pictures from the 2021 New York Comic Con, part 1

I went to the New York Comic Con in October - 23 months after the last time I had been to a comic book convention. It was weird. I was anxious about going. But ultimately, I had a good time and I took a bunch of pictures. Let's take a look at NYCC 2021!

I'll admit that I was a little worried about going to this show. I was able to get a professional pass and I live within driving distance, so the decision to go or not was decidedly low stakes, but I still wasn't sure if I was making the right choice. Beyond the obvious fear-for-your-safety worry, I didn't even know if the show would have anything interesting to see.

Even though the event returned to the Javits Center in Manhattan, there were very few big-name guests or vendors in attendance - no Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, etc., and very few media properties, either. The show was operating at a limited capacity, and it's my understanding that Saturday was the only day that sold out. But when Friday came around, I grabbed my bag and hopped on a train to Penn Station, where I immediately saw a guy crossing the street get into a heated argument with someone trying to direct traffic. New York was back, baby!

I made it to the convention center after 1:00, and I walked right in. There were clearly and noticeably fewer attendees than in 2019 or years past. I usually enter at one of the left entrances, near what is usually the Funko booth and the small press publisher section. Nickelodeon's Star Trek: Prodigy had one of the biggest displays at the show.

The longest wait in line for the weekend was probably at the Chucky ice cream truck, which had some interactive displays and, from what I hear, actual ice cream.

I heard that two people got engaged at this bridge over the weekend. That's definitely a choice you can make.

This was the strangest thing to see at the show - not Captain Carter, but the empty space along the walls along the main floor. 

Most of the floor space was used, even if vendors were certainly allowed to spread out more than in previous years. But there were also these empty spots in some places that would've been packed any other year. How crazy was this to see at one of the world's biggest conventions? I naturally understand the reason, but it was still something to see.

There were plenty of folks in costume. Here's Mal and Zöe from Firefly!

Omni-Man had the good idea of putting his mustache on the outside of his mask. 

I think this is Dragonball, right? There's a werwolf in the show? Okay. Anyway, this 30-foot statue was an imposing figure on an otherwise scaled-down exhibit floor.

I read some of NYCC's COVID rules on their website, and a big one stated that protective masks must be worn, and that costume masks that covered up your face (so you couldn't see if you were wearing a protective mask) were not allowed. That rule...was not enforced.

This space is near where the Funko booth usually is, and is usually packed full of people waiting in lines. This year, there were a bunch of comic book longboxes! It was a big departure. I was glad to flip through some comics at the show.

Maybe the most popular booth at NYCC was, if you can believe it, the eBay booth. eBay was one of the few booths at the show with giveaways that people wanted, including a Dr. Strange comic book with cover art as seen here on the left.

Here's some space cowboy.

I was surprised that I didn't see anyone wearing a facehugger as a mask - but this costume is pretty great, in any case.

While waiting in line, I saw my friend Maryellen, who absolutely nailed this Masters of the Universe: Revelation Teela and Orko!

I wonder how she got the spear inside. Still, another great costume!

Griffin Newman, "Arthur" on Amazon's The Tick show and Orko on MOTU: Revelation, did a signing at the FYE booth on Friday.

It was great to see Griffin again. I'm very happy for his success on this new show.

What are our thoughts on the new Netflix Cowboy Bebop show? I'm hesitant to give it a shot, given how great the cartoon was. I guess we'll see how it is!

Prodigy probably had most of the banner space at the show.

Hey, it's Lego...Carnage...

I got an autograph from William Shatner in the afternoon. This was taken directly before his handler said, "no pictures, kid!"

This was probably the best costume I saw at the show. It's not just Doom, but Doom 2099?! Amazing!!

It's not Doom 2099, but these were okay, too.

The bowls of gak were a nice touch.

After about 6:00, the floor really cleared out. I've never been at NYCC with so few people walking around. This guy behind me thought it'd be okay to start eating a red pepper like it was an apple. Just real nonchalantly and everything. This was one of the highlights of my trip.

Here's a very involved Death Metal Wonder Woman!

Don't feel so down, murder guy.

What If...? Spidey!

If you have a dog at a comic convention, I want to take a picture with it.

There's a weird courtyard-like area out in front of the Javits Center that is technically still part of the show - you have to have a badge to be there. There were a few things happening there. Also here's Simon and Gunther.

Danny, the Doom Patrol ambulance, made his presence felt at the show.

Near the end of the night, I decided to check out the Prodigy display one more time. Things had really died down and I was able to walk through with almost no delay. There were a few activities - a VR-style game and a t-shirt station, but I mostly just wanted to sit in the chair and see the display.

