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!

Original Thing artwork from Andrea DiVito!

Did you know that the Thing will be getting his very own series once again this November? Walter Mosley and Tom Reilly are creating a five-issue limited series for the Idol O' Millions in a story titled "The Next Big Thing," and I, for one, can't wait. It's been too long since Ben Grimm has had his own solo series. In fact, you'd have to go back to 2006 and the Dan Slott/Andrea DiVito series for the last time the Thing had his own continuing series, even though that one only lasted eight issues.

Speaking of this series, I finally managed to get my hands on two pages of DiVito Thing original art, and it's time to take a look at both!

There's a lot going on in this page, for sure. But here it is.

The page comes from the third issue of the series, in which Ben and a few others are trapped by the X-Men villain Arcade - so the Hulk melee you see on the cover consists of Hulk robots. The Thing can beat them up, too.

It's easy to miss the Thing and some of the other detail on this page with a giant gorilla and dinosaur looming over everything, but rest assured, Ben Grimm is there, leading other prisoners to safety.

Also trapped in Arcade's word is the Constrictor, a villain who, uh, constricts things, presumably very hard.

The pencils on this page are incredibly tight and detailed. DiVito's Thing is a classic rendition with a prominent brow and and big, flat fingers, and I love it. Perhaps his Ben Grimm is a bit rounder than some others - his style always seemed to be the perfect mix between an on-model 1970s Thing and more modern interpretations. His proportions are a bit more realistic while also maintaining his comic book essence.

The next page comes from an issue of the Black Panther from a few years later. 

This comes from a period when Reed and Sue briefly left the team and were replaced by the Black Panther and Storm. In addition to appearing in the main Fantastic Four title, this team also had a story arc in the Black Panther book, traveling to a classic gangster Skrull world from a previous Lee/Kirby FF story.

It's been over a decade since I read this story, so I was surprised to learn that DiVito didn't pencil this page - he inked it over the pencils of Spanish artist Francis Portela. Still, it's obvious that DiVito had a big influence on this page. The Thing looks almost just as he does a few years prior in the Thing main series.

This page also features a lot of action, as the Thing battles various challengers in gladiator-style combat. It does not, however, feature the Black Panther, but what can you expect? The Thing is the most popular character in whatever book he appears. There's nothing you can do about it.

I might like the first page a little better than this one, but there's no denying that there's a lot going on here, and the Thing appears in almost every panel. Is that a power-dampening collar? How do those things work??

Here's one more piece of Thing pinup artwork I got at around the same time. This one's by artist Armando Carrillo, and it's a new piece even though it's drawn in the style of the 1994 Marvel Action Hour cartoon. This is probably more intimidating than cartoon Ben ever looked, and it makes a nice addition to my collection!

Original Curt Swan artwork from Superman #310!

Curt Swan in undeniably one of the most influential Superman artists of all time - I would say that the only artist who can compare is Joe Shuster, the character's co-creator. Swan was a DC stalwart for decades, churning out thousands of pages for any number of titles, but he's rightfully most well known for his work on the Man of Steel. After Swan died in the mid-'90s, DC continued to use some of his unpublished pages for anniversary stories, such as Superman's Wedding Album issue and, more recently, 2018's Action Comics #1000.

The market for Swan's work is pulled in two directions. His pages are in demand because of his classic take on comics' most recognizable character, but since he was so prolific, there are simply a lot of pages, especially from the 1970s onward. Generally speaking, an in-costume Superman appearance means you'll pay a bit more than one without. I was recently able to purchase two very affordable pages from 1977's Superman #310, both with pencils by the legendary Curt Swan.

The pages, interestingly enough, are ones published subsequently: story pages 8 and 9. 

The first page is undeniably the better of the two, because this one features none other than a bespectacled Clark Kent, looking dapper in his business-professional suit (but, sadly, no hat). Also featured is Steve Lombard, a character who pops up every so often in the book.

Steve is a former jock who sometimes picks on Clark, still thinks of himself as the star quarterback, and is often kind of a joke - he's a guy whose best years are behind him, but he doesn't realize it. His type is probably familiar to most folks and he's someone we should probably pity. Sometimes he and Clark have an inter-office rivalry, but it often ends with Clark, like, secretly using his super-breath to blow his chair out from under him so he dumps his sandwich on his shirt of something.

Both of these pages had dialogue that was pretty heavily edited, as seen above with all of the blue editor's pencil marks. But both pages came with the margins trimmed, so I couldn't see what most of the lines pointed to.

Anyway, Lombard is a character who has been around for decades, but most people aren't familiar with him. On this page he takes the company's new camera in an attempt to get an inside scoop. Oh, it should be noted that in the '70s, Clark, Lois and company moved on from the Daily Planet to WGBS, a television news station. I guess they thought that the newspaper industry wasn't relevant anymore? NEVER!

The second page in my bundle is, unfortunately, sans Clark, as we follow Lombard on his ill-fated operation. But we do come across another Superman staple - STAR Labs! I guess it's S.T.A.R. Laboratory on this page. What did "STAR" ever stand for? Anyway, Steve meets up with a robotic menace and is down for the count.

I know henchmen when I see them! This crew is actually smuggling Metallo out of storage, where he'll later do battle with Superman, and Lombard will be used as bait.

Sorry, Steve!

These pages were inked by Tex Blaisdell. I don't necessarily think his inks went particularly well with Swan's famously clean lines. Blaisdell's inks seem to roughen up the artwork a little much for my tastes - he's no Murphy Anderson.

The back of both pages comes with a stamp that indicates copyright information. 

The back of one page comes marked with two possible names: GR and Swan. The second is obviously a reference to Curt Swan, but I have no idea what GR stands for. The issue was written by Martin Pasko, Inked by Blaisdell and edited by Julie Schwartz. Maybe it indicates that it's a GREAT PAGE! Maybe.

We can also see, scratched out, that this page was at one time on sale for $25. The first page in this set, with Clark, was at one point $55. Despite getting a really good deal, I paid a bit more for these. If you see a Curt Swan page on sale for $25, grab it!

Here's the issue that includes the pages! The cover is not by Swan, but rather Jose Luis Garcia Lopez.

And here's the two-page spread, with Clark looking on and Steve getting shot all to hell by a killer robot.

I've been on the lookout for some Swan original art, but they're usually a bit above my price range. These two rather everyday pages fit my budget and also featured some dramatic robot action and a concerned Clark Kent! I'm happy to have 'em.