Comic Con 2010

Last weekend I attended the NY Comic Con/Anime Festival at the Jacob Javits Center. This was my second time at the convention but my first time attending as a “professional”. As a fledgling writer for a new comic book company called Excel Comics (http://kindlecomicbooks.com), I was given a free weekend pass to the convention along with the company’s creator, Chi Wang and former Marvel/DC inker & illustrator, Hector Collazo.

If anyone reading this paid for their professional badge, I’m sorry for that. All I know is that I got a frantic email and call a day before the deadline to apply. It was sheer luck that we discovered this free offer.

Just like last year, this year I had a blast. I always get a kick out of seeing the most bizarre and outlandish costumes people wear and the energy they bring with them. The convention floor is literally packed with vendors, artists, fans and exhibits.

This time around Hector, Chi and I were there to network and to get the word out that Excel Comics was now live. I took every opportunity to not only talk about the company but about new book, Crimebuster which should be hitting the Kindle in early January. Print will follow at the company’s site.

Comics on the Kindle? Yeah, it can be done if done correctly and Chi has managed to do it right. It really looks great on the Kindle as a black and white comic. The pencils alone look very strong and tailor made for the ereader. Eventually we’ll move it to the iPad but for now, we’re taking one step at a time.

The line was VERY long, wrapping around at the street level and ending at the bottom. If you didn’t order tickets ahead in advance, you were destined to be on be on this line from hell.

Last year 77,000 attended. This year went easily over 80,000+.

The six predators made an entrance shortly after Hector and I got our badges. They strutted as if they owned the place. They were an impressive sight and everyone moved out of the way.

Marvel was on hand to give a ton of freebies such as figures, posters, comics and even iPhone skins.

Video games played a major role at the convention with Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation and many video game companies showcasing their new games. Rockstar had a massive booth with demos of the upcoming Red Dead Undead Nightmare. The lines for that was too long.

Movies and TV shows have become standard fare now at these conventions. 20th Century Fox was showcasing the new Aliens films on Blu-ray. Here participants were put in sleeping pods to watch a special preview of the films.

After taking a picture with the lovely ladies, I donned a pair of glasses and watched the 3D trailer of the Green Hornet. Any doubts I had with Seth Rogen and this film were promptly dispelled. This car is the 27th of 29 cars that were built for the movie.

In Artist Alley, we walked around and met some of Hector’s former colleagues and some new faces. Last year I got to meet Walt Simonson (absolutely a great guy) and Chris Metzen (Blizzard Art Director) and that was my highlight of that day. This time around I met Michael Golden (Marvel illustrator and bonafide legend) and Peter David (screenwriter & author). I later got the opportunity to attend a special panel with Peter along with a movie producer and an agent where they discussed how graphic novel creators and Hollywood team up to make movie adaptations.

This year, Artist Alley was located in an entirely different section of the convention, equally as big as the main floor. It was good to see that the artists were given the love and their own space.

The one and only Peter David, prolific author and screenwriter. I was very happy to meet him today.

I attended the convention the whole weekend with Sunday being a special day for kids as they were given free passes under the age of 12. I took my daughter along with me and it was her first convention. I took her to see The Walking Dead panel and sneak preview of the TV this October. Unfortunately the line and wait was VERY long and I felt bad for subjecting her to that nonsense. We left early after seeing the clips and some of the panel discussion. She was a trooper so I got her something eat and bought her a toy.

Why did I subject myself and my daughter to this madness? If I had to do it all over again, I would’ve skipped this panel.

I had no idea that the IGN theater was this HUGE! After getting our seats, we watched 6 minutes of The Walking Dead (where Glenn makes his appearance and saves the hero’s hide from hungry zombies). This series looks great! The creature effects (and gore!) were topnotch.

I must admit I enjoyed the panel with writer Robert Kirkman, producer Gale Anne Hurd and director Frank Darabont.

Shortly after all the actors introduced themselves, my daughter and I left to eat and to enjoy the rest of the convention before closing time.

The entire weekend was awesome and I look forward to doing it again. We hope to get a table to promote Crimebuster. Hopefully by that time our book will be a runaway success.