Ryan O, TwoCents Guest ColumnistMy wife and I made New York Comic Con 2009 our first convention.
Before the convention, we took a look at the list of panels and picked out a bunch we'd like to see. We printed out a list of just ones we wanted to see. This was pretty helpful since we didn't have to page through the 100-page official guide to find the room listing for the DC Universe panel. It also let us plan our time a little bit.
We arrived late Friday afternoon and went straight to a panel discussing the latest Batman cartoon, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold." One thing we hadn't expected was how much fun it was to watch a favorite show with like-minded people who were laughing when we were laughing. It made our experience that much more fun.
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Submitted by: Ryan O, Guest TwoCents Columnist
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I made New York Comic Con 2009 our first convention.
Before the convention, we took a look at the list of panels and picked out a bunch we'd like to see. We printed out a list of just ones we wanted to see. This was pretty helpful since we didn't have to page through the 100-page official guide to find the room listing for the DC Universe panel. It also let us plan our time a little bit.
We arrived late Friday afternoon and went straight to a panel discussing the latest Batman cartoon, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold." One thing we hadn't expected was how much fun it was to watch a favorite show with like-minded people who were laughing when we were laughing. It made our experience that much more fun.
From there, we wondered around a little bit, trying to get a feel for the convention layout. We watched a light-saber skill demonstration for a few minutes and then went back to the panel area and attended a panel about visual characterization in comic books. Four artists talked about stuff like drawing the same character at different ages and the challenges that presents, how to draw characters in the same family and make them resemble each other, and how the look of a character evolves over the course of a comic book. We both enjoyed Thom Zahler so much I ended up buying six issues of his book, Love and Capes.
After this, we split up. I hustled down to the DC Nation panel. Among other things, I wanted to hear for myself how Batman RIP and Final Crisis fit together (yeah, Batman isn't dead, never was dead, he's just back in time in Arizona). My wife wandered around a bit more and then got in line for the animated Wonder Woman movie. Even though we got in line 45 minutes in advance, there were hundreds of people in front of us. This was the world premiere of the movie and the show floor had closed for the day, so it was understand that such a long line had formed.
The wait was worth it. We got fair seats with a good view of the screen. The movie was excellent. With voices by Kerri Russel (Wonder Woman), Nathan Fillion (Steve Trevor), and Alfred Molina (Ares), the characters felt real. The movie contained a lot of themes, including an examination of gender roles, the relationship between mother and daughter, and the brutality of war. However, it was not a purely intellectual exercise as the movie contained plenty of "OH YEAH!" moments including decapitations as well as a number of (tasteful) boob jokes.
The next day, we arrived a little later than we wanted to but these things happen. One decision we had made about Saturday was we were going to do it in costume. This past Halloween, we had dressed as Leela and Fry from Futurama. We thought that would be perfect for NYCC. While they aren't complicated costumes (except for Leela's one gigantic eye), we did receive a number of compliments and quite a few people took pictures. We both had a great time with this.
We wandered around the show floor for a while. We stopped by the DC booth and picked up a bunch of free issues, about a dozen mini-buttons, and, most importantly, a Flash ring (Flash keep his uniform in his ring).
My wife had picked out a panel of sci fi and fantasy authors talking about their influences. This was a great panel. The authors ranged from a guy who wrote a book about what the world would be like without the United States to a woman who wrote a book about werewolves being part of society to the point where they had their own radio call-in shows. We were intrigued that many of them had similar influences (Asimov, Bradbury, and Heinlein, for example) but also some very different influences, such as coming from a background of writing magazine articles for Rolling Stone and The Atlantic.
After a bit, it was time to hit the DC Universe panel. This was another panel with a really long line. Long lines are just part of the convention. In fact, we skipped the Robot Chicken panel because we got in line too late. Having at least one other person to hold a place in line or as someone to talk with as you stand in line helps. The DC Nation panel featured, among other notables, comic book super star Geoff Johns, who writes Green Lantern and Justice Society and will be writing Flash: Rebirth starting in April. Again, I really enjoyed being among a crowd of people who felt the same way about things as I did. Cheering for the announcement that In Blackest Night would start in July was something we all did.
