Saturday Means Business, Part 2

As noted earlier, I was cranking with note-taking, meeting great and interesting new people, connecting with others I wanted to connect with and having a great time, compared to the previous couple of days at the New York Comic Con. I should probably lay a lot of the blame at the feet of Tara Johnson, the great and powerful Tarachu herself. If it weren’t for her, I would never have met Jacob Kirton and Tristan Powell, nor discovered their bizarre and incredible project, The Seven Scrolls of Shitorio. (Order it here 7 Scrolls of Shitorio and enjoy it) If I hadn’t visited the Walk on Water booth, I’d likely never have met and learned about Nathaniel Burney and his Illustrated Guide to Law books. (www.lawcomic.net) In addition, I probably wouldn’t have met the many creators behind Mythopoeia’s Skies of Fire comic (www.mythopoeia.us) or the in-your-face fun of Action Johnson. So, I suggest thanking her by showering her with wagonloads of strange Japanese gifts. Or pie. Just tell her it was all her fault.

The day was burning by me fast and I still had some big chats to go. First I had to get to the Action Lab booth and get some info on that up-and-coming publisher. I hoped to have enough time to get back down to the Artist’s Alley area and have a good chat with the guys at FUBAR, another publisher I have a fondness for that I think sometimes gets ignored within the industry. I don’t feel I’m alone in that thought.

Before I left the “small press” aisle and taking my leave of all those mentioned above, I should probably mention that the incredibly talented cosplayer who calls herself HaruVamp was getting her wings attached at the booth, where we exchanged greetings. We’d met before, but I didn’t even recognize her in her wild attire and makeup. Here’s a pic of her and Tara in costume:

 Just remember to duck when she’s coming down the aisle, folks.

Action Lab comics became known to me around three or four years ago when I purchased a single issue comic they had solicited in the Diamond Distributor’s Catalogue, Previews. I honestly don’t recall the name of the book and a search came up empty. All I know it that it wasn’t terrible and kept the name of the company in my memory for later potential purchases. About two years ago, I ordered from their solicitations a title called The Order of Dagonet, amused by the description given in the catalogue. As my comic buying had dropped considerably after DC Comics had given a large portion of their fandom the proverbial middle finger by creating a company-wide “reboot” of their shared universe (and I had given it back by dropping every single one of their titles – with the exception of the few remaining Vertigo series still worth reading), I found myself experimenting by purchasing lots of new comics from independent or small press publishers. Some of them, like The Order of Dagonet, were not only worth every single penny; they were worth telling every reader I could about them, when possible. And with that, suddenly Action Lab was a publisher of note.

Action Lab gained a lot of notoriety with a comic called Princeless, which I do not read. It received a number of nominations for comic awards, winning a few and elevating the company in the eyes of professionals, retailers and probably the distributor. The booth at the con was a large square of comics and toys, as they were sharing their space with a new, popular doll called Vamplets. It was way over on the far side of the main event floor from the rest of the small press or bigger independent publishers, stuck near cheapo replicated weaponry dealers, Japanese toy and anime t-shirt vendors, Dr. Who tchotchke sellers and other esoterica. They had a nice space that was situated fairly prominently on the floor in this area, but who the hell thought that putting them there was a great idea? I said in an earlier column that sometimes the convention organizers aren’t thinking things through and this is another great example.

Still, I had a great time talking with Jeremy Whitley, Action Lab’s listed Marketing Director, as well as writer of a number of series at the company, such as my favorite, The Order of Dagonet. I whined like a shameless fanboy, wondering why there was such a long delay since the last issue I’d received, #3. Sadly, I was told that it was a sales stinker, a problem I’ve discovered with many other comics I claim as favorites. My tastes are extremely eclectic and I’m not ashamed to say it. Still, there is hope that the series can be reasonably concluded, as the next few issues were finished. Someday, hopefully, I can read the remainder, even if it’s online. I heartily recommend you all go out and search for copies. It’s funny, bizarre and doesn’t take itself seriously at all. And the art is just beyond describing.

I also had a lengthy discussion with Jeremy Dale, writer and artist on Skyward, a fantasy series about and adventurous boy and his dog, and a comic for all ages of readers. While we chatted about comics, conventions and the company, Marcus Williams was sketching “con exclusive” art on blank covers of his series from Action Lab, Hero Cats. With that and many other current and upcoming titles falling into the ”all-ages” category, we all had a lot to say about the dearth of comics aimed at, or at least not excluding a younger audience. Both Jeremy’s told me vehemently that DC Comics, in particular, has no interest in publishing comics to a younger reader. It got pretty specific, with me being told that it wasn’t just that the publisher had no interest in attracting younger readers; they were actively excluding that demographic with editorial policies. As a reader and former retailer, I wasn’t blind to it, but hearing that another publisher was told, in pretty frank terms, that the comic company in charge of Superman has no interest in making their characters accessible to young readers or even publishing new comics geared to a younger audience was appalling. (Bear in mind that there are some titles from DC that are geared to young readers, but few are promoted, much less carried by very many retailers.}

Action Lab publishes comics aimed at a more… “mature” reader, as well. They have an entire line called Danger Zone, with successful titles such as Zombie Tramp. Yes, that is correct, Zombie Tramp. Don’t judge, I once bought a two-issue series called Harry Johnson. And it was great.

I really like Action Lab. They’re a really diverse group of folks with some extremely good books to their name. Their website is a little weird and not always updated, but you can at least see the most recent books solicited. Take it from me right now, their soon to be released series called Fight Like a Girl is going to be a sleeper hit. Get in on the ground floor, you won’t be sorry. (www.actionlab.com)

One distressing note to interject here, before continuing my Saturday misadventure. Jeremy Dale, creator of Skyward, passed away unexpectedly about two weeks after returning home from the convention. He was very pleasant and open, a professional like I remember from when I first went to a convention. I was really looking forward to further communication with him, especially in regards to library-based comic conventions. I don’t know details of what happened, as few were released to the press. I’m not even going to go digging around the internet and respect his wife’s wishes in keeping it vague. Some things just don’t need to be known outside of the family. I will post the web address of a GoFundMe for her, as one was put up to help defray hospital costs: Help Kelly Dale

I spent a good portion of time with the guys at Action Lab and it was time to get a bite to eat before traversing the crowds to Artist’s Alley and FUBAR. I headed out, then remembered that an artist friend of mine was a last-minute addition to the con and would be appearing at the Zenescope Publishing booth. Zenescope maintains a reputation in the industry as purveyors of “bad girl” artwork, essentially selling to the lowest common denominator. I hadn’t purchased a Zenescope comic in years, since around the time they first started publishing. It was an interesting limited series set in early China, a far cry from their other product. It was one of many series I’ve bought into that never got finished, due to lagging sales. Either way, in trying to find the Zenescope booth before getting a bite to eat, I bumped into the Avatar Comics booth. Avatar and Bleeding Cool are publishing companions and I’ve found a number of Avatar series of late have been exceptionally good. Another title I really enjoyed, Dan the Unharmable, also vanished from the catalogues and I didn’t know if it had gone on hiatus or otherwise. I found out, but not before running into Max Brooks, writer of the famed Zombie Survival Guide, some novel called World War Z and author of a monthly comic from Avatar. It was the first time I’d met Max, having been a fan of the Survival Guide since its inception. We had a brief chat while he signed some books for another fan (he claimed to be just hanging out, but couldn’t say no to the guy). It was clear he was hoping not to be recognized and was scheduled to be elsewhere, so I said farewell and moved on to the Zenescope booth. O, and Dan the Unharmable? It didn’t sell. Canceled due to low sales. It was getting to be a theme for me.