So I did!

This was a promotional image they sent to you as you made your way through the booth. I don't know what kind of pose I'm making here. Don't try to make sense of it.

Look at this suit. I really hope they make one with the Thing at some point.

Walking back to Penn Station after the show, I came across this, which, at first glance, appeared to be a space dedicated to playing ping pong in downtown Manhattan.

And what do you know? That's exactly what it was. PingPod is a 24-hour ping pong center. You rent time and play. Wild.

I got some pizza and ate it on the steps across from Madison Square Garden.

I also witnessed some Weird Al-related vandalism. Who would do such a thing??

That's it for now. Saturday's pictures await!

Pictures from the 2017 New York Comic Con, part 1 (Friday, 10/6)

The Tick's tour de force continued in October of 2017. After the first six episodes landed on Amazon's streaming service in August, the team prepared for the next batch to arrive in February by setting up at the New York Comic Con, just a few miles away from where the series films most of its scenes. After being dumbfounded at how incredible the Tick setup was at Comic-Con in San Diego, I wondered if there would be any promotion at the next big show in New York. Short answer: there was.

It's hard to compare NYCC to San Diego's Comic-Con, in large part because of the space available for the two shows. SDCC sprawls out over the city, while NYCC is mostly confined to the Javits Center in Manhattan (though there were a few offsite locations and events this year, notably at the New York Public Library). The weather contributes to this; San Diego has sunny July days ripe for outdoor events, while it's tough to judge what the weather will be like in New York in October.

At any rate, The Tick had a large presence on the main show floor with one of the bigger displays of the show. Once again, Amazon stepped up with their promotion of this show. Near the row-100 area of the floor were banners and signage, an area for a lineup and...a full-size "Dangerboat" replica. Naturally, this is the first thing I did upon entering the building on Friday, my first day at the show.

The line took about 45 minutes to get through, and as I was approaching the front, I started to notice some of the people just ahead, behind the exhibit ropes. I lucked out quite a bit as I was getting in just as a number of actors and producers were arriving to get a peek at the exhibit. I managed to get a picture with Scott Speiser, "Overkill" on the show, and Barry Josephson, one of the show's executive producers! Josephson asked if I was a fan of the show. I said "yes".

Dangerboat itself looked a but unassuming on the outside (maybe that's the point), but the inside was just incredible!

Here are a couple shots of the inside, which included a lot of interactive screens. You could get an ID sticker printed, steer the boat, and grab a can of Fo-Ham.

Thanks, Dangerboat.

The Dangerboat AI could also be found on board! It followed you around and talked to you at various points. It tried to poke fun at my Steelers hat, but as we all know, that's a futile pursuit. They're going to win their seventh Super Bowl in a few weeks, just FYI.

The Overkill uniform could be found as well!

I wonder where you buy carpet that simulates ocean water.

Naturally, I grabbed a bunch of the free Tick swag on my way out, which was precipitated by the arrival of talk show host Wendy Williams (who was in full Wonder Woman gear). I then hit the convention floor, where there were a lot of great costumes to be seen, including Pickle Rick.

Ghost Riders!

I wonder what makes you decide to put a television screen on your head. Kudos to this guy in any case, and great job with the group Saga costumes.

Here's one I didn't expect to see - it's Captain Telsa from the Image Comics Descender series!

I've always enjoyed the Robotman (from Doom Patrol) design. Hey, Cliff. Oh, and Telsa makes a second, background appearance.

I wonder how Psylocke got her sword through the entrance?

And Dr. Doom got his blaster through as well. I guess Doom gets what he wants.

Check out this kid in an honest-to-goodness Sewer Urchin costume from the Tick animated series!

I think I've seen this guy as Bloodshot before, but hey, if it works, go with it. Great job.

Here's Black Panther with blurry motion action!

Yondu and Mary Poppins was a popular choice this year.

This gentleman retrofitted what looks like a snowboard with wheels to make a pretty neat Silver Surfer costume!

I'm pretty sure BoJack and Princess Caroline were actually taking a moment and not posing as their characters, but they inadvertently relaxed in the most BoJack poses ever.

Rick's gon' give it to ya.

Well, the hammer placement is a bit unfortunate, but that's still a pretty great Steel costume (Power Girl is good as well).

DC had their regular setup spot at the far end of the convention hall. This time they put their Justice League costumes on display.

On the way out for the night, I ran into DC's Scott Snyder, who was gracious enough to take a picture with me. Snyder is writing the (pretty enjoyable) DC book, "Metal", and he managed to stay on brand for this picture. Pretty savvy, guy.

That's it for Friday pictures! More to come!