NYCC

New York Comic Con Weekend

October 12, 2017

It was a pretty last minute decision to attend New York Comic-Con last weekend. I mainly attended to see friends and to see the “Psych: The Movie” panel. Once I saw that panel was announced I knew I had to make it work. I only went Saturday and Sunday. It’s just a “short” three hour drive and it’s a pretty easy drive as well. I hopped in the car around 5:30AM and took off up the road. I think I got to NYCC around 8:30, maybe 9AM. I stayed in Jersey to save some money and took the ferry across. My badge had to be picked up at Will Call and it was painless. Granted, I’m sure most people by Saturday already had their badges. But I was in and out, and the same goes for security as well. The lines moved pretty swiftly and bag check was smooth. I didn’t cosplay though so I have no insights on weapons or any cosplay related issues. The first thing I did was head down to the Queue Hall to make sure I was good to go for seeing Psych. There was a decent line but once 10AM rolled around and the convention opened, it didn’t take long to get my badge tapped and to “reserve” my seat. After that I just wandered around! I attended solo which meant I could do whatever I wanted!

One of the first places I stopped was the Sideshow Collectibles booth. I’ve been friends with Susan who works there for awhile now but we never had the chance to meet before! It was really nice to finally catch up with her and talk about Hot Toys and football. Plus the booth had some amazing items on display. I finally saw the Yondu Sixth Scale Figure in person and man, it has to be the best that Hot Toys has put out. I think once I have a few more Reward Points saved up, I’m going to order him. They had a few of the new Ragnarok figures on display too including Hela and Gladiator Hulk. I’m beyond thrilled to see more female figures coming from Hot Toys. Speaking of Sideshow, don’t forget that Spooktacular is just around the corner! Only 11 days to go! If you’re not familiar, Spook features contests, reward points, discounts, and horror related figure announcements! Be sure to follow Sideshow on every form of social media for your chance to win!

The next thing I did was drop off my sketchbook to Brian Level in Artist Alley. I love AA but man, they need to figure something out. I know that the Javits is under construction and space is even more limited than normal, but it was way too small and hot. I normally love just taking my time in AA and checking everything out but it was pretty impossible with the crowds this time around. I really hope that a fire alarm never goes off during NYCC because it’ll end in disaster, no question about it. Anyway, Brian was the only sketch I had done during the weekend and I requested my boi, Pennywise.

Guys, how amazing is this?! If Brian is ever at a convention near you, I highly recommend getting something by him. He really puts his all into every commission he does and is 100% worth the cost. This is my third piece and they just keep getting better. I know he normally does C2E2 but he’s all over the place. Be sure to follow him on Twitter to see where his next show is, or if he’s taking non-con commissions! That was honestly it for Artist Alley. I didn’t even buy any prints, but remember my goal was to spend as little money as possible. The only other things I bought was a little Zero figure from Nightmare Before Christmas and these adorable Baby Groot earrings from RockLove Jewelry.

I mean, RIGHT?! They were super affordable too which is even better. I think in all (not counting food/parking), I only spent maybe $70? That’s very impressive for someone like me who normally makes it rain cash during a convention! So this is me tooting my own horn. Of course, like I mentioned before, the main thing I was there to see was the “Psych: The Movie” panel. I ended up with really great seats and we saw the first twenty minutes of the movie! It was like the show never ended. The fans were singing the theme song, the cast were great. I mean, it was just really special and I’m glad I was able to attend. If you missed the date, the movie will air on USA Network December 7th!

And that really sums it up. I was able to catch dinner with friends, hangout with others during the show. But man, I need that expansion to hurry up and finish. The crowds at NYCC are just out of control. The Javits just can’t handle the amount of people coming and going there. I spent most of the time sitting on the floor against the wall because there’s just not enough seats in areas like the food court. Sunday I tried to use the bathroom three times but each line was just beyond long. I ended up just waiting and using a bathroom at the ferry terminal. I’ve said it before, but I have such a love/hate with this convention. I enjoy the show but I hate the convention center with a fiery passion. I really hope that when the expansion is finished, it helps alleviate some of the crowd issues, and means more room for Artist Alley.

