Wednesday Comments – #NYCC

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So, by the time you read this, the New York Comic Con will be less than 24 hours away. Even bigger news; I’ll be going. And I’ll readily admit that I’m feeling kind of excited.

It’s not like it’ll be my first Con. I’ve been to the Baltimore Comic Con numerous times and I’ve even been to the Tucson Comic Con. But the New York Comic Con will be my first of the major cons, you know the cons where stuff is actually announced.

It will also be my first con that has the presence of media other than comics. Another confession of mine; I’m not really a big fan of other media invading comic conventions. I guess I just like my cons to be more pure than that.

Obviously the first thing I’m looking forward to is hitting the panels. I’m a sucker for panels in the first place, but being that it’s NYCC, things will actually be announced. There will be creative teams announced. New titles will be announced. Secrets of events will be divulged. The books that will be hot in 2014 will get their first bits of buzz at NYCC.

I’m also looking forward getting a chance to connect with creators. One of the cooler aspects of being a comic fan is that connection between the fan and the creator. Most creators started out as fans and virtually every other form of entertainment has bit of a barrier between fan and entertainer. At a comic con that barrier is practically nonexistent. And NYCC attracts a huge number of creators.

Who knows; I may even be able to land an interview with someone at some point during the convention.

But equally possible is that I’ll finally get into the sketch game this year. I’ve often pondered getting into getting sketches. I’ve never pulled the trigger on it for a variety of reasons, but maybe this is the year. However that does bring me to the next awesome thing about NYCC; the swag.

The larger the con the better the exclusives. This year NYCC has some pretty sweet exclusives. Virtually ever publisher is offering up some sort of exclusive at NYCC and usually in limited number. I’ll suss out what I really want and what I’m willing to stand in line for.

But I anticipate spending most of my money at the various booths for comic vendors. Unfortunately in the current climate most comic shops devote their space to new issues, trades and collectibles rather than back issues. As such a comic con is a great place to snag those back issues you’re looking for. In my case I’ll be looking for issues of Harley Quinn and random Milestone issues.

However given the number of vendors I can’t really rule out finding other hidden gems that I didn’t even know I was looking for.

And lastly there’s the cosplay. While it’s not my thing (the closest I come to cosplay is the occasional superhero t-shirt) I fully appreciate it as a craft. The passion and devotion is inspiring and wonderful to behold. I will certainly be clearing room on phone for plenty of pictures what are sure to be amazing costumes.

So there you have it; those are the things that I’m expecting from my very first NYCC. Is there anything you think I should be on the lookout for?

Anyway, it’s Wednesday; go out and get some fresh new comics from your local comic shop.