TV For The Rest of Us

New York Comic Con, Day One

Written by Alice Jester

I’m here! As exciting as it is to come to this year’s New York Comic Con, how can it not be overwhelming for a small time blogger like myself? I’m attending this massive event among not only other media prepared to take the event by storm with their expensive cameras and audio recorders, but also with swarms of fanboys and geeks (yeah, I don’t know the difference either). By the end of the day one, when I sat in the bar at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square exhausted, sipping on a hurricane, I marveled how I was here and felt like I hit the big time.

The husband and I arrived at the New York Comic Con right around 12:30 after a long midwestern trek via SUV. The trip was eye-opening. I learned the Poconos aren’t all that impressive and at night it’s only you and several trucks in a game of chicken. Luckily our vehicle is designed to dodge close calls. Boy, did we.

Friday overall was a light day in terms of panels and screenings, so the day was devoted to the exhibitors' hall and a whole bunch of people-watching. Just when I thought I’d researched all I needed to know, I caught myself racing to Google when I couldn’t explain to my husband the difference between anime and manga. So for those who have significant others to impress, I’ll explain. Anime refers to the highly stylized Japanese animation used for television, films, commercials, etc while manga refers Japanese comic books. Yeah, I don’t get why there’s two terms either.

Our big thrill for the day was seeing, live and in person, Marina Sirtis, Counselor Troi of Star Trek: The Next Generation, who was offering her signature for $20. Considering hardly anyone was in that line, I’m assuming people didn’t think that was worth the price. She looked wonderful, by the way. Lou Ferrigno, the original Incredible Hulk from the lame '70s/'80s TV series of the same name, was offering autographs as well. I would have only paid for it if he wore the green makeup. He’ll be there all weekend, so there’s still hope. He looked very good for his age as well.

The booth with the most excitement promoted Yatterman, for Takashi Miike, the film’s producer, was the big guest of honor of the day in a late afternoon panel. As exciting as his presence was, they lost us when the phrase "giant robots" was given for the film description. We missed the panel since the line was ridiculously long and I didn’t want to rob a fanboy of the opportunity to see someone he was actually familiar with.

As for costumes, the number of people in them was surprisingly light. I only saw one scantily clad woman in a leather bodysuit and platform boots. Not a Superman, Flash, or Green Lantern was seen anywhere. I got my fill, though, of both women and men wearing their flashing Wonder Woman visors and silver wrist cuffs, so it all balanced out.

Journalists were there with their video cameras and tape recorders from outlets like MTV, Time magazine, and IFC, doing interviews in high profile areas such as gaming and the DC and Marvel sections, all designed to show how they had this event in their back pockets. Me, I was trying to make sure my head wouldn’t explode and found plenty of smaller artists and fringe projects that appreciated the chance to share their work with me. A few managed to single me out in a crowd and talk enthusiastically about their work, and I could tell they were just thrilled to be there. For doing that, they get a plug. This is by no means an official endorsement, just me trying to inform.

Blazing World Media gave me a free preview of their comic Bone Orchard, which is tagged as “The Weird, Weird West.” From creator Dan Davis and artist Ash Jackson, it’s about a bounty hunter of darkness by the name of Long-Stare Jepson, who is half Choctaw/half Swedish shaman.

Creative Impulse Publishing offered a preview of their new comic Durga The Geomancer. The premise is that the earth has reached the seventh cycle, so man has achieved it all. The end is coming. Is Maya Simone the savior or destroyer? The series comes from Jan C. Childress and Kevin Thomas.

On the quirkier side (something I usually go for), a really cool girl in a superhero costume talked about The Misadventures Of Electrolyte And The Justice Purveyors. These are some pretty strange superheroes, but then again, I like strange. Electrolyte has the power to sober up drunks and cure babies of stool liquidity, The Capitalist is a billionaire who pays off criminals not to commit crimes, The Sentence Finisher, well, that pretty much explains itself, and Scabie... I’m not going there.

Do you like really graphic horror in your comics? You know, stuff like eyeballs hanging out of the socket and horrifying creatures that look like me after a bender the next morning. Go to The Dead Comic or Church of Hell Comic. They’ll fix you up.

Since vampires are in these days, how about this? The Blood Rider. According to the synopsis, “Cursed to roam an untamed west as a vampires, Ezekiel Carson, one a devoted man of God, is haunted by his past.” He meets a teacher from New York who is looking for his brother and… go to The Blood Rider or Free Lunch Comics to find out more. It’s created and written by Mark Tarrant.

Emily The Strange comes from Dark Horse Comics, and was popular enough to gets its own panel. The tagline is “Army Of None.”

This one sparked my interest — The Leviathan Chronicles. It asks the question, “Immortality or freedom?” It’s being hailed as The Ultimate Audio Adventure, involving an international cast of over 60 actors. Go to the website to get the free podcast. They promise “cutting edge sound effects and a kick-ass soundtrack.”

This one is just plain demented, but the guys at the booth were super cool and I did like the animation. Go to The Angry Penguin to find out how one twisted penguin goes out of his way with extreme acts to ruin life for people. It’s feel good family entertainment, complete with f-words.

At Anne Elizabeth you can find out more about the coming soon, female power-themed comic, The Pulse of Power. I have no idea what it’s about, but they gave me a button.

The Toxic Avenger, New Jersey’s First Superhero is back! Sort of. It’s now a musical comedy, and will be premiering at New World Stages in New York March 18, 2009. Go to  the website and not only learn about the show, but hear the songs as well. If you don’t cringe, the show might be worth your while.

These people tried to promote their show to me four times, so they actually do get an endorsement. Premiering on Comedy Central Thursday, April 9 at 10pm is Krod Mandoon And The Flaming Sword Of Fire. Ancient fantasy can be funny. If this tagline doesn’t get you, nothing will. “With his ragtag band of inept freedom fighters, Krod will have to overcome hired assassins, petty name-calling, and serious wardrobe malfunctions if he hopes to save the world — and his own skin.” Hey, I’ll watch once.

Saturday is a very busy day at the con, loaded with more high profile screenings and panels and plenty of excitement. Maybe by then I’ll have successfully channeled my inner fan-boy. Or geek. Whatever.