Oh and one more thing, I randomly ran into this guy!

Patrick Warburton is one of those actors where you don’t see them enough in the wild, so you’re not 100% sure it’s him. But then he speaks and you’re like ah, yup! It’s him! He just has that voice. He was super nice and took photos with a good amount of people. Just goes to show, you never know who or where you’ll run into a celeb during a convention! And this photo op cost me nothing!

And My 2015 Conventions Are…

February 24, 2015

Drum roll please…

C2E2 April 24-26th Chicago

I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to this show. I think I’m going on my 4th? Maybe 5th? That just shows you how great of a show it is though. If I was forced to only attend one convention a year, I’d probably pick this one. I’ve talked about it before in numerous posts but it really does have the right mix of comics and entertainment. It’s the prefect size! You can make it into panels. The guests are great. Marvel normally has a booth. It really is a solid convention. I’ll be bringing my USO Hawkeye cosplay with me and hopefully debuting Derby!Widow.

HeroesCon June 19-21st

Deidre and I just booked our hotel and flights for this. Seriously, we talked about it as a “maybe” and then turned around and booked it the same day. It’s always been high on my list but ya know, I only have so much time and money! USO Hawkeye will most likely be in attendance and Derby!Widow for sure.

Baltimore Comic-Con September 25-27th

My local convention! It’s one of my favorites since it’s 99.9% comics. I love wandering around Artist Alley and checking out all the amazing artwork and crafts that are available. The panels they offer are interesting as well, especially since they’ve added more cosplay related panels. The cosplay contest is something that you need to check out too if you ever attend. People always bring their A Game. Plus the kids that enter are adorable.

New York Comic-Con October 8-11th

I have such a love/hate with this convention. The layout of the convention center isn’t the best but I do like the way they have Artist Alley set up in its own wing. Instead of fighting with everyone on the floor to visit artists, you’re just fighting with everyone else in AA! The panels and guests are always great as well. Some panels do fill up quickly though (Women of Marvel as an example) but if you play your cards right, you can normally see everything you want. Last year they started using wrist bands for some of their larger panels and it worked out great I thought! Once again we’re staying on the Jersey side in order to save money. I mean, a $300+ bill is a lot better than $1,000.

Damn, that’s a lot of conventions! But when you have friends to split certain costs with, it’s not that bad. Plus I was able to use some of my Rapid Reward points on my airfare for Heroes. I might even have enough to get my return flight for free but I won’t know for sure until I get my points from my Chicago trip. Whew.

New York Comic-Con: Sunday!

October 21, 2014

Yes, my group only attended NYCC for two days. It was a mix of time and money to be honest. We made the most of it though! After checking out of the hotel we once again made our way to the ferry. While we were waiting for everyone to board I noticed my con friend Dustin was boarding! We waved him down and he took a seat next to Manda and we chatted as we made our way over to NYC. It turns out he was heading to Times Square for a Captain America cosplay shoot! We said our goodbyes and then I headed off to the Javits with my group.

Sunday was all about Sleepy Hollow. This year NYCC started using wristbands and clearing the main panel room. I wasn’t sure what to think at first but it turned out to be pretty great! Once inside the center we headed to the Queue Hall to get our wristbands. It was a very easy and painless process. Each panel had its own row. You just simple found your panel, walked down the chute, and then waited to get your wristband. It maybe took 10-15 minutes if that. They had two people handing them out which moved things along. After that we headed off to check in with Michael in Artist Alley. I was able to pick up my sketch but the other two weren’t finished yet.

I’m honestly trying to remember what else I did before the panel but everything is running together! I met back up with Courtney who was nice enough to pick up the Marvel S.H.I.E.L.D/HYDRA messenger bag for me earlier in the week. Look how awesome it is!