Franchesco is an artist I met at the Chicago Comic Con some years back, when it wasn’t part of the Wizard*series of conventions but had outgrown itself and moved into a brand new facility on the outskirts of the city, called the Rosemont Convention Center. Feel free to try and date that period of time and enjoy the knowledge you’d get from it, but I’m not giving it away. I met him again after he had sent me a piece of art in the mail, thanking me for a letter I had written to a DC Comic about a Green Lantern character he’d created which appeared in one of the handful of Green Lantern series being published then. In a future A Leaf on the Wind topic, I may discuss my years of letterhacking and how that differs from the power of the interwebs. Franchesco is such a character it’s hard to forget the guy. I may have had some talks with him over the early days of the net, through email or old America Online discussion groups, which are harder to recall than the man himself. My days traveling to Chicago for the con ended when I moved into retailing (another possible topic for the future) and I lost track of a number of people I’d met from those fun, fandom filled days. Facebook allowed me to reconnect with him and see how his art had changed, as well as have fun discussions about comics and the silly comic’s media. At the Zenescope booth I was told he was in Artist’s Alley, so I planned to find him when I headed there. Here’s some Franchesco art to break the page a bit.

After a quick bite at my favorite outdoor vendor, I high-tailed it back into the center to Artist’s Alley, to collect more independent publisher insight from the guys at FUBAR. It was a difficult trek, as the crowds were too large for the narrowed passage to the North Hall of the Javitz Center, causing jams and a very uncomfortable, claustrophobic crush. If you could sweat it out, sometimes quite literally, it was worth it, as was the next hour or two of time I would be spending in the hall.

FUBAR Press is known for one thing: zombie war comics. I had heard of them when their first book was listed in the Previews catalogue, passing on purchasing it partly due to my lack of interest in yet another zombie book (by this time, The Walking Dead – Image Comics, not yet a television show -- had resurrected the venerable zombie horror comic and created a run of imitators) and because I was watching my spending. After it was published I learned that another artist friend of mine had done some work for this first volume of what was to become a series of FUBAR graphic novels. Lonny Chant and I have known each other since the grand old days of being comic nerds at the Friendly Local Comic Shop I eventually worked at when I was in high school. I’d supported his previous works, all small press efforts, and did the same for FUBAR.

Each FUBAR volume is loaded with short stories of zombies in various combat situations. The first book focused on various WW2 campaigns and settings, where zombies are not necessarily the enemy, just a plot device. FUBAR books all have subtitles, such as ‘Empire of the Rising Dead’ or ‘American History Z’, denoting their specific frame of storytelling. The stories run the gamut of funny, serious, gory and downright terrifying. The books are all short and fat, with all of them containing a section at the rear where every artist within can draw a sketch in a framed area next to their name. It’s such a great idea, I don’t know why more publishers don’t do that! At less than 15 bucks a pop, you get incredible bang for your buck, whether you like zombies, war comics, historical fiction or just black and white art.

In brief, I have visited the FUBAR booth, a mock-up of a camouflaged WW2 bivouac tent, every year they (and I) have attended NYCC since 2010. I went there the first time to support Lonny and see what it all was about, getting easily pulled in by the FUBAR guys’ enthusiasm, sense of fun and their willingness to discuss everything about their comics with me. Jeff McComsey has put together one fine little company here, mostly with successful Kickstarter campaigns. Kickstarter has been a model many companies have found succinct success with and I can’t fault FUBAR for staying with it until it no longer works. Feel like checking them out? Sure you do. www.fubar.com will take you to their site, in which you can do all the necessary things. Such as purchase product and tell them that I sent you.

I could go on and on about FUBAR and the great people doing work there, such as Ben Truman, Steve Becker, Shawn Aldridge, Stephen Lindsay, the vastly underrated Lonny Chant and some guy named Chuck Dixon, but I hope you go and discover it yourself.

I was pretty pleased with the information I’d gathered down in Artist’s Alley, but I still needed more games to write about. There was one company I had written down to locate but hadn’t at this point, so I stalked my way back to the main floor to see where it was. On the way, I walked past a tall stack of a boxed game I hadn’t seen before, but recognized from various news blurbs on game sites. Here’s the blurb I wrote for Bleeding Cool, though it never saw print:

Looking For Group is a Canadian web comic series in the fantasy genre, with a humorous flair. Its popularity, as well as with the interest of the series’ creators, Ryan Sohmer and Lar DeSouza, pushed them to develop the comic into a role playing game utilizing the popular Pathfinder rule set from Paizo Publishing. A success through Kickstarter, the Looking For Group Boxed Set was released at this year’s GenCon (the largest North American game convention) and is available at NYCC, as well as a supplemental adventure to go along with the box. If you know nothing about the comic and enjoy role playing new settings, this could be a winner for you. If you are a regular Pathfinder aficionado, you could do no wrong with getting a copy. With new races, spells and feats, you’re going to benefit from the experience. Besides, every game needs a little more humor from time to time. You can also get copies of the printed Looking For Group, so get caught up on this gem while you can. Or visit www.lfgcomic.com and see the newest episodes.

The guys at LFG were a pretty odd and funny group, and I’d hoped to give them at least a small spotlight. Their product is top of the line and geared to a rather large assortment of gamers, so while they may not hit many of their targeted market at the NYCC, there was no reason they should be bypassed.

I soon located where the booth of the game I was looking for and headed directly there. Ziko Games is the name of the company publishing Legends of the Three Kingdoms, a semi-cooperative card game that originated in China. Utilizing the history and mythology of China, it has an interesting premise in the goals of the players, for each has a hidden role that may or may not come out during play. Essentially the role each player has dictates whether or not they should help or harm other players, or which cards they should activate. There is a mat with areas for card placement, allowing only so many of certain types of cards to be active, spurring all sorts of strategies for each and every hand. I watched three attendees play with the person running the booth (whose name I lost since the convention, sadly) until their game ended, which wasn’t all that long. Apparently the game has been very popular in China since its introduction in 2010, and with strong game sales in the US over the past 5 years, it was a certainty for translation. As a single boxed game allowing for up to ten players, it sits in an area all by itself by being small in size and allowing for so many to participate. One expansion is available, and to entice the American market, exclusive single cards are being made specifically for it. The website is www.zikogames.com and the game should be available at FLGS everywhere.

