Quote:
Originally Posted by carlito1978
cool headshot jam. what is your overall assessment of this years nycc?
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It was good show. I was there Saturday and Sunday. I came into the New Hudson Yards Station a block from Javitz, which is probably the cleanest subway station I've ever seen...I give it two weeks before it looks like the rest of the system.
On Saturday I made a bee line for Artist's Alley as soon as the place opened. I was hoping to get Todd Nauck and Kevin Maguire to contribute to the jam. Unfortunately, Nauck was immediately booked and when I saw Maguire a couple of hours later, he didn't have time for sketching. Still, I'm really happy with the people I did get.
I got Bob McLeod to sign my copy of GI Joe 59, which was my first comic. I asked him if he had any pages left, but he didn't. I also spoke to Gary Erskine about pages from his Thunderbolts run inking Tom Grummett. He does have pages, but not with him, so I'll be contacting him soon.
Last year I started getting creators to sign a baseball. I figure that signed comics are great, but I usually just wind up filing them away with the rest of my books. This is something I can stick on a shelf or a table and makes for a nice conversation piece. Last year I got Chris Claremont, Peter David, Len Wein, and Gerry Conway. This year, I added Kevin Maguire, Fabian Nicieza, Walt Simonson, and Louise Simonson.
The Art Auction is the one thing I make sure I never miss. Mike Negin and company do a fantastic job. Their goal this year was $29,000. They passed it halfway through and wound up making $48,000! But best of all is how they have so many pieces, and most of them go for under $200, so it is VERY easy to walk away with something really nice.
But as much I love the art side of NYCC, I always come away feeling like I missed so much else. Part of it is my fault, honestly. I rarely make it to panels. Either I'm busy doing other things that I miss them entirely or I don't arrive early enough and the panel line is capped (seriously, who would have thought that an Economics of Star Trek panel would fill up that quickly?). But there are things they can do better too. The lines for the Main Stage Panels, Daily Sketch lists, Funko Exclusives, and Special Cast Signings all started at the same time. So going to more than one is impossible and going to any can be tough because if you miss out on your first choice, then you can easily miss out on them all.
But all in all, that's a minor thing. I love the show. I get to meet up with friends, make new ones, get some great art, and meet some of my favorite creators. There's always next year to plan better.
