Ten years of New York Comic Con, plus all C2E2s, both BookCons, both Special Edition: NYC. So, yeah, I’ll be buying the ten-year pin. (Next addition: Vienna Comic Con)A bit of a fuster cluck… EVERYONE was headed towards the main entrance, even filling the street (yes, there was a car trying to turn onto Eleventh). “Greens” need to be directed up through the park to 36th Street, and then over to the “Walking Dead” entrance at 37th and 38th.Yes, everyone was trying to get in at that entrance. Once you got past the bag check (and there should be an express lane for anyone with no bags to check), tapping in was fast.First stop! In cool uncle mode! DC Super Hero Girls Merchandise!
I think these are “action dolls”. The smaller 6-inch figures will be “action figures”.
After that, it was down to the DC exhibition! First stop, Graphitti’s booth, to check out the new special editions!
DC has a special Sandman Gallery Edition. It contains the (nearly) complete artwork for the first Sandman issue, as well as all of the art for “Dream Hunters”. There are also random pages from other issues, so it’s almost an art book.As you can see, P. Craig Russell used black as a fourth color, less as a foundation of inking.
Then I walked over to the big display… lots of movie props and costumes!
Note the “WW” on the belt. Clever!
I guess this is the prototype to the “Superbuster” armor seen above?Not very compact… Is the seventh port reserved for venom?That’s an old patent number. (1955) What’s at that address?Read instruction before using. Not shown? The product liability disclaimers printed on the other four sides.Hmmm… that wooden stock… isn’t that a bit slippery?
After that, I hit the show floor, hoping to get the big booths out of the way before things got really crazy on Friday. But Thursday was crazy…
New York Times Bestselling Author (and Comics Beat Comics Industry Person of the Year for 2010) Robert Kirkman signs at the Image booth early Thursday.
Eaglemoss
Ships of Star TrekThe Star Trek shuttlecraft seriesPoor Groot doesn’t get a weapon…The Marvel chess set. “Groot only pawn in game of life.”The other side. I’m guessing “black” vs the heroes’ “white”?
If you’ve watched “The Big Bang Theory“, you knight might be familiar with the idea of “fairy chess” where pieces are given properties outside of the normal chess pieces. Why not do the same with your HeroClix figures? Each hero is assigned a regular chess piece (rook, bishop, etc.) while the villains all have unorthodox, preassigned movements.
From the Batmobile collection. Yes, that collection also includes the Bat-Tank from The Dark Knight Returns.A quick shot from the Bluefin displays.
Then I headed upstairs, to get some aerial shots.
Thursday is the new Saturday. Crazy crowds, which are partly due to them opening the floor at 10. Just another regular day at NYCC. I expect Columbus day to be added by the end of the decade. Time? 11:45 AM
The view towards the northwest.
razzafrackin glass messing up the focus…A little further down, the view from behind that giant Iron Man banner.
View to the southeast. The big Batman robot is (part of) Funko’s booth.The view of The Block
Remember that mystery Lego sculpture from Wednesday? Here it is!This is Jestro, the antagonist, with the Book of Monsters!The view, at Noon, to the north.
Bluefin Distribution had lots of cool stuff from Bandai, Tamashi Nations, and others!
Petit’gguy (Robot teddy bears… hearts and minds…)
D’aaawwww….Sailor Moon props. Hmm… has anyone done a Sailor Moon/Infinity Gauntlet crossover?
A nicely rendered Bowser.Oh, good… they have their initials on their belts! Hey… have they ever teamed up with Huey, Dewey, and Louis?Hello Kitty, from Stark International?Lot of DC figures on display. Hmm… has the Joker ever worn a cape? Or just tails?Yes, the big …submarine? spaceship? caught my eye. It’s about a meter in length.One Piece has lots of ships! And lots of crazy characters? I might need to give it a read…
Then a quick walk over to Mezco Toyz…
Old school meets new school. (Why not use the old DC Bullet logo?)Before he was wascally, he was wacky! Animated by Virgil Ross. (Will there be a similar version of Elmer?) That’s a regular sized (classic) Tygra on the right.