Time was winding down, but I wasn’t done yet. I figured I’d wander through the vendor section where they were selling back issues of comics. From my initial viewpoint, there were a lot less of them than previous years, and many of them didn’t look any different from when I was in New York in 2012. Regardless, I turned the corner from where the Ziko Games booth was, and spotted a rather large Golden Age comics booth (the name of which I’ll withhold for now) that impressed me. I do like seeing old comics from that era and figured being a window shopper wouldn’t be terrible. Besides, I was a little interested in whether or not people were turning out for comics of that era at a show that mostly ignores anything older than six months.

The booth had a vast display of older comics standing face up on the shelves behind the salespeople. A couple of locked cases held some of the more high end, or key issues. They had some very early copies of Action and Detective, where Superman and Batman originated. They had some first appearances of other characters, like Wonder Woman and the Flash. All in all, some extremely historic pieces in their displays. When I asked a woman behind the counter if they were getting any traffic to the booth, she wryly pointed to the other side of where we stood, where a convention staffer stood arguing with one of the booth’s operators. Apparently their booth had been placed nowhere near the other retailers of back issues, or even near the small group of other sellers of Golden Age comics. Considering that, they felt that they had been cheated, or at least been misrepresented at the show, as most shoppers for their goods likely wouldn’t be searching them out exclusively. They had a good point, as most collectors tend to just head for the section that has their comics, buy, and leave. It’s unlikely that they’d pick up the convention booklet to search out specific vendors; it’s just the nature of the collector. I listened to the argument for a little bit, amused at the poor responses from the event staffer. He didn’t see an issue with the positioning of the retailer’s booth; it was on the end of an aisle, after all! I held on to that snippet to see if I could turn it into something worthwhile, but it never gelled the way I wanted. NYCC is too big to give a damn about one vendor, especially someone selling old stuff. And that’s a bloody shame, to be honest.

I wandered around for a while longer, chuckling at the insanity of it all, pleased that I’d had such a productive day with just a pen and handy, dandy notebook. The writers of Bleeding Cool were intending to meet at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund** party held at a pub called Tir Na Nog a few blocks away, and I felt it was a good time to head that way. With no baggage to slow me down, it was absolutely fantastic to be able to walk up to the pub on a cool October evening. Plus? Free beer.

I got to the pub a little early, to decompress and compile a few notes. The CBLDF wasn’t set up as yet, so I ordered a stout from the Founder’s brewery (a particular favorite) and did my work. While sitting there a young woman I’d seen about the show came and plunked herself down next to me, with a few complaints about comic book shows. We then got into a conversation about covering the con for our respective sites (she was covering video games for a rather large entertainment magazine) and how the NYCC was treating press. She hadn’t even been to the press room and was horrified at my description of it, quite possibly adding to her already potent dislike of this particular show. As a female, she finds she gets far too many comments of a shady nature spoken to her, and New York seems to increase to the amount she normally gets. I will admit, she is attractive. She is also Asian, which more than likely adds to the amounts of comments she gets, as she’s covering video games and she said many people thing she’s cosplaying some character from one game or another, regardless of her clothing. Some of her video game writers came out to meet her and I discussed the recent “Gamergate” topic of internet news, where a number of females in the video game community blew some whistles about the misogyny and harassment they’ve dealt with. It wasn’t something I had much information on, so it was interesting to get a more in-depth view of what was happening at the time.

By then the free beer was flowing, with a particularly good beverage called the TNN Ale, an amber ale brewed specifically for the Tir Na Nog pubs in Manhattan. I got to meet a number of excellent artists and writers, such as Cesar Feliciano, artist of the superhero murder mystery Red 10 (www.comixtribe.com/the-red-ten/) and Michael Montenat (http://armhead.carbonmade.com/) as well as finally getting to meet everyone writing for Bleeding Cool. Rich Johnston and I had a brief but interesting conversation regarding the then recent settlement between Marvel/Disney and the Jack Kirby family, which will resonate for years, mark my words.

While I was having a great time talking with everyone and handing out business cards, I couldn’t stay forever, having to catch the last bus to New Jersey. So I bade my goodbyes and headed on out, ready to type up more articles before crashing.

*The Wizard was once one of comic fandom’s most infamous of magazines. Published by the execrable Gareb Shamus, it pandered to the lowest common denominator of fans, as well as pushed the speculator market of the early nineties to such heights you could arguably blame this rag for the current state of comics as a whole. The Wizard is no longer being published, a victim of its own excess, but it is now the name of a series of conventions around the country.

**The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, fondly known as the CBLDF, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the legal defense of persons in the comic book community that do not have the money to do so themselves. Originally based in Northampton, Massachusetts, they are now in New York fighting the good fight against censorship of all sorts. www.cbldf.org is their website, where you can learn all about who’s part of their board of directors, their mission, their successes and how to donate to the cause.

Saturday Means Business

By the time I was awake and ready to leave for the convention on Saturday morning, I’d fully given over to not using the press room as a viable option for completing my tasks for Bleeding Cool. Since my computer would be of no real use to me and my archaic-tech flip phone had all the necessary connections, I opted to pocket anything I really needed with me and go all out basic. You guessed it, the handy, dandy notebook was my preferred device for this day. At least it couldn’t be silenced by lack of power and impossible to maintain wifi! I was also feeling much, much better than the day prior and really needed to step it up for the site. I had nothing scheduled for the entire day, purposefully keeping it free for what is traditionally the busiest of convention days, regardless of city. I had a list of booths and people I wanted to visit and whatever came at me for the length of the day would certainly throw some hiccups in those plans.

I was getting messages from people wondering where my articles were, and as of early Saturday morning, none had appeared. That would change later, but I couldn’t share them to social media with my phone. Luckily, my favorite magician, Jason Azze, discovered the first one to be listed for me, for which I thank him beyond the Facebook. After that, they started to trickle in. I didn’t understand the delay and never got a chance to ask anyone why, but I suppose that’s the nature of the medium now, considering the way this sort of reporting operates.

