So yesterday I went to the New York Comic Con and it was, in a word, MINDBLOWING! This was only my second year going to this legendary event and, to be honest, last year was almost overwhelming as I got lost in a sea of costumed heroes and gothic existential art. So as I made my way to the Jacob Javitz Center in New York City, I was filled with a mix of nervous energy and unbridled excitement! But this year I had a plan...
Last year my biggest mistake was going into the Convention blindly with no plans for what I wanted to do/buy. So this time I did a little research ahead of time and found out what stores and companies would be there, what artists were signing in what area and when, and even tried to pull together a rough list of comics I was looking to buy (which is practically an endless list, but at least I tried).
So as I arrived in the Comic Con I thought I was READY! I remembered the floor plan from last year so I was all set to go to my favorite areas...but the Con (looking to keep us all on our toes) had other ideas, and not only did I enter from a different door then last year but the entire floor plan was completely rearranged and different so already I was a bit thrown off. But that was not stopping me!!! I quickly found my keys areas in the convention hall: Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Midtown Comics, Square-Enix and also kept an eye out for all the different stands with boxes upon boxes of 50 cent and $1 comics. Then it was time to get ready for the day of comic buying and autographs!
I made my way to a random the stand for JC Comics (located in North Plainfield, NJ) and dove into their plethora of $1 comic books. Where I found a copy of Uncanny X-men #199 (which I already owned but was a key Phoenix related issue) and made my way back to the Marvel Comics stand to meet legendary X-men scribe, Chris Claremont. I waited on an ever growing line for what seemed like an eternity, and then he showed up (a little late, but when you are a comic god, you can do what you want). He was friendly and funny and took the time to talk to every fan on line and signed as many as Con rules (and security) would allow. When I got to the front he spent a few minutes talking with me about some of my favorite characters and stories and I got to show him my Phoenix tattoo. He let me take a picture with him (which you see above) and shook my hand before I walked away thrilled to beyond belief.
The next person on my list was former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, but I needed to prepare! So I dove into the madness of the showroom floor to seek out the next gem to have autographed by a Marvel bigwig. Keep in mind that whenever you hear me say I stopped and picked up a comics to have signed, it is strongly implied that I took the time to decimate whatever stand I was at and also picked up at least 10-15 other issues at the same time. So I picked up a copy of Marvel Knights #6 (and many many other issues) and made my way over to the stand where Mr. Quesada would be signing. Nothing to crazy this time, I was close to the front of the line so it was a short wait before I got to Joe. He signed my issue with a big smile on his face and leaned right in for a picture (also features above).
Now the greatest moment ever happened...but first some backstory. I had been running a little bit late getting to the Con that morning so, rather than being inside right at 10am, I didn't make it inside until about 11-11:15 (which still left me with many hours to roam so I didn't really mind too much). What I didn't know was the between 10 and 11 Marvel had given out tickets to get autographs from Stan Lee, the godfather of comic books, himself. So now at around 1:30 there was a huge crowd gathering at the Avengers stage (because, you know, at Comic Con there's a HUGE Avengers stage) as they brought Stan "The Man" out and began calling up people with golden tickets (because, of course, you need a golden ticket to meet Stan Lee) up onto the stage. I was disappointed but I still stayed just to be able to see this comic god in action. And then the amazing happened... A security guard comes to the front of the stage and yells "Does anyone else want to have something signed by Stan?" The crowd went berserk!! Every single person in listening distance went lost all composure and began yelling, jumping and waving their hands in the air...myself included, that is. The guard begins picking random hysterical fans from the crowd to come on stage and have an item of their choice signed. He must have passed over me 5 or 6 times, including once where I KNOW he made direct eye contact with me and moved on but I digress. I was positive that I wasn't going to get chosen but I refused to stop trying to get his attention. Then at the last second he swings back around comes to the edge of the stage in front of me and points right at me and say "OK you too", then to the crowd, "Alright everybody that's the last one!" I was in and I made it by the skin of my teeth.
End Part 1 – Tune in tomorrow for the rest of my Comic Con experience!
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