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Then as we were walking through Artist Alley my friend Irma flagged me down. She was going to be calling it a day soon and we had to make sure to get our annual NYCC photo! We’ve been friends for years and since she lives in Sweden, the only chance we get to talk in person is during NYCC. I wish I had more time to hangout with her but we did manage our photo!

She’s an awesome person and has a really great web comic that everyone should read! I think after that I headed up to the floor with Court, but then lost track of her and met back up with Manda and Deidre who had found a spot to people watch and relax for a bit.

And I’ve already messed up my timeline! But it’s my post! Let’s go back to 11AM, that’s when I attended the special Marvel Unlimited Plus panel that’s for Level 7 clearance Agents only. It’s always a nice panel and they showed us some artwork for up coming comics but then, we got to see footage. We got to see an amazing clip for “Agent Carter” which will be coming to ABC in January. Then we saw a little teaser for the new “Guardians of the Galaxy” cartoon which will be hitting DisneyXD.

I’m super excited for it. But then, we got to see footage for “Ant-Man.” It was the same footage we were shown in Hall H during San Diego Comic-Con. It wasn’t anything too exciting but it was nice to see how it looked and see Ant-Man in action. After that though, we hit the jackpot as we were shown a trailer for “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” It was the same trailer from Hall H but being able to see it in a smaller room was amazing. I’ve been wanting to watch it again since July and on Sunday I was able to see it twice! When it finally hits guys, you’re going to flip out. I can’t wait for this movie.

OK, now back to afternoon-ish time. We finally grabbed something to eat in the Food Court and then headed off to get in line for Sleepy Hollow. Myself and Manda needed to use the restroom so Deidre went ahead and got in line. By the time we joined, we couldn’t really spot her but she was our forward Agent and was able to secure us some pretty awesome seats once we were allowed in. It was pretty great not having to waste a day waiting in line or in a room for a panel. As far as the panel goes, we saw the first half of the episode that aired on Monday which was pretty great. I wish it was the entire episode but they wanted time for Q&A. I mean, Orlando Jones needs to speak because he’s an angel and amazing.

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After that we headed back to AA to pick up sketches and then grabbed an Uber and checked out Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. in Times Square. It was amazing! It’s a go at your own pace kind of thing but you get cool ID badges and you have to scan them at the different stations. They have the costumes from the movie on display as well and some really cool stuff to do! You can even control an Iron Man arm! I think it took us about an hour. If you find yourself in the area, check it out for sure. They said no photos which is why well, I have no photos. Then while waiting for another Uber, we ran into Brooklyn and Horse Cop!

He was super awesome and let us pet Brooklyn (who’s from Maryland) and asked us questions about NYCC. We even chatted MCU with him. He was really nice and pretty funny. When we rode off in our ride he even turned around and waved to us. I think he appreciated the fact we were talking to him and not just using him for his horse. Then we took the ferry back to Jersey where we started our drive home. I think we pulled into my driveway around 11:30-Midnight.

And that ended our adventures for the weekend!

New York Comic-Con: Saturday!

October 14, 2014

Saturday was a long day. I hit the road with Manda and Deidre around 5:30AM to make the 3 hour drive up to New York. It’s not a horrible drive, it’s just a bit boring. We kept it fun though by listening to Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol.1, plus doing a few sing alongs to Journey and I can’t remember how many times we heard “Shake It Off.” After driving through the rain, we finally arrived in Jersey where we were staying. Our hotel wasn’t ready yet which means we headed off to the ferry to head over to the Javits Center to get our NYCC started!

The first thing I did was drop my sketchbook off with Michael of Locoduck Studios. I always make sure to swing by and see him and get a sketch if he’s attending the same convention I am. He does some awesome work and has some cute prints available for purchase as well. He was actually super busy but because we’re “regular” customers he made sure to leave time to fit us in! How awesome is that? I didn’t pick up my book until Sunday but figured I’d share the sketch now! It’s Ron Swanson from “Parks and Rec!”