One of the things I really wanted to do was reconnect with Jacob Kirton and Tristan Powell, and discuss with them their Seven Scrolls of Shitorio in more detail. I flipped through it Friday evening, trying to get a feel for it. I spent a little more time with it before leaving for the city and was blown away by what I saw. THIS was what I loved to discover at shows like NYCC. And I was going to make sure others knew about it. But before doing so, I needed to connect with IDW Games and swing by the Steve Jackson Games booth, which was being sponsored by the Compleat Strategist, one of New York City’s greatest game stores. Steve Jackson was, by far, the most high-profile tabletop game company to be appearing at NYCC this year, and I aimed to see what was up with them. It was also imperative that I talked to someone at the Action Labs booth. Action Labs, a small comic book company that I discovered a few years ago by accident, had published some of the most interesting comics I’d read recently and their growth had me extremely interested. They were being promoted on the NYCC website and catalogue as a premiere exhibitor, which I never did find out the meaning of, but I did know they had a rather large booth, so that may have been one reason.

A pleasant aspect of the Jacob Javitz Center and the unprecedented growth of the New York Comic Con is the versatility of the building itself. There are so many different entrances and exits, it’s become fairly easy for ReedPop to organize designated entrances for specific badge holders. Guest and VIP badges go through one entrance, Press and Professional badges go through another, daily attendees through still another. It makes for better than average crowd control, in most cases. Having had a Pro badge most of the years I’ve attended, I can appreciate that. The first couple of years were a misery, even if you were a vendor on the exhibition floor. I can’t say that NYCC is perfect when it comes to crowds and crowding, but they have improved in ways comparable to the opposable thumb. As more of these types of conventions stray into media blockbusters, signature and photo ops, cosplay shows and hype, as more and more people are finding “geek culture” to be acceptable, attendance is spiking and greed is becoming the norm for event organizers. The recent overcrowding of the Rhode Island Comic Con (RICC Apologizes) and continuing last-minute shuttering of conventions for no real reason (Awesome Con Miwaukee Canceled) proves that fact. NYCC isn’t completely innocent here either. The true reason they wanted to open the convention to all on Thursday was to sell more Thursday individual tickets and claim they had more unique ticket holders than the biggest and oldest comic convention, the San Diego Comic-Con (don’t forget that hyphen, they trademarked it!). I have been toying with running a convention for some time now. I just think it’d be fun to attempt, but the cost layout is daunting. I wouldn’t even try to compete with these guys that have come in and plopped another blowout of a con in Bridgeport (ComicConn) or the monstrosity Connecticon. It was one of the reasons I was so interested in the Library-based Comic Con panel the day beforehand; it may be a way to have an event that’s not so… flashy, yet fun and reminiscent of conventions I enjoyed before being a geek was “cool”.

Anyway, regardless of ticketing or badge, I entered the con enjoying my freedom from baggage and heavy outerwear. The best thing about a pullover hoodie is the ease in which it’s carried after you take it off, if you need to. It’s also toasty warm on cool, overcast days, which this particular Saturday was. Rain was being threatened, and it was scattered on and off when I left New Jersey. The city was still mostly dry, but honestly, I didn’t care. I was in a giant building with hundreds of thousands of other people. The most wet I was going to get was from spittle from a rabid Marvel fanboy, or sweat from Dan the Didiot’s* bald, dull head.

I traveled in a wandering line to the Walk on Water booth, briefly visiting the Momentum Volsk area again, to at least let them know their article had been sent in and to keep an eye out for it, but they were mobbed with people and filming the tables for their website. Cosplay attendance had increased, as expected with standard attendance higher on Saturdays, and I was amused to see some volunteers trying to maneuver cosplayers and picture takers away from areas of ingress/egress. That was new to me and something I’d hoped to see more of. Or, at least, from actual event staff and not the volunteers, who are usually young, inexperienced and unsure of their ability to enforce rules. More on that later, before I get tangential and miss the point of this particular A Leaf on the Wind.

Nothing new or interesting stirred me on the way to the Walk on Water booth. People still staggered around with their noses in their smartphones instead of noticing the things around them, picture takers were clogging up aisles not just wanting photos of cosplayers, but items in booths. Wetaworks, the group that designed most of the creatures and sets for the Peter Jackson-directed Lord of the Rings films (amongst many others) had a huge display of statuettes and replicas, attracting many a lookie-loo. Other outfits had the same, but listing them all isn’t my interest or intent. You want to see them? Buy a ticket to next year’s show. Regardless of how NYCC perceives itself in comparison to the San Diego show, it still doesn’t sell out as fast, or as early. I know that and have never been to San Diego.

Tarachu was being photographed at the booth by some schmoe who thought it was a good idea to sit on the floor to get a good angle when I finally got there. I didn’t want to get in their way, particularly if it was helping to promote the book, but it was my impression he was only interested in the costume, not the reason for it. I could be wrong… but I’m comfortable typing the belief here, so what do you think?

In any event, I bombarded Jacob with questions, needing more information for what I felt could be a good piece on The Seven Scrolls of Shitorio. I spent a goodly amount of time there before letting them free to promote themselves to the masses, and scampered off to the Steve Jackson booth. Calling it a booth is somewhat of a misnomer, it was more of a display with tables to playtest games upon. The actual booth was next to them, that of the Compleat Strategist, selling the Steve Jackson Games product, along with a good selection of other product. I spoke with NAME REDACTED of SJG, who gave me quite a bit of information on their upcoming products, their recently released products being displayed at the show, and some news regarding one of their old games, Car Wars, that I didn’t end up using in the blurb I dropped to Bleeding Cool.

Car Wars was originally printed in 1980, gained a following and has maintained that following even though no new material related to the original game had been released in over 15 years. Car Wars, for the uninitiated, is essentially a game of modified motor vehicle battles, in which you, the driver, try to eliminate all of your opponents in either a set amount of time or in a last man standing situation. Think of it as Death Race 2000 

with a bigger budget and more death. At a game convention, Car Wars is always a draw, if not to play, then at least to watch. Some referees put a lot into the physical appearance of their games, which amps up the fun. Car Wars was originally a chit game, with little cardboard pieces representing your vehicle. Take a look at what some game masters have done to make it even more entertaining:

NAME REDACTED informed me that not only had SJG run a successful campaign to reprint the original boxed game of Car Wars (which is out now – get it here! Car Wars), the company had rehired game creator Chad Irby to produce new Car Wars product. When it comes to games, everything old is new again.

From there I moved on to the IDW booth, to finally talk games. I was on a roll and really starting to enjoy myself. It was finally getting fun for me, low tech and all. I noticed that the stack of games that was displayed on Thursday was significantly diminished and that two of the games were open for playtest. I waited until there was a free staffer, looking over the details of a game called Tammany Hall, which looked like it was right up my alley. When the staffer was free, I found myself talking with Nate Murray, the IDW Games guy I’d corresponded with previously. We had a great conversation of IDW, their Publisher-in-Chief, the games they’re planning and what they’re doing differently from other game companies. It was a fruitful talk and became yet another update for Bleeding Cool.

