Friday, October 7, 2016
I got an early start again for the second day of New York Comic Con 2016, and spent some time walking the con floor. I picked up some goodies and got my first cosplay pic of the day. It’s a good one!
Rey and Lando! They’re both great, but I am living for Lando.
But before too long it was time for my first panel of the day, “How to Succeed in Self Publishing!”
From left to right, the panelists were Justin Jordan, Jimmy Palmiotti, Morgan Rosenblum, Anthony Del Col, and Kelly Phillips. (I’m afraid I don’t know who the fellow on the end is.) (Not pictured is moderator Nat Towsen.)
I didn’t look too closely at the description of this panel before I attended, which resulted in some disappointment on my part. I thought it was the same panel on self-publishing I had attended last year, so I was expecting some participation by self-published prose authors (like me!). But it was all about comics, and mostly about how to self-publish for those with an eye on getting in with one of the major publishers. So, not particularly useful to me, but interesting enough for what it was.
I had to rush a bit to get to my next panel. NYCC has gotten so big that they’ve spread the panels out to other locations. All of the literary panels – the ones I would be most interested in – moved two blocks away, to Hudson Mercantile. Unfortunately, the added time involved in getting there and back meant I only made it to one purely literary panel over my entire three days. It was a good one, though – “Let’s Get Lost: Worldbuilding with YA and Middle Grade Authors.” I got a good seat for this one!
From left to right, that’s Jeff Giles, Danielle Page, James Dashner, Scott Westerfield, and Delia Sherman. (Not pictured is moderator Cristina Arreola.) I confess James Dashner is the only author I had read (he wrote The Maze Runner), but the entire panel was terrific. All five were interesting and engaging, and I got a lot of useful information out of it. I knew I’d have a hard time getting to these off-site panels, but I made an extra effort to get to this one and I’m so glad I did. The topic might be of particular use to me for a project I’m considering for late 2017, after the third Multiverse Mashup book comes out. (Hint, hint…)
I headed down to Artist Alley next, and, as if I didn’t already know, I got a good sense of how big this con has gotten.
So. Many. People. I did some browsing, spent some money, and photographed some cosplayers.
Mystique!
Statue of Liberty Weeping Angel! I only just noticed the severed turtle heads at the feet of Shredder in the background. Genius.
I love a good group costume theme. Here are the Netflix heroes: Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Elektra and Daredevil.
I still had a good chunk of time until my next panel, so I went back up to the show floor for more browsing and spending. And cosplayers!
This sexy Bloodshot was at the Valiant table, as is appropriate.
Every time I went up to the show floor I cruised by the Geeks Out booth, to see who was signing, or if anybody I knew was there. This time around I found artist Max Wittert, who I don’t know but whose webcomic, Jean & Scott, I adore. In fact I adore it so much I bought the collection, and got him to pose for a picture with it.
I knew I would love the book, but I didn’t know it would become my absolute favorite out of everything I bought at the con. Max asked if I’d like a sketch of me in the book, and I said of course because I’m not an idiot. And this was the result.
I think this sketch is the best photo of me that’s ever been taken. I love it so much it hurts. I want to use it as my Tindr profile pic.
No time for swooning over pictures of myself. I had to get to my next panel! It was “Queer Representation in All-Ages and Youth Media.”
From left to right is moderator Jude Biersdorfer, followed by panelists Kat Leyh, Blue Delliquanti, James Tynion IV, and Jeremy Sorese. It was a great panel, and it’s a topic I’m always interested in. I particularly liked hearing from Tynion, his comic The Backstagers, about queer kids finding a community in their high school stage crew (in a magical backstage labyrinth), is fantastic. And as a former queer theater kid myself, it really strikes a chord.
No break before I went right into my next panel, another gay one. I like the gay ones! “Queer Culture: LGBT Presence in Pop Culture.”
Left to right, that’s moderator Jude Biersdorfer (again), David Yost, Dan Avery, Joe Glass, Chun Rosenkranz, and Graham Nolan. This was a lot of fun as well. All the panelists were great but I was mostly there for Yost, the original Blue Power Ranger. He was always my favorite.
After this panel I went to the LGBT meet-up, which was just as excruciating as it was last year. Standing in a room full of strangers and being expected to just go up and talk to them? With no alcohol? Not in my wheelhouse. I left after a few minutes and went back to Artist Alley.
Doctor Fate! Gotta get the Justice Society whenever I find a member – they’re my favorite.
Here’s one I had never seen anyone do before: The Creeper! I love it! I like to credit cosplayers when I can, although that’s made difficult by me always forgetting to ask their names. (It’s always such a rush, you’re already taking up their time with a photo, I’m socially awkward – pick an excuse.) But I got a card from this guy – he’s JB, of JB Entertainingness. Check him out!
There was a lot of love for the new Ghostbusters flick, which made me happy (I really liked it). So I had to grab at least one pic of my favorite, Holtzman. She has Pringles in her pocket.
It had been a very, very, very long day, but I had one last panel: “Your Opinion Sucks! – Rotten Tomatoes Critics vs. Fans.”
At the far left is moderator Matt Atchity, and then I fail you, because I did not get the names of the panelists and none of them are on the NYCC website. I can’t find them online either. Sorry, you will have to go to your grave wondering who these people are. But the panel was a riot, and it was a good way to end a tiring day – with something entertaining and not remotely mentally challenging.
Audience members would come up to the mic, name a movie or TV show, say whether and why they thought it was rotten or fresh, and then a panelist would tell them why they were wrong. The host, Grae Drake, was hysterical, the panelists were quick, and the audience was raucous. I had a great time, even if I had only seen maybe two or three of the movies that were discussed. (I don’t see a lot of movies. I’m a book person.) (And a TV person. But nobody wanted to talk about any TV shows.)
And that was it! I was out and home quite late. Here’s my day two loot!
Good stuff! You can see the aforementioned Jean & Scott collection. I also bought a sonic screwdriver, because I don’t know how I have called myself a Doctor Who fanatic for so long without owning one. (I went with the classic Fourth Doctor’s version.) I picked up a Strong Female Character t-shirt from the Geeks Out booth, and down in Artist Alley I got two books I can’t wait to dive into. One is The Complete Our Valued Customers by Tim Chamberlain. Our Valued Customers is a single-panel webcomic about things people say in comic book shops. You should really read it. You will certainly recognize someone (and maybe yourself). And finally I got How Not to Date by Alexa Cassaro, who does comics for Geeks Out, and whose style is one that really appeals to me, and whose site you should most certainly visit! I was happy to take home a book (and a button!).
Then bed, and up again in the morning for day three! Coming soon…