After dropping off our books, my friends went to a panel that was put on by Starz and I went off on my own. I met up with my Team Winter buddies Courtney and Sollie in Artist Alley! We chatted for a bit and then once again everyone went their own ways. Before heading out of AA though I noticed that Gail Simone was at the DC table. There wasn’t really a line which means I hopped over to the table in order to say hello. I tried to make it happen at Baltimore Comic-Con but just never made it. It was great to finally say hello in person!

I finally made my way out of AA and noticed there was an Image panel happening in the same room that Manda and Deidre had run off too earlier in the day. I started to make my way there, as Matt Fraction was scheduled to attend, when I ran into Lauren of Castle Corsetry! I was finally able to thank her in person for my amazing USO Hawkeye that she created for me. We didn’t chat long, as she was being asked for photos left and right but I managed to get a selfie before running off to the panel.

I already wrote about meeting Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarksy here but the panel that happened after was for Disney Infinity. While waiting for the room to clear and the panel to start, we chatted with Agent M of Marvel who told us that they were giving away free toys at the end of the panel. Of course we sat our asses down! If it’s free, it’s me! Our free toy turned out to be a Marvel figure for the Disney Infinity game! I grabbed a Hawkeye (of course) and the other two grabbed Groots.

This was actually the only free swag I picked up during the convention. I didn’t make it onto the floor that often but it’s all good. After taking a break and grabbing something to eat (finally) we all headed off to the Daredevil panel. Marvel was nice enough to put the panel (without footage of course) on Youtube. If you missed it, go check it out! It was really interesting and the footage we saw (4 or 5 clips) has me excited to watch this when it comes out on Netflix next year. I see a 13 hour binge session in my future.

Isn’t Charlie Cox adorable? He’s going to make a great Matt Murdock/Daredevil. That pretty much wrapped up our day. We headed back to the ferry, stopped to pick up some food, and returned to our hotel. That’s where I watched the Orioles drop Game Two of the ALCS but it’s not over until it’s over!

Expect a Sunday article later in the week!

I Finally Met Matt Fraction! And That Chip Guy.

October 13, 2014

Ever since I started reading Hawkeye, I’ve been trying to meet Matt Fraction. It’s not an easy thing to do as the conventions he attends are limited, just like my own. Then if he is at the same convention, there’s always some weird scheduling issue or it’s a ticketed signing. This time the stars aligned and everything came up roses!

I was able to attend the Image panel on Saturday which featured Matt and Chip as guests. Well, Matt was scheduled but Chip crashed because, Chip. The panel was really interesting and I learned a lot about some of the other Image books that I now plan to check out. Of course a lot of questions were about Hawkeye and Sex Criminals. Shocker, right? Some of the stories they shared though were hilarious.

Yup, I managed to snag a front row seat. It’s easy to do when you’re flying solo. As the panel came to an end, fans “rushed” the stage which wasn’t a surprise. I didn’t bring any of his/their books with me because I wasn’t expecting to actually get anything signed. That’s when I asked Fraction to sign my Hawkeye tattoo. He said it was awesome and kept apologizing for signing it horribly.

Personally, I think it looks awesome, and no I won’t be getting it tattooed. Let’s be honest, it wouldn’t look super awesome and I don’t want to mess up my perfect little arrow. I quickly got out of the way though as it was a bit crazy and went to the back of the room to find my friends. We were checking out the next panel that was in the same room. While we were chatting and waiting, we noticed that Fraction and Chip were headed out way and we asked them for a photo. At first Chip didn’t want to join mine but then Fraction said “She’s short! It’ll be funny!” That’s the story of my life to be honest.

And that is how my Saturday became the most awesome Saturday ever. But I’m still annoying I didn’t have my Sex Criminal trade to get signed by them. I know, I’m never satisfied. That’s what she said.