From the time you first approach the Javits Center on the day of Comicon, you know you're at the right, delightfully nerdy place. A fake protest greets you at the front doors for troll rights as a marketing attempt to get you interested in a new video game. The comicon is the marriage of marketing and nerdom, and it was a blast, though really overwhelming too. Just look how sacked out this sad clown is who couldn't even make it to the bean bag area to sit down.
After getting our passes and entering the huge main floor, I was immediately met with, guess who?!! – Seth Green!!?I was also met with the insanely long line for Seth Green and gave up on my dreams of our romance and settled for a poached photo of him and this lady. Lines also kept me from meeting Lou Ferrigno and Sid Meier, but I got photos of them too. The man I did get to meet, Jim Steranko, was someone I had never heard of, and for a man with his amazing talents, I didn't even have to wait in a line to get him to sign a spectacular poster of a nudie girl he drew in 1973. You'll be seeing him soon in the style icon section, once Mike fills me in on his other work.
We got there around noon and the room just got more and more crowded as the day went on. I was often the only girl in a sea of over sized black tee shirts. The layout included rows and rows of dealers, lots of whom were selling swords, which more people than you can imagine were contemplating buying. There were also lots of movie, TV, video game displays and tie ins. The most interesting section, though, was Artists Alley, where artists were often sketching and selling their work. One woman (one of the very few women artists in attendance) name Ramona Fradon had a great collection of original sketches of heroes like Plastic Man that she drew back in the sixties. They were amazing to see.
It only took a couple hours for us to reach our limit and head on home. Spending lots of time here is for the real devoted fans, and i have to admit I am a dabbler. It's those fans, the attendees that make the event most special and fun though. Whether dressed up as Mario, Storm Troopers, a creepy banana, Porny Superheros, Gay Porny Superheroes, The Joker, an awesome Zombie from Commerce Bank, or as Princess Leia, these amazing people and their costumes were worth the price of admission alone.
But what do you think?