PBW: NYComicCon '08

Aging brings change in all of us. Maybe we put on a few extra pounds, or lose some hair. Maybe our skin turns green and our chins wrinkle into four distinct segments. Maybe our ears get long(er) and pointier. It's a rich tapestry. Walking back from the beach at lunch on Tuesday, something happened that's never happened to me before. A young girl hanging around outside a deli stopped me and asked if I could buy her a pack of cigarettes, because she “forgot [her] I.D. at home.” I apologized and said I could not, and as I continued on realized I now look old enough that kids ask me to buy things they cannot and should not be purchasing. Sobering.

Still, looking my age and acting my age are two different things, and I can always rationalize my last trip to ComicCon as a purely journalistic endeavor, seeking interesting material for Photo Blog Wednesday. Rey promised his readers in advance that I'd have photos, so I won't waste much time with words. If B13 can switch gears and have a post with mostly text, then I can try one that's more image intensive. This will be a long one.(”That's what she said!”)



I arrived in Manhattan and was immediately greeted with an Iron Man banner hanging the full height of MSG. Continuing down the street to the convention I saw some amusing irony:



Background: “Come to me all you that labor and are burdened. I will give you rest.”
Foreground: “NO Parking.”



The above desktop-sized image shows the space I spent my first hour waiting for the main floor to open. At least there were the occasional visits from Star Wars® characters to help the time pass.






If you're going to go to a comic book convention in costume, it might be a good idea to find your date before you go inside. This lost lady Robin put her cell phone aside and shouted to the crowd, “Has anyone seen Batman?!” Before I could shout out “I'M Batman!”, some dude in an actual Batman suit waved his own cell phone from the midst of the crowd, and the dynamic duo were reunited.




Is there a Jedi that looks like The Crow? I'm so not up on all the characters from the novels.





These lovely ladies were kind enough to pose for photos in exchange for taking the cards they were giving out and promising to stop by their booth. It was proof that an oasis was near after the ordeal of the line, and at last we were granted entrance into the geek promised land.






I think Rob probably drew that sign himself. A return visit later in the day was definitely in order.






I didn't go in the After Dark Horrorfest 8 Films to Die For booth, but I did see some bodies hanging behind those black curtains when some freaked-out people exited.





The artist working on the floor on a giant Captain America is Eric Maruscak, and I'd return several times throughout the day to check on his progress. But first, I'd see this year's performance by the N.Y. Jedi. Would-be muggers beware...






I don't have many ambitions in life, and I never thought I'd get to see Stan Lee in real life. Again, that part of me that won't grow up kicked in, and I couldn't believe I was in the same room with the guy that narrated Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends when I first started watching Saturday morning cartoons more than two decades ago. The man is an amazing storyteller, and at 85 years of age can still captivate an audience of fans.







I still don't own my own home. I still haven't reached a six figure salary. I don't yet have a wife and kids. But if I died tomorrow, at least I can say I heard Stan shout his trademark phrase. Of course, when I sent my friends a sneak preview of that clip with a subject line like “My work here is done,” Curt would wait a few days before finally opening the attachment then responding that I should be more descriptive because he feared it might be a virus.



Is that REY behind the webslinging anchorman???



A desktop-sized detail of Maruscak's work shows how well the piece is coming along.



What's with all the lucky Batmen? Batgirl a la Yvonne Craig? That's my dream right there. Maybe I need to start dressing up for these things after all.




Not a dream, not a hoax, not an imaginary story, not Kenneth from 30 Rock with Liefeldian proportions. My camera captures the Liefeldness of others.






Click the desktop image above; I found him!








The above desktop image shows how busy the entrance and floor got by the middle of the day. Shortly after taking a break from a high spot and braving the crowd once more, I could swear I saw Fat Momma waiting in line for a pretzel. She was kind of glaring at me each time I looked over my shoulder and began to go for my camera. To be honest, I wasn't sure if it was her or someone in costume, so I played it safe.



Always run when you see Pyramid Head.




“That's not Dark Phoenix; it's a MAN, baby!” Sorry if that sounds mean; I guess I was looking at Emma Frost when I took the picture and was a bit surprised when I got home.



Who knew Princess Leia was with Superman? Who knew Superman was Jared Padalecki?



Maruscak's Cap, nearly complete, looks great!



I don't know why, but the image of the unstoppable Juggernaut wearing a backpack strikes me as particularly hilarious.





I overheard someone telling Static to “keep it real” and come as Luke Cage next year, but I thought his costume was pretty good, definitely up there with the Mr. T I kept seeing. And I think Static's friend Gear is walking by in his civilian identity.



If every Batman had a Batgirl, Pyramid Head would naturally have one of the scary nurses from Silent Hill.




Alpha Flight, X-Men, New Avengers, Weapon X, The New FF, X-Force, and now the Autobots? Is there any team, project, or group that Wolverine hasn't joined?







Alex Ross is AWESOME. Click above for more detail from an amazing mural.



As I finally began my journey home, a sign tempted me with the dates of next year's convention. Mainly, I was just looking forward to getting home and finally off my feet.



I didn't actually try on the Skrull mask I got from the Marvel folks until I got home. I guess I wanted to blend in with normal humans, ironically enough in a place where no one was normal, and everyone was interesting.