RECAP: NYC Comicon 2013

So I know this is a bit late (that's okay, its my blog and I can do whatever the hell I want) but I attended last year's comicon. It was at the Javitz center in NYC. It being my first comic convention I wasn't too sure what to expect. I had heard a lot about it and always wanted to check it out, even despite cooky tales of cosplayers freaking people out.

So I finally worked up the courage to take the plunge. Once decided the first step was to exchange monetary funds for written permission to enter premises. I chose to conduct this exchange electronically, the preferred medium of 21st century citizenry. True to their word, my pass arrived in the mail weeks in advance which really got me excited. There wasn't one for MW, the con was too freaky for her taste. But I had her blessings which counts a lot when you are a desi geek raising a family, while holding down a job where you are suppose to come off as a responsible adult (what's that? No, I don't have issues).

As usual I took the train into Manhattan as soon as I got off, I was swarmed by cosplayers. I found myself ogling some pretty racy costumes, hawkgirl in particular. I had to battle my nafs and focus my eyeballs on something else, spiderman didn't help. But at least I didn't have to whip out my GPS, I just followed the freaks.

At the convention gate they had a checkpoint. You had to get your weapons marked as genuine fakes otherwise they wouldn't let them in. I had dressed up as myself and didn't have any knives, swords, battle axes to speak of, so I was ushered in with no worries. I flowed into the convention center as part of an eager crowd. Entering the main show floor was pretty wild. My senses were instantly assaulted with a dazzling display. The Javitz is a functional yet spectacular structure, my gaze couldn't help going up to the glass ceiling.

I took this pic myself. It came out pretty good, using only my Sony. It looks really good I keep it as a wallpaper on my personal laptop. Serves as a memento of a fun filled day. Cuz what was housed in that glass ceiling was Equally amazing

Bad Robot, the logo for JJ Abrams' Studio

Bumblebee, with anonymous Asian kid

Venom with purple haired girl

I was ecstatic to see that a fellow brother was on the docket. I am speaking of none other than Muhammad Aurangzeb Ahmad, another shining sadi star. But unfortunately he wasn't there on the day I attended. At any rate it was great to see one of us at such a prestigious event. Shining light on an important topic such as diversity in geekdom.

The organizers had done a bang up job of getting convention goers in front of attractions they were interested in seeing. Of particular note was their app. Although I had trouble with it on my HTC with an ancient version of the droid OS, the matter was magically resolved once I submitted a bug report to the developers. After that I was able to access the app's cool features. The most useful being the show floor. Weeks before the convention I was pouring over the layout figuring which booths and stalls I had to see. The best part was that you could plan out your day. The convention events and panels are divided by interest. I ate up as many writing and publishing events as I could. I still have the app installed and mess around with it every now and then. Which is a good idea as they let you know when the next one is!

One survival tip that I will give you fair reader is to get to your event ahead of time. Don't underestimate the sheer number of geeks you will encounter. The rooms fill up pretty quickly and as seating is first come first serve basis, they will reluctantly close the door on you. I missed out on a few panels due to this. Lucky for me I wised up and was able to catch a few choice ones.

A panel discussing the upcoming Star Wars movies

So when not attending panels I was busy checking out the show floor. After all where else are you going to find celebrities like these:

New and Old Ghostbusters!

But I only got a glance, I had a shopping list to get through. Seeing that the show floor was divided into aisles. I decided in order to get to each stall I will snake my way through each aisle. I started off on the far end and wound my way over. I must admit I wasn't too interested in the comics. I still haven't gotten through all my Star Trek Comics. I blurred past those stalls. I was more interested in immersing myself in fandom. I wanted to be reminded of fantastical worlds as I went about my business. One way to do that was to get another geeky decal for my car. I already have a Starfleet academy license frame and was hankering for more. Something for the back window would be nice. My mind's eye saw the autobot logo or Starfleet insignia or even a storm trooper emblazoned decal. I set about my quest, browsing through catalogue after catalogue but alas I couldn't find something suitable for the family car. I finally settled for a SG1 lapel pin (MW doesn't let me wear it when I am with her, so I pinned it to my gear bag).

Get your SG1 Lapel and you too can join the SGC!

With that taken care of I went looking for a tee shirt. I was looking for something I could wear when I realized I could score some points if I got one for MW (guys it works!). I got her a cute tee with the words "I heart my geek", fitting don't you think? Next up was a DVD after flipping through numerous titles some too hard core for family use, I finally settled on Planet Hulk. This movie really resonated with me. I liked how the hulk was put in an environment where his angst became a virtue. I draw parallels with jobs I have held down in the past my default behavior can either be an asset or liability in a given environment. The lesson I took from this film was to seek out environments that are compatible with your personality, hiring manager will be doing the same. In the end you and all whom you come in contact with will be happier. And if you think that is too difficult don't, the universe has a tendency to group like minded people together.

Before leaving I had to check out an interesting company featured on the app. It turns out that a company by the name of Graphic Audio has taken the concept of audio books and turned it on its head. Imagine how enhanced text looks and feel in a comic so do the sound clips provided by this company. Conventional audio books has one performer reading the text. Sure they make an effort to add inflection to their tone, however it can get dull if the story is not so good. Now think of a radio play with ensemble cast and glorious sound effects. That's what GA brings to the table. If you check out their website you will see that they have many popular titles. The only drawback is the high production cost which is recovered from the listener. Plus a lot of new releases don't show up on their list. You have to rely on conventional mainstays like audibles for those. But do check them out. You can start with some free samples to wet your appetite. Also look for a review on some of their titles on an upcoming post!.

NYC after a long day comiconing,
is that spidey swinging from the empire state?

All in all it was a great day but now it was time to get back to MWand the serenity of domestic life. Don't worry as long as you have a bag of swag its all good.