NYCC Report: Day 2

I started the morning by waiting on a line for an armband to see Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, who I have been desperately trying to get a signature from for well over two years.

I spent most of my day on the main floor, anticipating a flood of fans tomorrow and plenty of sellouts while I plan to be busy in panels. That helped today feel a little less pressurized and more open to possibilities.

My window-shopping couldn’t last long as I was due at IDW and Top Shelf’s “Best Panel of All Time”. The panel was full of Transformers fans, leading to a running joke as each fan in the Q&A shamefully admitted that their question was for John Barber, but there was plenty to hear. I was particularly interested in Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, a lighter series set just before Star Trek (2009) and during Star Trek Into Darkness.

Jem fans will be excited to hear that the well received revival is entering its first big event in the form of “Dark Jem.” Barber also carefully admitted that IDW’s Ghostbusters books were better than they should be, even considering the beloved position the original films occupy. Having just read a bunch of Ghostbusters vol. 2, I honestly have to agree and those desperate for more after the series’ explosive finale will be happy to hear that Ghostbusters International is on its way. The panel also focused especially on The Infinite Loop, an incredibly gorgeous original series from France.

But, as I said, Transformers was definitely the main draw for most of the crowd and the panel delivered. With both of the Transformers series approaching issue #50, Transformers: Till All Are One on the horizon, and “Titans Return” launching next summer, John Barber filled in a missing piece in the form of The Transformers (née Robots in Disguise)’s semi-centennial arc. Forced into an uncomfortable position by the events of the just started “Conquerors” arc and wracked with guilt over the damage his people have done to Earth, Optimus will be forcibly adding Earth into Cybertron’s Council of Worlds in “All Hail Optimus”.

After the panel I returned to the con floor and picked up a couple of spare issues I was looking for. It’s definitely a con that seems to be focused around single issues over trades, at least in regards to bargain shopping. Trades seemed to be afterthoughts at most stalls, with the exception being large venders with huge selections but slightly lighter deals. It still amazes how easy it is to find individual issues. Lots of sellers have kept their bins alphabetized and stocked with varied books. There’s only been one issue that I’ve been actively looking for that’s eluded me, with the rest showing up within a stall or two.

With twenty minutes to spare before Marvel’s Avengers and Iron Man panel, I headed down to the panel rooms. I was a little later than I would have liked, but I hoped that I could sneak in just under the room count. I was wearing my Blue Lantern shirt today, and, rather appropriately, I discovered, I was being wildly hopeful.

The overflow line had been capped fifteen minutes before and people had started lining up two hours in advance. I had spent part of the day standing in an unmoving line, but that was ridiculous. I resolved to leave much more time tomorrow and took a trip to Artist Alley.

One thing that interested me about artist alley was the number of empty tables. Between creators who were on panels and those who hasn’t set up yet at 2:00 pm on the second day of the convention, there were noticeable gaps in the program, particularly among the Big 2 writers.

Nonetheless, you weren’t really in danger of running out of people to see and art to buy. I brought some Transformers comics to Andrew Griffith, who actually said that he found Thursday busier than Friday. It was strange to finally check other news sites and see reports that artist alley had been closed down, though I’ve also heard talk that it was the connecting hallway that had the trouble, not the room itself.

Back on the show floor I moved into the geekdom estuary where the rivers of small venders meet the ocean of major multinational companies. I picked up some ashcan previews from IDW and poked my head in at Dynamite. I also waited while a friend entered a contest at the Dark Horse booth and won a digital download of some Dragon Age books.

I also took some nostalgic, masochistic pleasure in looking at Bandai’s Power Ranger booth. I never had the original Megazord or Dragonzord as a child so now, as an adult, it was truly tempting to look at the Legacy Dragonzord. I was also shocked to note that the Legacy White Tiger Zord seemed much smaller than the one I had as a child. In fact, all of them did. I wonder if I was right or if I just got bigger. Of course, some things did grow in scale with me, like Saba, who’s now a $100 collectable that just looks amazing. I nearly grabbed a Power Morpher, but I really wanted it twenty years ago, not now. Besides, Zordon insists that I never reveal my secret identity, and I’d want to show that to every one.

I decided to get on line for Scott Snyder’s signing so I wouldn’t have to wait too long once the line started moving. About half an hour before the signing the line was already impressive. It actually took almost an hour to finally reach the front of the line, but I did it. I finally got Scott Snyder to sign some of my comics. I chose Batman #5, Detective Comics #871, and my original copy of The Wake #1-5. I told Snyder that I chose these few from among my many options because they were the ones that I didn’t just put down and think ‘Scott Snyder tells such good stories’, these were the ones that made me think ‘I want to tell good stories. I have stories to tell.’ Snyder, with his trademark sincerity, thanked me quickly before I had to move on, but it felt really good.

I also appreciated that Greg Capullo didn’t mind that I had put so much emphasis on Snyder and that he seemed really happy that Scott seemingly felt validated by my comments. Snyder often describes Capullo like a brother and it kind of felt that way.