What’s a Whimventure® without some flexibility? I had planned to leave Wednesday and deadhead it to Newark (where I was staying). On Sunday I get a text from my friends who hooked me up with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Balloon gig asking if I was going to be in town Wednesday afternoon for a (shhh!) secret test flight of some new balloons. I dropped everything and changed my plans so I could! (Who wouldn’t?). So Tuesday I drove to New Stanton, Pennsylvania stopped for the night and then headed to New Jersey. This also included a stop at “Big Rusty” the Thomas Dambo troll in the area.
After Rusty, I arrive at the super secret location to balloon testing and spend the next few hours running back and forth as our group “handles” two different balloons that I am not a liberty to divulge their identities. One thing about Test flying is that it gives the sponsors an opportunity to see the balloon, get photos and even be a balloon handler. We are not allowed to take video or photos and even signed an NDA. The experience was great and seeing my friends made it even better.
Now a word about New Jersey and roads… WTF? I’ve been confused over street layouts before but New Jersey seems to take it to the next level. Even Waze is confusing. Remember: Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three lefts do. It seems like anything that we midwesterners would consider straight forward (like turning left) in Jersey it’s complicated. I bring this up because after driving most of the day, and then running a balloon around I had to not only get to my hotel, but then pick up Sue in the middle of the night at the airport. The Newark airport is like a kid dropped all his Hot Wheels track and then randomly connected it. Then put signs just to make figuring out which exit to take confusing. Sue, who I’m starting to think is part bat, only seems to fly at night and as I get older driving at night isn’t as easy as it once was.
The plan was I go to comic con & Sue attends the “Comic Con of Fiber and Yarn” aka The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. She takes my car and I take public transit. Which when looking at the map seemed like it would be “easy” but this is New Jersey and after one failed attempt with Sue driving me to a train station that didn’t have a parking lot or entrance I decided to take an Uber. Once I figured things out the rest of the getting to and from the Con was easy but, like any first attempt I learned a lot. Uber from the hotel to Newark Penn Station. Train to New York Penn Station then walk the High Line to the Javit’s Center. It may not have been the quickest route, but it was pretty, and I didn’t have to worry about crossing streets. Train each day $12, Uber ranged from $12 to $37 each trip mattering the time of day. About $185 total for both not including tips. The hotel, fortunately, was on points (thank you MTTS).
Day One:
I decided to take the first day and just explore… understanding that there is a lot to see and I won’t see it all in one day. Heck, I didn’t see it all in four days! On the drive home I thought about how to describe this to a non-comic book/pop culture person. Think of it this way- It’s Diagon Alley. Think of Harry Potter when he first experiences Dragon Alley and all the wondrous stuff and strange people there. When you get into the Javit’s Center it is filled with all sorts of people dressed in all sorts of costumes. Understand most people do NOT cosplay. They might wear a comic or pop culture related t-shirt, but the majority of people are not in costume. Like Harry Potter it seems like almost everyone is happy (“You know who” is long gone) since they can be themselves outside of the muggle world. No longer getting strange looks or laughs from the general population for being passionate about some aspect of pop-culture (more on this later). I walked the exhibit hall and had a few goals- first and foremost: getting lanyards and pins for my niece and nephew since they would be coming out on Sunday. That means- getting in line. The con has maybe been open an hour by the time I get up to the front. I buy 2 lanyards and two “exclusive” pins. I also ask about the”exclusive” sticker which they are already sold out of… wha?!? Someone didn’t plan ahead.
My next queue wasn’t really a queue, I wanted to get something for one of my brothers for Christmas. Then I headed to a booth that had “secret” exclusive Star Trek pins for this year’s election. I was limited to two 😢. but since they were also almost out, I didn’t complain. From there I walked around some more. Taking in the chaos that is day one and figuring out where everything was in relations to landmarks. While walking around I found a place that was selling Pokémon models. I bought a Magikarp. You see when I first started teaching Pokémon was just getting popular. I was asked what my favorite Pokémon was constantly by students. so I asked a kid- “What’s the worst Pokémon you could have?” “Magikarp.” So that became my favorite- just to confuse kids. I then went through my list of booths and stopped by each one. I decided if I wanted to buy, or not.
I then headed to Artist Alley, my favorite place. I stood in another queue this time for some original art by Katie Cook. I saw that her second book was sitting on her table and discovered that it had just been released. I had actually brought my copy of her first book to get signed. What Katie is known for at conventions is doing a quick pen & ink and watercolor sketch on something about the size of baseball card. I first saw her at C2E2 and she was mostly doing people’s cats… So I had her do Hemi. I didn’t have one of Issi or Bailey so I decided that was something I wanted to get. Over the course of the Con I would actually return to Katie’s table and get one for my niece and finally I needed a Rocketeer to put on the wall of my studio. I was getting tired so I headed back to the Hotel. Sue had taken my car for the day so she could visit Big Rusty. We had a nice dinner at a tavern to end our day.
