On the Road: New York Comic Con, February 2009

One of the benefits I get from my membership in the Comic Book Artists Guild is the chance to share space at some events that might otherwise be out of my price range.

One such event was the recent New York Comic Con, one of the biggest shows on the East Coast.

The show ran from from Friday through Sunday the first weekend in February, but I had to work on Friday. After doing some frantic running around to get minicomics assembled, Gynn drove me up to Boston, where I was just in time to catch the Fung Wah bus (only $15!) to Chinatown in New York City. I'd made arrangements to stay with my friend Peter and Rachel in Brooklyn.

They live about two blocks from the Brooklyn Museum and I took these pictures Saturday morning as I was heading back to the Subway to get to the con.

From there I took the subway to Penn Station and walked to the Jacob Javits Center. I was told to expect long lines, but things ran very smoothly. I picked up my badge and only had about five minutes in line to get in.

I immediately ran into Phil Foglio's booth and picked up a Girl Genius trade paperback to add to my list of books I need to read. From there, I located the Comic Book Artists Guild booth, where I would be working later in the day.

When I arrived, the booth was being manned by Joe McGlone of Heroic Space Adventures, Stephanie O'Donnel of The Original Nutty Funsters, and Michelle Witchipoo who draws Psycho Bunny and Babylon Babes.

Comic Book Artists Guild conventions coordinator Lindsay Kraemer was showing off her newly-purchased Wonder Woman tiara.

I wasn't on shift until the late afternoon, so I wandered around a bit, eventually meeting up with my friend Agnes and her very cool hat.

We went to a freebies giveaway at the Marvel Comics booth, which got a bit claustrophobic with everyone mobbing the booth in the hopes of getting a free comic or piece of merchandise. I did get a t-shirt, so it was all good.

There were certainly plenty of good freebies to be had, and not just comics. Many of the major SF/fantasy/horror book publishers were holding signings and giving away newly released books. Agnes went home with a bagfull, and I got five or six new novels to read.

I had lunch on Saturday with Joe and Stephanie and her sister, and then attended a panel for creators looking for collaborative partners. It was sort of like speed-dating for writers and artists. I found at least one artist that I may be working with in the near future.

My shift at the CAG booth went well, and after the convention closed, I made my way to the Indy After Party, which CAG was hosting at a pub a few blocks away. After socializing a bit, I made my way back to Brooklyn. Peter and Rachel were out for the evening, but fortunately the Brooklyn Museum was having their First Saturday event: Open until 11 PM and free admission! They have live entertainment and a dance party on the second floor, but that area was full when I arrived, so I just wandered the first floor looking at some of the exhibits.

This is a house-post, carved from cedar on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, around 1912, part of an exhibit on Native American art from the Pacific Northwest.

I also liked this sculpture, The Rebel Angels by Salvatore Albano from 1893.

The temporary exhibit on the first floor was The Black List Project by photographers Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Elvis Mitchell. The exhibit consisted of large portraits of prominent African-Americans in many different fields of art, industry, sports, and politics.

After a nice look at the museum, I met Peter and Rachel back at their place and we stayed up late playing boardgames.

Sunday morning I was on first shift at the CAG booth. Things were slow going at first, but business eventually picked up. Once the shift was over, I wandered around, making some purchases, picking up freebies, and generally taking in the sights of the convention.

This spectacular floor mural of the Watchmen was drawn by street artist Eric Michael Maruscak.

I left the convention around 5 PM and walked up to Port Authority, stopping in for dinner at Burgers & Cupcakes, and took the Greyhound bus back to South Station in Boston, and then caught the Red Line down to Quincy where Gynn picked me up.

I came home with a bunch of comics, graphic novels (I picked up signed copies of Strangers in Paradise and Amelia Rules among others), and assorted toys and merchandise. I also sold some of my comics and did some great networking which will hopefully pay off down the road.