I’m back from my first ever trip to the Big Apple. It was an overwhelming experience for me to say the least. I’m torn on my feelings about the city itself, but singular on my feelings about the New York Comicon.
The New York Comicon reminds me of the San Diego con circa 2001. Things had just started getting big, but not so big that you wanted to kill yourself on day two. It’s mostly still about comics (albeit they had a big video game presence) which is awesome. The first half-day of the con is reserved for professionals and other exhibitors, which is something I miss at the SDCC. It’s a nice calm before the storm and an opportunity for those stuck behind the booth all weekend to get out and browse.
My readership on the east coast is strikingly different from my readers anywhere else. They are direct and genuine. Mike K commented that they look you right in the eye when they talk to you and that was something I noticed as well. It was a treat to meet PvP readers for the first time ever. Everyone was friendly, supportive and excited to be at the show. One friendly reader even forgot to pay in his excitement. I said nothing because I didn’t want to be rude or embarrass. He came back later after realizing and made sure he paid. That’s classy.
The city itself scares the ever-living christ out of me. Straub described it like being in a dwarven city. There is nothing but technology and stone and no sign of nature anywhere. Every street looks like a back-street. It’s a maze, a labyrinth that this suburban boy was befuddled by. Luckily I had a city mouse with me who forced me to venture forth into the concrete jungle and experience some NYC.
Some of my most amazing and surreal experiences post-con include:
- Soup Dumplings at a restaurant that felt like a place a mob boss would plan a hit
- The Tick-Tock diner and our non-monte cristo sandwiches
- The awesome party at Stitch
- Khoo leading us to White Castle after the party and purchasing a crave case of sliders
- Making a girl cry
- The Blackberry Party at the Cave Lounge, where I performed improv karaoke to a Rob Base song
- Taking a “album cover†type photo with Penny-Arcade business crew in Times Square
- Accidentally driving past one of the restaurants featured in Kitchen Nightmare. Purnima. It looked small and empty
- Searching for Gellato
- Humus plus braised short ribs on white pollenta at that awesome greek restaurant
- Learning how to properly drink a single malt scotch
I would love to go back and I will next year. This convention is not to be missed. But next year I will get a native to show me the better parts of the city. Rosenberg told me that the area around the Javits center ain’t the greatest and I think that’s where we ended up haunting on our evenings out.
It was fun, but boy am I’m glad to be home.