Just a Few of the Cosplayers @ NYCC
Day 2:
This was the day I had set aside for my brother, Mike. I arrived early and ended up in the queuing hall waiting for the Con to open. Mike was outside and actually got into the hall before me! Lesson learned, don’t do what you think would be logical. Once we found each other we headed to one place I needed to go to complete the whole Christmas present thing. We then headed to the Merch tent for the Con, Mike bought a couple shirts, I bought a d20. Mike and I talked about stuff, I mentioned a few things and tried to be a big brother/uncle/Godfather and help out with some projects the kids have coming up (I was a STEM teacher of a few years). We headed to a panel with the actor Todd Stashwick. I know I’m very anti- celebrities at comic cons but when in Rome… Todd’s latest role was in season three of Picard where he played Captain Liam Shaw of the U.S.S. Titan. The only person to basically say “No” to the legends that are Picard and Riker. Amazing guy, very personable and I look forward to going back and watching some of his other works (12 Monkeys, esp.). After that we headed to Artist Alley and wandered, I made notes of places I’d like to return to. Mike (being an extrovert) just talks and talks to people and where I am shocked at some things he doesn’t know (I blame myself for failing to teach him) he’s shocked at the stuff I don’t know. It seems that while I was busy adulting, and he was in high school, there were some things in pop culture I might have missed. He had been chatting with Bill Plympton (artist and animator from his adolescence) and I finally looked at costs and said- “Could you draw him?” and put the fee on his table. Bill’s style is somewhat editorial cartoonish, but soon Mike had a portrait from an artist he liked. As I told him- that’s birthday and Christmas rolled into one. We then wandered around some more and I was looking at Chris Eliopoulos’ sketches and commented that he didn’t have a “Rocketeer” I was at that point waffling between a Batman and a Flash sketch. Chris said- I usually don’t do commissions but there’s something I want and I need to make enough to buy it… Voila! I had a Rocketeer commission coming my way tomorrow! We left the con a little later and headed for dinner, then Mike headed home, and I headed to the hotel.
The Durselys
I mentioned Comic Con is kind of like Diagon Alley in Harry Potter especially for a muggle. I found out when Mike got home that he had tried to explain it all to his in-laws… not a good idea. Basically they aren’t just muggles, they are the Dursleys. Anything they can’t understand is “stupid” “a waste of time and money” and anyone involved should be belittled and laughed at for being “stupid” and “Wasting time and money.” You wonder why I say that Cons are safe places where you can find your tribe? This is why. The real world is full of Dursleys. It’s funny that people can be fanatic about sports, but if you are a fan of anything else you are seen as “weird.” I felt sorry for Mike having to put up with what probably seemed to him like ridicule of me and my passion for comics, I’m fortunate that I don’t have that problem. Sue and I respect each other, even if we don’t understand exactly what the heck we are talking about. I’ve had to deal with people like that enough I just write them off as “muggles” roll my eyes, and move on- they aren’t worth my energy. Then again I’m just a stupid hick from Indiana who does things on a whim. Frankly people like that are just plain toxic and should be avoided like the plague.
Day 3:
Saturday, being the first time people who work M-F can attend and bring their kids, can be horrible so I planned for it. I had two panels I actually had reservations for that I wanted to attend and that was it. I actually walked from Penn Station up 5th Avenue to the LEGO Store to get my LEGO passport stamped, something I had neglected to do all the other times I had been there. I bought some minifigs and the headed to the con. I arrived for the Star Trek Universe panel with time to spare. I was just asked if I reservations and moved into the queue.
The panel was amazing (I know, I don’t like celebrities at cons) but like when I went to the Picard panel at Paris Comic Con, some rules are meant to be broken. The highlight was seeing the first episode of Lower Decks that will air this week. Of course a lot of the cast was present to chat and answer questions. They then went through all the other shows and movies upcoming. Star Fleet Academy had just wrapped filming season 1 and will be back for a second season. Strange New Worlds will be back for a fourth season even though they haven’t aired the third season yet. They did show us the first few minutes of the first episode after the second season’s cliffhanger. Then they had the cast of Section 31 on stage to talk about that film, and the big question mark as to what will happen next.
I then went to the Creature Commandos panel which followed. Unlike San Diego, NYCC does clear the room after each panel. I got back into the queue and this time they did scan my badge to see if I had a reservation. The rumor going around was- since this is the last panel in this big room for Saturday, and that it is about a new show, that they would do something special. That could be show full episode, maybe give stuff away… nope. The majority of the cast was there to talk about the series, James Gunn was there to talk about other things happening at DC. They did announce that merch was now available online for those who wanted to buy it. At 5:45 they cleared the room, to confused grumbles from some of the audience.
I headed to the autograph area which also had a bookstore and picked up some signed copies of a few titles. Then back to Artist Alley where I picked up dinner. From there back to the station, and an Uber to the hotel.
Day 4:
I had bought Sunday badges for my niece and nephew, hoping to build some memories with them… ummm… I’m not sure that was good idea. I did write up the day, but then remembered “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. ” I’ve since deleted it.
Sue and I arrived at the hotel at the same time. She was gushing about how cool her Whimventure was… She found her tribe and a place to celebrate what she loves- which is awesome. I drove her to the airport and returned to the hotel, planning on leaving the next morning for home. I got ready early, Started watching something on the History Channel about the history of Toys & Video Games and then check my phone to discover Sue’s flight had been delayed, so she would miss her connection to Indy. I gather my stuff up and rush back to the airport to pick her up. The next morning we deadhead home. It was nice that the boys missed us, I know I missed them.
Overall Impressions
I’ve been to a lot of Cons and this was my third time at NYCC. I’ve decided that there are other conventions that I like better. Conventions that are cheaper to attend and focus more on the things I like. Like San Diego Comic Con, I don’t see myself making this an annual pilgrimage or even if I’ll ever return. I see many of the artists at other conventions. I really don’t need the stuff, and didn’t buy that much anyway. I think I’m going to stick with Gen Con for games, and Heroes Con for comics as my must do conventions. I’m looking at two other conventions for 2025- one being Baltimore Comic Con which I have heard good things about and the other… we’ll see if I can get tickets for before I say anything else.
