The Show that Keeps on Giving – NYCC 2013

This year’s New York Comic Con marks the first time I have attended the show for two days straight. Not a big deal you might think, but having a full-time job and a tight budget, might change your mind. Also, having an extra day proves useful, as I found out this year. You see, this year was important because I had goals. Goals that were unfulfilled and destroyed at last year’s show. Mostly through my own demise. This year, things would be different. This year I had a plan and nothing would stop me.

As the week of the show came, I had everything ready. Comics to get signed, brand new sketchpad, and all my money saved to pay for my guilty pleasures. I boarded the train and headed to New York, ready to accomplish the mission at hand.

The mission was simple. The first goal was to get a comic CGC authenticated and certified. Which comic was still in the air and depended on who I would be able to meet on Thursday and Friday. The other task was a bit more complicated and involved meeting a few artists that I wanted commissions from. J. Scott Campbell, Neal Adams, Bob Layton, and a few others were at the top of my list so I knew I had to visit their booths.

The best part was that I had two full days to accomplish everything. I knew that Thursday would be used to take care of the easiest tasks like CGC and other small matters. The rest of the day would be used to scout the area and come up with a definitive game plan for Friday. With that in mind I entered the show on Thursday and headed straight to CGC. I spoke with a very friendly representative and asked about Robert Kirkman and if he was doing a signing. Not only was he doing a signing, but all I had to do was drop of my book with CGC and they would take care of the rest. This was perfect. I didn’t have to wait in line at all. While I would have loved to meet Robert Kirkman in person, the idea of not spending time on line could not be passed up. I paid the man the $55 to have Kirkman sign it and have CGC grade it. Not a bad deal and great sign of things to come in the show.

I continued my Thursday scouting mission through the main floor. Being a DC fan, I made my way to the DC area of the show. They had an awesome Superman display, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the character. The area included Superman’s various attire from Christopher Reeve’s classic suit to the new incarnation in Man of Steel. In addition, fans were treated with demos of DC’s latest video games, Infinite Crisis and Batman: Arkham Origins.

As Thursday was coming to a close for me, I made my way to DC’s panel, in which they were giving fans a first viewing of its new documentary, Necessary Evil: Villains of DC. If you’re interested, I posted another article solely on the documentary, which is a must see for any fan of DC’s rogue gallery.

With Thursday done, Friday was a big day of action. I arrived at exactly 10:00AM and made my way to my first action of the day. I was getting a sketch from Neal Adams himself, the famous Batman artist. I requested a Joker sketch and, $150 later I was the proud owner of a tremendous sketch that deserves a frame to go with it. Step one done.

My next stop was artist alley. I made my way to two of my favorite artists, Franco and Art Baltazar. The famous Tiny Titan duo graciously sketched two of my favorite characters in their own unique style. No matter what show I am at, if they are there I am getting a sketch. With step two done, I know had to move on to the tricky step three. Find someone else to make the show truly successful.

Thankfully fate led me in the right direction. In the process of walking around, I stumbled upon a line that was waiting for Adam Hughes to sign their books. Unfortunately for me, I did not have any books by him so I decided to go to his booth in search of something eye appealing. What I found, was even better. I overheard the people at the table and I was in for something huge. Adam Hughes would be sketching in about 45 minutes. And it would only be for $20. An opportunity like this could not be passed up. I waited like a good little boy and when it was finally my turn to get the sketch, I asked for Harley Quinn. 5 minutes later the sketch was done. A work of art!

Neal Adams and Adam Hughes. Two great artists are now part of my collection and I would have never been able to do it without New York Comic Con. Every year I go to the show, it gets better and better. Big names in comics, toys, movies, TV, and more all come to the biggest show on the East Coast and I look forward to it every year.

If you are ever planning on going, make it for at least two days. The past two years I have only gone for one day and I don’t think I can ever do that again. Two is the minimum. With two days you get a day to take care of little things that can sometimes take up a lot of time. I also learned that planning on paper or at home, is a lot harder than being at the actual show and making a legit plan of action. So do yourself a favor. If you are a NYCC fan and are going to next year’s show, then take a few days off work, school, or whatever it is you do and plan on attending two or more days.