

I'm mostly recovered from New York Comic Con. It's a fun, big hairy convention that happens to take place in a beautiful city. Getting to walk around the streets of New York is a big part of why I go to the convention - that and the size of artists' alley.

The main exhibit hall at NYCC had the usual suspects - plenty of comics, accessories, toys, and t-shirts - and people came to shop and see the wares in droves. The convention used a new system this year in which you registered your badge and tapped in and out of the convention center as you entered and exited. From what I saw, it barely slowed down traffic and in theory, it helped them keep track of where traffic was congested inside Javits.

It didn't stop the escalators from being packed or the floor being difficult to navigate. You see, crowds at NYCC are different than San Diego. In my experience, they're more physically intrusive and less polite. By intrusive, I mean a fair amount of elbowing and nudging and a little shoving. It stands out because I haven't experienced anything exactly like it at other conventions. Not the end of the world though, just annoying.

Other than making a trip to admire Lola at Marvel and to see a couple of booths and friends, I tried to avoid the main exhibit area. Artists' Alley was the place to be. It was separated - in its own room down a long hall, and it was perfect. Any time I passed through it looked like there were plenty of people browsing and shopping. I'm not impressed with the fact that DC Comics took up space for their signing area, but I don't know how much it impacted other creators.

It felt like everyone in comics was at this show, and it's one of the few big shows with that advantage. Lines to talk to artists and writers were manageable, and every type of art imaginable was on sale. Since I finally put my unframed art away in portfolios, I was able to get some pieces to add to my collection but mostly I just enjoyed looking.

Creative cosplay was on display and I saw my first ever Pushing Daisies costumes - I possibly chased after them:

You never see She-Hulk in her lawyering outfit!

Jill Pantozzi as Rag Doll

I attended three panels over the convention: Star Wars Rebels (panel recap here), The Following, and one about anti-bullying. All of them were interesting, but the one that grabbed me the most was the one focusing on anti-bullying. Chase Masterson's Anti-Bullying Coalition had a booth at NYCC, and the panel brought together a variety of individuals to discuss bullying in general and specifically how it affects geek culture. Panelists such as Ashley Eckstein, Jenna Busch, Chase Masterson, Brad Bell, Bonnie Burton, and others participated in a discussion hosted by Carrie Goldman and it was touching, educational, and had some amusing moments. I wish I would have recorded it so I could provide full coverage, but I'll be keeping an eye on YouTube to see if a video of the panel pops up.

And it wouldn't be a convention if I didn't find some new companies to love. After having nothing to represent my Supernatural fandom for years, I found two things at NYCC: a fabulous necklace from Sparkle Designs (they have so many amazing fandom pendants and charm necklaces) and Impala inspired nail polish from Fandom Cosmetics.

Check out the rest of my photos from NYCC at Flickr!

Up next, GeekGirlCon!