Nope… never watched Gigantor. I just liked the craft of these models. These are about two feet tall.
Kotobukiya had some interesting items…
I wondered out loud if there were similar beefcake figures. A female fan next to me mentioned that they tend to be more of the Yaoi/metrosexual aesthetic. She mentioned a series… “Orange Rouge“…Not quite beefcake, maybe tiramisu?Speaking of baked goods… there were also many Star Wars kitchen utensils! Wait… isn’t this a poached egg?The chopsticks have been on the market for a while. I like how the cutouts create toasted highlights!You can also use these for cookies, so long as the dough doesn’t harden into hardtack. OOOOOhhh…. waffle iron!I kinda like the grey coloring…
Over at Diamond Select:
“Irregular Batman”
…and then, wandering back up the aisles, returning to the massive Bluefin zone!
These chibi Iron Men were hovering and spinning.Remember that time in the comic, where Tony Stark got turned into a kid?
“Mrs. Webb! Tony and Bruce are fighting on the playground!”
Square Enix had some interesting figures:
A guess… Wayne Enterprises outfits the local constabulary?That’s Robin in the background, not Green Arrow.
Mega Bloks showcased some new franchises:
Monster High! (They have bricks with mixed colors, so that when you build a wall, it looks decrepit. Yup… moldy bricks!)
I wonder if these are the final colors, or just generic pieces used for construction?
Also, they featured their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sets, which Lego announced at NYCC in 2013 (with a four-day mosaic built by attendees). Mega Bloks had the license before, so there might be three “parallel universes” of TMNT brick figures out there.
Then wandering back again to the Bluefin zone…
“Lemon Meringue Naruto”Okay… anyone want to use these figures and create a Rankin-Bass/DC mashup?
“I’m Mister Green Lantern / I’m Mister light / I’m Mister will power / I’m Mister black and white…”
“Starring Kirk Douglas as Superman!”I stopped at the IDW booth where Walt Simonson was autographing Ragnarok portfolios, and by sheer coincidence, met Brian Walker, cartoonist extraordinaire! He was there to promote his new history book on King Features’ centennial, which I had not known about previously! It’s a great collection of strips, both old and new!
After that… I went to a panel on comics retailing at 1:45, and… I can’t remember the next three hours. I know I got a wristband for the WB television screenings. I ate dinner (overpriced and underwhelming) in line for the Main Stage. Maybe I went to Artist Alley?
Anyway, there were three shows featured at that panel: Supergirl, Lucifer, and Containment. I’ll have a longer review later, but I enjoyed Supergirl, recommend Lucifer, and suggest Containment for those who want to see how something like The Walking Dead got started. (Containment centers around a downtown Atlanta ward which is quarantined after a bioterror weapon is unleashed.)
Javits, at 9:40 PM.
At the bottom of the main escalator bank, you see these video displays.Pretty dang cool. I wonder what they do for trade shows?And then there were the animated ads! Supergirl, which I had just seen.
…and the 7-A-J back home. I wonder how soon before companies start “wrapping” the 7 train for Comic Con? Last Fall, the “Hipster Local” (the L train) was bedecked with “American Dad” decals. (Because of its demographics, the L gets that treatment a lot.) Seriously, the MTA could make a decent profit selling off advertising inside each car. It’s not uncommon for a company to buy all of the ad space on one side of a train car. (The best dichotomy? The Homer Simpson Special! Budweiser on one side, Dunkin Donuts on the other!) ABC has done that in the past to promote their new shows. DreamWorks wrapped the outside and inside of the Times Square Shuttle to promote “Turbo” in 2013. (Yes, even the seats were completely covered!) Stations get “bedecked” as well, with Union Square featuring one sponsor every month or so, as well as the shuttle platform at Times Square. And then there are the Metrocards… “just 18¢ to 51¢ per card“.
It seems that the shuttles were not used as much this year, because of the subway. Could a subway sponsor hire a street team to ride the subway and sell to the captive audience? Probably not a good idea… the 7 was crowded.