We went to a lower key panel on gender and comic books. It covered both how females are treated in comic books and the expectations of male and female readers. There were DC guys – Jamal Igles who draws Supergirl and Jimmy Palmiotti who soon will be writing Powergirl – and independent talent – Abby Denson and Collen Doran. Jamal Igles pointed that women characters can be sexy without being sleazy. He told a story of how when he first took over drawing Supergirl, he showed his wife, mom, and other women in his life a bunch of Supergirl comics that previous artists had done. The verdict was that with a top cropped just under her breasts and a tiny miniskirt, she looked more like a hooker than hero, especially for a character that's only a teenager. So, he lengthened the skirt and even gave her shorts underneath the skirt since his female relatives pointed out that if they were flying around in a skirt, they wouldn't want to flash anyone and that it was especially undignified for a superheroine to flash people.
After an hour's worth of discussion like this, the panel wrapped up and we headed home for the day.
Because of a prior family obligation, my wife couldn't make it on Sunday but my brother-in-law could. So, we arrived shortly after 10 Sunday morning. We encountered the long entry line that my wife and I hadn't because we'd arrived later on both days. It took us 45 minutes to make our way through the line and I ended up missing the panel on Chuck, which was a bit disappointing.
So, we walked around the show floor and hit areas that I didn't visit with my wife including artists alley. Artists alley is where artists have tables set up with sketches and other art they've done for sale. They'll also draw requests. I wish I had planned that a bit better so I was more familiar with what artists would be there and when. We still looked at a lot of comic art from a load of artists.
I went off to the Sunday Conversation with Dan DiDio panel and my brother-in-law went to the Dollhouse panel. The Sunday Conversation panel was simply a conversation between Dan DiDio, who is DC's executive editor, and the fans. We got to express ourselves to the people creating the entertainment we consume – something you don't get to do all that often. We also heard a number of behind-the-scenes stories. One story included an artist sending in art of Wolverine (there were guys from Marvel at this panel, too) naked. When asked about it, the artist just said, "Well, the script didn't mention that he was wearing any clothes."
After that, I got in line for the Fringe screening. As the cast was introduced, the huge cheer for Joshua Jackson took me by surprise. Sure, I watched Dawon's Creek, too, but, still, surprised. However, during the panel, he was at-ease with the fans and the cast and you had the feeling that if he weren't on stage that he would've been in the crowd with us. Jeff Pinkner, an executive producer and writer for the show, shared a number of things with the audience, including that the icon displayed just before the commercial break is part of a code that will be very difficult to break.
One thing about seeing the cast was hearing them talk in their actual accents. It turns out that Anna Torv and John Bishop both have an Australian accent (which I would've known if I'd checked their IMDb pages). Just one of the little things about seeing people actually being themselves.
After that panel wrapped up, I hit the vendor section of the show floor. I made my way through booths set up by comic book shops who had laid out long box after long box of comics and trade paperbacks. I found some great bargains on some recent issues of The Flash I didn't have. Then, the con came to a close.
Tips:
Expect long lines.
Get there early. If you get there well before 10, you should be able to hit the ground running once they open the doors.
Buy your tickets online ahead of time so you can have them mailed to you. This will save you from waiting in just one more line.
You won't be able to see all the panels you want to see. For example, on Sunday afternoon, the Sunday Conversation panel was at the exact same time as the panel on Green Lantern. The convention organizer just explained that's when the people involved and space would permit them to hold both panels. So, be prepared to make choices.
Food at the Javits Center is expensive, probably above MLB park expensive. Water was $3.75 a bottle. But, you can bring your own or you can duck out and then come back in after eating.
There's a lot of good restaurants on 34th Street, which is parallel to the southern end of the Javits Center and is also the street where the subway stop is. There's a lot of nothing on the other cross streets.
Wear comfortable shoes (obviously … )
The next New York Comic Con isn't until October 8 – 10, 2010, so there's plenty of time to prepare for the next one.