After parting with Nate, I realized I had a couple of more questions to clarify some points with Jacob Kirton and returned to the Walk on Water booth. He was being interviewed by someone with a video camera, so I waited while he finished his interview. While doing so, I began to really notice his neighbors. Here’s a quick list of the people and things I discovered there, because the article they all landed it was never run by Bleeding Cool.

Nathaniel Burney is a lawyer. He started writing a blog for lawyers until he realized if he wrote it with the general public in mind, he’d find a larger readership. Turning it from blog to web comic, he started to explain various parts of law to the layman, in a straightforward and sometimes comedic manner. It was an instant hit, and in January of 2012, less than two months after his comic debuted, he was contacted by the Jones McClure Publishing group to get the comic into book form. The Illustrated Guide to Law: Criminal Procedure was the first in the graphic series, with Criminal Procedure II following. The next in the series is Constitutional Law, due out soon, and even more are being prepared further down the line.

I had to laugh at the whole concept of it, but it really, really works. The drawings are cartoony and add more amusement factor to the whole strip, making it one of the more curious books I found at the show. As we talked, I discovered I wasn’t the only one to mention Trademark and Copyright law to him as a topic for a book, or a portion of one. With so many different fights over comics and comic creations making headlines, I hope he does consider it. Of course, the best part of my chat at his table was when a couple came by and the blonde woman in the business attire grabbed each of the books in an excited manner. She was a lawyer and when a friend had told her of the series, she had to have them. Her boyfriend was the comic fan, but the excitement this woman had in finding something that was hers and hers alone within a shared medium was fun to witness.

The Illustrated Guide to Law can be read at www.lawcomic.net, or you can purchase the books through Amazon or better bookstores. I mean, we have the Illustrated Guide to the Universe and the Illustrated Guide to History, so why not Law as well? Litigiousness is the right of all good, red-blooded Americans.

Next to the Walk on Water booth was the Mythopoeia booth, housing the creators of the beautiful Skies of Fire first issue, which had been a successful Kickstarter campaign and focus column before NYCC on the Bleeding Cool website. I spoke to Ray Chou and Vincenzo Ferriero about their book after noticing another book sitting on their table, a special NYCC edition of a book called Action Johnson. I mean, with a title like that, how could I not take notice? Unfortunately, Nic Shaw, writer of the book, wasn’t at the table at the time, so I instead took a look at Skies of Fire, which I’d heard about but knew little of. It’s a phenomenally gorgeous comic, in a non-traditional size that I find appealing. It’s not quite magazine sized, but it’s not quite exactly the size of a Golden Age** comic, either. Want to check it out? You should. Their website is www.mythopoeia.us and you can immerse yourself into something other than the title to the new Star Wars film for a bit.

I told the guys I’d try and meet up with Nic Shaw before the end of the show and work Action Johnson into my small press column, got the needed answers from the questions I had to ask Jacob and headed to the Action Lab booth. The day was already getting late and I still needed more info for the article, and that’s when I remembered FUBAR.

To be continued…

*Dan Didio, aka the Didiot, is co-publisher of DC Comics. With his regime, I’ve seen creators bashed, blacklisted and driven away from what was once my favorite comics’ publisher. I’ve seen fan-favorite characters killed, series ended, editorial policies shift in the most inane and juvenile way and witnessed, in person, his lying mouth in action. He is the worst “editor” currently on the job.

**The Golden Age of comics is an era of varying years, generally running from the late 1930’s to about 1952. Precise dates differ from historian to historian, and which advent to which advent. Comic sizes of this era were larger (imagine that), running roughly 7 and 1/4th" x 10 and 3/8th" compared to today’s “Modern” comic, which is essentially 6 and 7/8th" x 10 and 1/2". Sigh.

Press on Friday

I woke on Friday after a particularly sleepless night and grabbed a quick bite before hoofing it out quickly for the bus ride to the city. I borrowed a power strip from my friend before leaving (thanks again, Gail) thinking that maybe, just maybe I could get some work done in the press room this time.

My shoulder and back were already sore from hauling around my computer all day prior but I was thinking that with the frequent breaks off my feet this day it wouldn’t be an issue. I had a meeting scheduled with Miya Sohoza of the Rare Elements Foundry at the McDonald’s a block away from the Javitz Center fairly early, in which I was going to learn a little about the product she had created for games, and what she planned for the future. I grabbed a giant coffee from the extremely busy McD’s crew and sat down to wait, while also watching for any fellow Bleeding Cool writers. I didn’t see any of them, but I certainly saw a large proportion of convention attendees flowing through before hitting the as-yet-to-open exhibition hall.

Once Miya arrived and we got down to brass tacks, she showed me some of the wonderful coins she’s having minted as part of the Rare Elements product line and we talked for nearly two hours, giving me a wealth of information that I hoped to turn into a good write-up for Bleeding Cool.  I was surprised to discover she had also been to this year’s GaryCon (mentioned in the last A Leaf on the Wind, i.e. the coolest game convention yet) and I didn’t notice until my memory began to wake up. I didn’t see the stuff at GaryCon, but it is quality work and more people should be aware of it. In fact, do yourself a favor and stop by the website, www.rareelementsfoundry.com and see for yourself. Here are some pics to motivate you.

Miya and I separated before heading into the con. I had been getting text messages all morning from my friend John Amenta, who was heading in from Connecticut to get his geek on, and my mum, the beautiful and amazing Tara Johnson, known to most as Tarachu! And don’t you forget it. She was appearing as a “booth babe”, or a “booth bunny” in my nomenclature, for a friend who had a new anime-styled product out. She was appearing in costume of one of the characters and I figured I’d swing by the booth to see what this thing was.

Since I didn’t get into the con at opening, I didn’t get to see exactly how long any of the wait lines were. I imagine they were pretty deep, as my vantage point from the top of the stairs to the main entrance showed a massive glut of con attendees at their specified entry point. Anyone trying to get through that way to the North Hall of Artist’s Alley was in for a long trek of crowd surfing, or in the esteemed words of my friend Bob McCallister, “Toy Show Etiquette”.

[An explanation: Toy Show Etiquette is essentially used to describe the way certain convention attendees would bump into you, sometimes on purpose, and not excuse themselves. Or just rudely bash their way through to get to the ‘good stuff’. It tends to work as a name for just about any large convention where people bottle up and shove their way through.]

I stumbled around a bit, making a few more notes and writing down “overheard at the con” lines from people. And then I began to feel unwell. Was it the beer from the night before? Was it the food? Was I already getting hit with the dreaded Con Crud that seems to infect large scale conventions? Or was it the fact I had two giant coffees at McDonald’s on top of the two Vivarin tablets I took at the bus stop? (There was a booth handing them out at the show all weekend). I mean, who gets sick from caffeine, right? Well hey, it can’t be that, must be something else. So, it’s time for a go-to home remedy: Coca-Cola! Woo! Feel that sweat pour off me as I move around the multiplying cosplayers standing and waiting for photos to be taken! See me cringe in growing irritation at the stumbling, shambling mouth breathers that look like tourists on their first trip! Watch as I push through the sweat and oogly haze of blechh as I try to regain myself in my almost loud shirt!

