No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on October 8, 2018

That was a whirlwind.

It comes down to I am glad I went. I saw friends and had fun. However this morning I feel like I was hit by a truck and then run over a few times. Really hoping this is just because I am still tired rather than con crud which I may or may not have avoided this year.

I would like to thank Mike Nagin and Reed Pop for a well run artist alley. They moved us to Hall 1-B which was the Que line last year for the show. It had much more room than 1-E and we didn’t have the problems with the heat that we had last year. Also the design behind the tables was as good as the design of the aisles. They had room between the tables so you didn’t have to fight your way to your spot in the middle of row of tables. There was also enough room behind the tables for people’s banners, boxes, bags, and other things. We had leg room and it was lovely.

I would like to thank Michael D’Alessio and the gang at Six Foot Promo for all their help this weekend. The Marvel booth is a well oiled machine that works very hard to try to give as many fans as possible a good experience that they will never forget. They also look after the talent that comes through that booth very well making sure that everyone has what they need.

The convention has been moving a few things out from the Javitt’s center like the larger events at the Hammersmith Ballroom. There were more things that had moved just off site. It is the beginning of the same morphing I have seen at SDCC where there is a lot of things to do without even stepping into the convention center. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but it is something.

It was nice to see so many friends I have made over the years. We caught up on things and talked about things. I also made some new friends along the way. I think if I told my teenager comic reading self the people I could call friend now, my head would have exploded with disbelief.

The biggest problem the entire weekend had to do with the number of people in the building and the number of bathrooms. I guess it shows how many women now attend this event that you had to plan to go to the bathroom at least 15 minutes before you really needed to go to the bathroom. Early in the morning was not too bad but after 11:00 am, you really had to plan. Shortest time was 16 min and the longest was 40 min. There were no really ‘hidden’ bathrooms this year. The clever tricks that had worked other years either were not available due to construction and security issues or they have been found by everyone.

I didn’t see any panels but I did get to see a number of the exhibits that various TV shows had set up. The giant fork for the Good Place was fun and you got a pin you can put as either Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down.

We went to Hëll for Good Omens which was fun. Caroline got to ‘drive’ the car and I put myself on the hood for a exciting photo op. We also got a blank book and a pin. The pin, I found out, was one of the coveted ones from the convention.

We went on the Heathers TV series school bus. That experience was made by the actresses on the bus who had catty down to a fine art. “Don’t talk to Monica she shops at Target” was whispered to me. “Oh you can tell,” I said. She cocked an eyebrow at me in a challenge. I whispered to her “Polyester.” She had a hard time not cracking up at that but managed it and gave me a knowing nod. We got buttons and stickers for that.

American Gods had the dinner and the actual jukebox set up for photo ops. Got a cool t-shirt from them.

We scored a ticket to the Gifted signing and got to talk to the cast and creator. I liked that the actors engaged with the fans. I have been through those where it is just signatures and a few words and they never look up. This group made eye contact and talked to each person who was getting the autograph but they also keep the line going.

Other things that we might have wanted to look at were out of reach due to the very long lines.

Caroline sold art so she was happy. She did a number of commission pieces including a Harley Quinn cover that went over very well. It was her first blank cover but I don’t think it is going to be her last.

Peter signed autographs for fans, told stories, and listen to stories. It was a good weekend for him but a long one. Four-day conventions are a marathon and a half.

So this week is regroup and get ready for the next weekend where we are going to go see a number of interesting things.

I am grateful for my experiences at New York Comic Con 2018.

Category: Uncategorized
Tags: