Wow, am I ever behind on my blogging. Alright, let's jump into this:



As you should be aware, the second largest comic convention - New York Comic Con - was in early February this year. Despite being out of work (and therefore, lacking income) I decided to attend. Mostly, I wanted to see my friends, network a bit, get some pitches into a few hands...and I had a professional pass approved, so I didn't have to pay to attend the con. A friend of mine (Joe) was kind enough to put me up for the long weekend (for which I am forever greatful), which also helped in the decision to go. It made the trip both fun AND affordable.

Thursday morning I got up at 6am to hop onto the plane and fly the 1.5 hours to Laguardia Airport, near Queens, where my buddy picked me up. We dropped my stuff off at his place, and then went straight over to the convention center to start unpacking his booth stuff. Normally in artists alley, this year he decided to get a small press booth - which felt smaller than an artist alley table, but only because there were little walls set in around it.

After a while, Phil showed up with more stuff, and we finished unpacking the booth. Now, keep in mind that I had an interview in SOHO that afternoon, and was doing all of this lifting and moving in a suit and tie. Not wearing nice clothes, like my friends pictured above. I had some friends call out to me by my comic name ("Hey @$$hole!") upon trying to exit the convention center, which amused Joe and Phil to no end.

After setting up the booth, the gang was kind enough to drive me to my interview, getting me there a little early. The interview went well, but ran much longer than I thought it would (which, when looking for a job, is a great thing). I met some great people, shook hands, and became very interested in the company and the position. We parted ways, and I gave my buddy a call to come pick me up. Steve, another friend attending the con, picked up the phone. They asked where I was (the corner of Hudson and King), and Steve relayed the cross streets. However, being from Arkansas, his southern accent made it sound like "Keen." They got lost trying to find me, and a weekend-long joke was formed.

Q: "Who's the bad guy from Flash Gordon?"
A: Ming

Q: "How do you perform a song?"
A: Sing

It went on like that all weekend. Afterwards, we went back to Joe's to have dinner with his wife and hang out a bit. We called up Irv (who was playing WoW), and he agreed to show up. Joe tells me that this is an amazing feat, since Irv tends to stay in once he's playing WoW. We made drinks and stayed up late, and then went to bed to start our weekend of nerdiness properly.



Friday was press and professional day, so the crowds were much much smaller, and it was easy to get to chat with some people. I walked around with a pitch that Joe and I had been working on for a few weeks to get some feedback from editors, and even set up a few meetings. It was also a good chance to see a lot of the displays that people had (much of the con was still setting up on this day, as there wasn't a lot of commerce going on). I got to check out the new Ghostbusters video game, as well as see the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time arcade game.

I walked around and saw faces both familiar and new, introducing myself to some new people like JT Krul (Fathom, Soulfire), Vince (editor in chief of Aspen Comics), Carol (editor of Lerner Publishing Graphix Press), Billy Tan (X-23, Uncanny X-Men), Christopher Jones (The Batman Strikes), and many others. I even reintroduced myself to some friends that I had made at previous cons, including Brian Michael Bendis (everything Marvel), Frank Mastromauro (VP Aspen Comics), Josh Elder (Batman Strikes, Mail Order Ninja), Erica Reis (Mermaid Princess Azuri), and a bunch of other people who would take pages to list.

After the con ended (around 8pm), we all went into the city to get some dinner, and then went to Irv's favorite bar (Whiskey River). We stayed there for a few hours, and then headed back home for some much needed sleep. We got back and hung out a bit, while Joe worked on some comic stuff and the rest of us watched some good ol' fashion TV. Sleep came quickly.



Saturday was the busy day, the the con was sold out. This is how you know that you're the #2 comic con in the country: when professionals have to wait in line to get into the place. While there, I met a few agents and librarians, and even a few artists.

The place was packed! Thousands of peple crammed into a large convention center. It took 20 minutes to walk anywhere in the place!


I did my usual thing, walked around, even went to a few meetings and gave out the pitch that Joe and I had been working on. It was not the best day to be networking and handing stuff out, though, as most people are interested in one thing on this day: selling! I felt bad about bothering anyone for more than a few minutes, so I started attending panels.

Unfortunately, when you talk to friends who have been there and who have been kind enough to impart much of their knowledge and experience to you over the years, panels where you get to ask questions get a bit redundant. It's all the same old information. At least many of them did not accept creative questions ("Where do you get your inspiration from?"), which are a waste of time. If you can't find your own inspiration, then you should find a less creative field to work in. Even a lot of the business questions that people asked were a bit foolish. "How many hits should my website receive before I decide to print a book?" You're asking the wrong question. It's not about how many hits you get, but whether or not your audience wants the thing. Announce it. Get some feedback from your fans. They'll tell you what they want.

After the con ended, we went out to dinner at a Korean BBQ place. Thankfully, this place was a bit cheaper than the one we went to last year (but only just). We ordered sake, appetizers, and even an ice cream dessert for Irv's "birthday."


For those of your unfamiliar with Korean BBQ, they bring you raw food and you cook it yourself. It's like mongolian BBQ, only you do the work. It's a fun opportunity to try new things and share with your friends.

After dinner, we went back to Whiskey for drinks and stayed out too late. The train to get us back to Queens wasn't working, and we had to walk a ways to get back to the apartment and went straight to bed. Sunday would be the last day, and since the con ended at 5pm instead of 8pm, it would be the shortest day. However, because it was the last day, it would also feel like the longest day.



Sunday was tons of fun, as it was kids day. I don't normally stick around on Sunday, but this time I took a later flight out so I could see how the con winds down. People are dead tired and beat - and in many cases, hung over from partying the previous night. However, that didn't stop me from walking around and keep up my networking, and also perform a graphic novel for a half hour with Josh Elder. Tons of fun right there, and I would do it again in a heart beat!

I walked around the con and said my goodbyes to people, gathered the last of my contact information so I could send out pitches to people in the following weeks, and then hung out at the DP booth. Celebrities made rounds and a few snap shots were taken. After the con I had to take off, though, in order to catch my flight. It was a bittersweet feeling, as I had so much fun and met so many great people, but it had to come to an end. Joe was kind enough to take me to the airport, and I went through security. On the other side of security, though, I ran into a few familiar faces from the con: Christopher and Melissa. We sat near each other (as our flights were going out of similar gates) and hung out for a time, and then I had to board my flight. Upon getting on board, I met an inker from DC Comics (Rebecca), and we chatted the whole flight back to Detroit.

All in all, NYCC is an awesome show that leaves your feet sore and spreads the infectious "fan flu" (coined by Joe Quesada, EIC Marvel Comics), but is a great time to hang out with friends and meet some new ones.