Anyway, I met up with Mr. Amenta and his friend Lou Federico in the Artist’s Alley section, shooting the shee yite while passing judgement on various creators, companies and comic stores. Just like any decent comic book fan is wont to do! By the way, Jim Calafiore is still a fantastic artist and person, Atomic Robo from Red 5 Comics (www.red5comics.com) is still one of the best, most overlooked comic books on the market and Kevin McGuire still draws the most expressive faces seen in comics. Go ahead, tell me otherwise! I dare you!

After abandoning John and Lou to Alex Maleevemealone, I staggered through the costumes, the swinging bags, the poor kids nearly being trampled by the ignoring crowds, the lackadaisical event staff and the overwhelmed convention volunteers, headed for the Walk on Water booth, where me lovely mum was at. I had some time before the panel I had signed up to cover was scheduled, so it worked out well, regardless of my increasing wooziness. The booth was smack dab in the center of what I like to call the “small press” area, because it holds the most concentrated amount of small press publishers at the show.

Before I continue, I’ll say this for the NYCC organizational staff, at least as far as how they lay out the even floor: it makes no bloody sense. It never really has. At the main entrance, you get the biggest, most prominent booths for those that want to pay the price for it, as is standard. This could be comic book publishers, toy companies, movie promo booths, video game companies or anything else that fits. Geico* wants a giant motorhome near the main entrance? Bill ‘em! Steve Geppi** wants a huge area to promote his comics museum? Have him pay up! But when it comes to the rest of the show, other than Artist’s Alley, it makes no sense. Why is there a booth selling flasks in the shape of old Nintendo cartridges right next to a booth promoting some low-budget horror movie? Why is there a girl at a booth dancing on a stripper pole near one selling comics for a younger audience? Why is one game manufacturer at the furthest end of the show from another? Why are all the small press guys not in one section? Mindboggling to be sure, and something I’ll come back to regarding Saturday’s adventure.

I spotted Tarachu in her interesting costume at the booth and we shared a fun greeting and chat while people took pictures of her next to the life-sized standup of the main characters of the book Walk on Water was promoting, The Seven Scrolls of Shitorio. Tara introduced me to the artist on the book, her friend Tristan Powell, who explained a little of the book to me. The concept still eluded me, an anime-inspired novel with art. Tristan designed the character Tara was modeling at the booth, the lightly attired Katora. Here’s a pic of us together: 

You can’t tell, but I was feeling more and more horrid prior to this pic being shot. I also look fat. Regardless, I spoke briefly with Jacob “J.J.” Kirten, writer of the book, and before I took my leave, he and Tristan gave me a copy. I still had no idea how I’d turn what they were doing into an article, but inspiration was just a nap away.

I figured a sit-down would do me good, as well as some time spent on the computer. I headed to the press room and discovered every plug in use. I was going to offer up the power strip when I realized I had only an hour before the Library-Based Comics Conventions panel was to begin, so I opted to try later. I rinsed the sweat off my head in the tiny men’s room (I’ve opted out of telling the tale of the bathrooms of this area… I’d rather forget it, myself) and went back to rest and brainstorm in the press room. Seats were at a premium and I had a couple of nice chats with folks there, learning that my problems with the room were the norm for everyone. I was told the year prior, there was a whole row of computers for use, as well as outlets for everyone. Go figure. I tried to take a quick 15 minute nap to shake off the woozy, but that didn’t work out. Some of the others told me I looked under the weather, which didn’t help me. I couldn’t sit for long, though. I felt better when moving about and figured a good long walk to the panel would do well for me. And it did. On the way there, a tiny convention volunteer was rushing through with a fellow volunteer and smashed her face into my upper arm. She didn’t look too well and I apologized, even though she was the one that walked into me, but they just kept walking to wherever they had to be. And if she thought my arm was like hitting a brick wall, she should be glad she didn’t hit the other side, where the computer was slung. Yow.

I located the panel area, which was closed at the time I got there, so I sat outside with the five or six others that were interested in it. We all were joking about how few people we assumed would be in there while we discussed the con, the crowd and other such inanities. While sitting there, a younger couple came down to the end of the corridor that we were at and he started helping her out of her clothes. She was dressed as the DC Comics character Zatanna under her street clothes and he just knelt down and started stripping her. Surreal. Good costume, though. Many that try and do Zatanna miss something here or there and it looks… less. Here’s a recent a good image of Zatanna next to a decent cosplay of her.

The panel was about to start, but not in the room we were led to believe. It was setting up in the room next door, for some reason not explained by the volunteer manning the door. And if it wasn’t for one intrepid person, those of us sitting and waiting would have been left to sit and wait. Lovely.

The room for this panel was in one of the smallest designated for them, yet still seemed larger than I expected. I’d been to the larger panel area in previous conventions (some with disasterous and aggravating occurances) where the lines are structured with switchback ropes, as if in a bank. I call it herding, you can wall it waiting. The fellows running the panel seemed to be out of sorts for a few minutes, giving me time to get out my pocket recorder – which died on me two minutes into the talk. I must have put the dead batteries back into the thing when I was checking them, but what the hell? They shouldn’t have worked at all if they were the dead ones.

Back to the handy, dandy notebook. Sometimes, low tech is just the best tech.

The panel ended rather quickly, it seemed to me, and was much better attended than I expected. It was likely some of the people were riding through it to get to the next scheduled one, but I’d heard everyone was being asked to vacate before entering again. I wonder if that was true for all of the panels or just those deemed “hot”. I grabbed the offered handouts on the program and you’ll likely be hearing more about this from me in the future. Let’s just say I’ve already approached my local library to see if they’d be interested in such an event.

After this it gets a little hazy. I know I went outside to see if a bite to eat would help my woozy, but even my favored food cart couldn’t help. In fact, it was extremely difficult to get anything down. I tried to walk it off a bit more, texted a few “cheers, I’m outta here” and headed back to the crash pad.

I typed up a couple of quick articles for the site and sent them off. And then, down for the count.

*Geico actually did have a huge motorhome set up near the main entrance. I still don’t know what the hell they were trying to do.

** Steve Geppi is the president of the only comic book distributor left in the country, Diamond Comics Distributors. Regardless of what you may think, the Department of Justice deemed that NOT to be a monopoly after a three year investigation. He also runs a museum of comics, comic art and merchandise in the Baltimore, Maryland area. No, I’m not linking to it.

What “Press” Really Means at NYCC, Continued

Thursday, October 9^th of 2014, at noon, the Jacob Javitz Center opened the exhibition floor to all badge holders. As I tend to do when I attend conventions, I walked the entire floor, searching for the booths I wanted to visit over the weekend and notating discoveries as I went.

For those that don’t know, the NYCC has inhabited the entirety of the Javitz Center for some years now, having expanded so much, so fast. 2014 is probably only one of two years that I recall there to be no construction work being done to any part of the building. So, when I say it was filling the entirety of the Center, I should stress the fact that it was the maximum possible amount of floor space. I walked the main exhibition floor, went below to the see the layout of the rooms for panels, looked at the massive hall where signings were being held (and promptly chose to not go back in there, considering the already growing lines of people wanting their scribble from various film and television actors), then moved on down to Artist’s Alley, the most distant section of NYCC. When it was placed in this, the North Hall, back in 2012, I thought it to be somewhat of a mistake. The passage that leads to it becomes a bottleneck of people on the busier days and that fact still seems to be largely ignored by convention staffers or security. Regardless of where it sits, it still seems to draw a good amount of attendees, which is great for the large contingent of comic creators down in this hall.

I remained in Artist’s Alley for some time, visiting with old friend Stuart Moore (former editor of many Vertigo titles from DC (amongst others), myriad Marvel series and writer of a number of independent books, including the current Image Comics series, EGOs) for a time, then walking through the area until stumbling onto the booth of fellow Connecticut resident Dave Wenzel (best known for his incredible art on the graphic depiction of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, originally published by First Comics, now by Harper Collins). I had meant to meet up with his son Chris, who I had worked with some time back, and was pleased to learn he’d be attending. It was a fun reunion, as we chatted everything comics, art and bad work history. It was nice to see Dave again too, as well as his phenomenal artwork and the interest his booth was getting even on a Thursday afternoon.

After my layover at the Wenzel booth, I moved on through the rest of Artist’s Alley, perusing some of the art and particularly noticing the sheer amount of people I didn’t know, or in some cases, were uninterested in. Since I’m no longer reading and DC or Marvel titles, unless you’re a known commodity for me from when I was reading, like a Jim Calafiore or a Matt Clark, you likely don’t do it for me. Now, the independent writers, artists and publishers, that’s where the story is at.

I left the North Hall, considering my next move. I had a meeting set up at a booth called DODOcase, one of the few email notifications I answered to focus one of my stories on. The booth was on the opposite side of the Javitz from where I was, so I took the quickest route I discovered that avoids the main entrance where the regular attendees entered. That brought me past the signing hall again, and I peeked in to see if maybe it was worth it to try and get near the Shat, Gillian Anderson or Karl Urban. That was my last look for the weekend. I put that thought to bed; standing in line for a signature wasn’t a good way to spend my time.

When I got back to the main exhibition hall, I began to realize a series of short articles I could do for the Bleeding Cool site that would be somewhat amusing and of interest, and it could easily start with the DODOcase snippet, if I could find the damned booth. Either I walked past it three or four times or I had the booth number down incorrectly, I don’t know. I saw an information kiosk with a couple of extremely young volunteers manning it. As I approached, someone was making a complaint to them that amused me with its silliness, as well as to whom it was being addressed. Could two volunteers really do anything about the amount of cosplayers stopping in front of the guy’s booth for photo ops? I ignored it and grabbed a convention booklet, the first I’d seen of them to that point. I quickly looked up where the booth was and thanked the girl who thought I needed more help (more likely wanted to stop talking to the other guy) and headed for the booth.

DODOcase was sharing a booth with a group called Jauntvr. Both of them were showing off various virtual reality programs or mechanisms in which to view these VR matrices. DODOcase in particular was selling a cardboard attachment to your smartphone that would enhance the ability to view a downloaded VR capture on your particular phone. Jauntvr was actually making the programs that you could view, though they both claimed to be doing both works, the 3D image capturing and viewing attachments. Jauntvr had a 3D camera set up to show how they film the content you could view, which was certainly interesting. The DODOcase component was a silly little thing, but it did make seeing the whole of the VR much easier. When asked if I wanted to purchase one, I had to laugh and show them my lovely Samsung flip phone, which really isn’t capable of doing such things. In fact, the only real thing it was more than capable of, compared to anyone with a touchscreen phone at the show, was connecting to a tower. I could make a call or internet connection when no one else could. Go me.

This brief chat with the makers of high technology spurred me to start thinking of other topics related to the fact I was relatively tech-simple. How does a convention attendee with low tech deal with an event that covers so many high-tech contraptions, programs, applications or plug-ins? As I walked around a bit more, partly in search of the Press Room and partly really noticing the sheer amount of tech-inspired booths, I frantically scribbled into my notebook – a real, paper notebook – occasionally having to stop to keep from bumping some slow moving schmoe or another.

I then realized I needed food. I hadn’t eaten a whole lot since leaving the house and a shot from my flask wasn’t going to sustain me. The ridiculously expensive food court was already mobbed with hungry convention people and I knew from previous experience that the outdoor carts were handily speedier than anything within the center. Plus, a shot of open air wouldn’t be a bad thing. It was a nice day and I was already sweating under my hemp fedora. I exited the main entrance and it was then I noticed all the hubbub that kept people outside interested. A tent for the Black Sails television show. The Walking Dead camper had returned. Cosplayers galore. Other shows of note to someone, but not me. Yes, the ReedPop group definitely decided to use as much of the Javitz property as they could. But, it didn’t spark any interest from me and I wanted a red hot. I passed through the main gate and the extremely pleasant RFID ticket checkers (would they still be so pleasant on Sunday?) and high tailed it across 11^th Ave  to the first food vendor without a line. I had considered heading up the two blocks to Twins Pub, but I wanted something cheap and quick before I burned up the rest of my day. A quick chow of a red hot and mustard while chatting with a couple of local guys attending the show started to ease my fastidiously skeptical mind of how the weekend would go. For a small bit.

I returned to the building to locate the Press Room and work up the first of two articles I had plotted in my head for Bleeding Cool. I figured two more that I could finish that night and send off would be a good start to the con, as Friday was going to be my busiest when it came to writing and scheduled events. I had thought to swing by the Star Trek: Equinox panel just to see what that was about, but it didn’t interest me enough to motivate me to sit in on a panel, much less one I wouldn’t be writing about. What is it about, you ask? I’m not entirely sure. Some non-canon Star Trek tale based off a two-part Star Trek: Voyager episode. Take that for what it’s worth. In any event, it didn’t come to pass and I did locate the Press Room, at the apex of the Javitz center, where, in previous conventions, the area housed Artist’s Alley and other such things. It was guarded, as only Press and Professionals were allowed in, free of the push of the masses and crush of the mob. Here there was a sitting area, with tables and chairs for everyone, a couple of vendors, a VIP section walled off for those that were allowed beyond the partition, and the “Press Room”, a similarly walled off area.

