New York City Comic Con, PART ONE

Damn I can't believe it's almost March and I haven't taken the time to post on this blog. Most often, I don't have that much to say, and other times I simply have been too busy.

Busy with work and my comic book series ShadowLaw. If you don't know what that is, click on that link.

Done?

I just got back from the NYC Comic Con -- a convention tends to be the place where the comic book, video game, genre novel, and genre film industries come together to show what they have to sell within the coming weeks, months, and years. Its a great place to network, make new friends (although I have never really made a new friend at a convention), and get about 20 pounds of free swag in the form of books, posters, dvds, games, and toys.

This was the 2nd annual NYC Comic Con and it seemed to be a success. I have some gripes with how the convention was organized in terms of their security and use of space, but overall it was a good show that was a long time coming. NYC has been totally ignored as a place to hold sci-fi, fantasy, comic book, or any kind of convention that deals with cool stuff. I guess the outrageous fees AND TAXES for renting convention space can easily put off organizers.

In any case, I had a blast. Take a look at a few pics:
















This obviously was the entrance.
















This was just a tiny portion of the floor. See those blue banners hanging high in the background? Those are aisle markers, you only see aisles 1 - 5, they had about 10 aisles, an entire section underground for all the panels, and an upper level for the artist alley and celebrity signings. The Jacob Javitz center is a damn large spot.
















This was the booth for the brand new UVC Magazine -- Urban Voice in Comics. I have heard it described as "Vibe" meets "Wizard Mag." At long last, there is a magazine specifically devoted to chronicling the exploits and achievements of Black and Latino comics creators considering the fact that just about every other bit of comics-based journalism completely ignores us (Comics Journal, Comics Buyers Guide, and of course, Wizard Magazine).




















Creator and Publisher Ron King (the black guy in the pic), hands down one of the nicest people I have ever met in comics, has a winner on his hands and judging by the massive support and interest the book recieved, UVC looks to have a fantastic future.

And if you weren't there on Saturday, the UVC booth had a live DJ spinning the best in old school hip-hop, soul, and R&B. These guys knew how to throw a party.

I went to the Con to promote my series ShadowLaw and to talk to the guys who publish the book at Arcana Studios. The Arcana booth was awesome, except that the entire group of 10-12 creators showed up at the Con and most of us were at least 6 feet tall.

Big dudes + small space = bad idea.

I spent the majority of the show at the UVC booth connecting with people and handing out flyers. I even sold a good portion of my preview copies!

I have much more to share, but I will continue in part 2 when I finish loading up all my pictures.

B