Let’s talk of the “Press Room”. It was a rather cramped section of the hall it was in, walled off by curtains and partition poles. There were a number of round tables with chairs, two rectangular tables with one computer each, a water dispenser and not one single outlet to be seen. Yes, that is correct. I sat down, looked around for somewhere to plug in and realized it probably wasn’t going to happen. I made a few quick checks on my phone, wrote out some notes, and grabbed a drink and a nice rest for my already sweating feet. Some guy came up behind me, reached under a table covered with promo material and yanked out a single cord with a single outlet. He plugged in and said that anyone with a power strip was going to be a popular person that weekend. I asked him if that was the only outlet, and he said as much, with a wry grin. And then he cursed as the WiFi died on him. Both of these things would be the bane of the Press Room the entire con: bad or limited WiFi connections and no outlets for those of us who brought our own computers. The fact that there was a pair of computers for use was not a surprise to me; most press areas have something for the writers to use, as is the norm. Considering the sheer amount of press badges handed out, you’d think that there would be more for use. Well, a knowledgeable person would think so.

To say that I was mildly put out would be accurate. In fact, this is what I looked like after the second attempt at using the room:

In essence, I gave up on any real hope of using the press room to my advantage. I noticed that there were numerous Bleeding Cool contributors making all sorts of complaints and suggestions in my email to get around this issue, but there wasn’t anything helpful in there. Sad, too. I pressed on, taking notes and talking to great people for a larger article I’d planned on, such as Kim and Tom Hutchinson from Big Dog Ink, who had just recently signed a deal to become an imprint of Aspen Comics, a boon for BDI, their comics (www.bigdogink.com) and their company. I went looking for the Star Trek: Equinox booth to learn a little more about that proposed series and got lodged in a crowd waiting to get signatures from some woman I didn’t know. She must have been an actress or model of some note, considering the glut of people waiting for her in the aisle they clogged up, which was hopefully a boon to the booths nearby. In my attempt to escape the jam of people, I discovered one of those things I planned to cover over the weekend: a game, and one I didn’t have on my itinerary. The game is called Castle Assault and pits two players against each other in an attempt to conquer (each others) castle. It’s primarily a card game, played on a mat with terrain modifiers that affect play. While I watched the game being played by a full table, a rather lovely woman approached me to tell me about the game itself. One of a number of “booth bunnies”, she was versed enough in the basics of when, where and how to get the game, but not in the detailed questions I asked. She brought over to me Andrew Giaume, Marketing Director for the company behind the game, Momentum Volsk. He answered all my questions with quite a bit of enthusiasm while also directing some games for players. If you find yourself interested in games of this nature, Momentum Volsk is doing a Kickstarter campaign on their website, www.momentumvolsk.com, where you can get in on the ground floor of this new product. I took extensive notes, watched a little more of the games being played and hoped to get back to the tables at some point to actually sit down and play a game. 

It was then that I realized I may have to take a much slower pace through the exhibition floor. I figured I walked past the Momentum Volsk booth three times without noticing that they were a game company, one of the primary reasons I signed up to do articles for Bleeding Cool. Somehow they fell through the cracks, which happens frequently at large cons like NYCC. Exhibitors may sign up late and don’t get listed in the catalogue, others drop out at the last minute, and still others don’t show up on a website specific search. So, after taking a quick break off to the side to compile notes and receive some text messages (Mark Smylie, where are you?), I strode through the aisles a little more slowly, taking care to pinpoint areas of interest and jot them in my handy, dandy notebook.

I noticed a number of things that first day. Many, many, many of the booths were significantly geared towards the cosplayer, whether as a hobby or as a lark. Simple garb from cloth ears to t-shirts to wristbands that spoke of particular characters of anime, television, movies or comics were evident at booths that didn’t necessarily cater to cosplayers. Other, more detailed and expensive items were available for the true hobbyist or costume wearer. McCall’s, a well-known maker of [clothing plans – FIX] had a busy booth that was covered by a number of reporters from various media. Other booths had foam core weaponry for the anime or manga costume, light sabers for the Star Wars aficionado or leather boots and vests for those that think Steampunk is cool. In fact, I don’t think there was a single aisle outside of Artist’s Alley that didn’t have some form of cosplay booth on it. The basic fact is, cosplay is in, it’s big money and it’s not going away any time soon. Love it or hate it, it’s here and it’s a massive portion of the convention attendance.

For those of you that don’t know, cosplay is the amalgam of Costume Play. Generally, it originated in Japan, where cosplayers didn’t just show up at conventions in their outfits, but did it for their own reasons, of which there are many and don’t pertain to this. Go read about it on Wikipedia if you’re so inclined. While people have almost always shown up in costume at comic conventions, it was never the abundance that occurs now and it never really had a name to it. Now it’s all COSPLAY, whether or not there’s much ‘play’ in it. This is a YouTube vid of people at NYCC in costume, for your viewing pleasure: NYCC Cosplayers

And just to annoy some of you, this is a pic of what Steampunk is, because some people still don’t understand it.

And this is Cyberpunk, because that’s much cooler and most people that are cosplaying are really, in effect, just posergangs without the firepower. And if you don’t get that reference, you’re on your own. 

I walked the rest of the convention, taking great care to visit the IDW Comics booth. IDW, who has recently gotten into games, were showing some of them off at the convention, one of which was making its debut. The booth was pretty busy at the time I stopped by and didn’t have anyone near the game section, so I looked at the different games displayed and decided to swing by at a later time. IDW is one of my favorite indie comic companies, producing some extremely good product. I had spoken to one of their game minions earlier in the year about another event (plug for the great and powerful GaryCon – www.garycon.com for those curious) and have become extremely curious about their foray into games. 

Perusing the rest of the con and taking more notes about various things, I started to concern myself with heading to where I was staying and the time it took to get there. Since I wasn’t staying in the city, I had to find my way to the Port Authority bus station and shuttle to New Jersey. I was beat, wanted to write up my first few articles and get a good start on Friday, so I opted to leave a little earlier than I would have, normally. Since I wasn’t going to be staying to see the later premiere of the Constantine television program, that was fine by me. As the Port Authority is only a few blocks away from the Javitz Center, I walked on up to it and decided to sit a spell at Heartland Brewery, which has a location right in the PA. Apparently a guy with two bags walking into a place like that on a busy Thursday night is no surprise, and I found myself at the furthest reaches of the bar, having a few good brews with a couple of folks from Texas, on their way to Albany for a wedding. From there I hopped my bus, drained half my flask and wrote up a pair of articles after getting to my crash pad for the weekend (hi Gail!). And then, chaos.