About a year ago, Lance and I started drafting a combined bucket list. I’m not thrilled with calling it a bucket list, so I haven’t been too dedicated in continuing to add to it. Mentioning ‘kicking the bucket’ is such a grim way of discussing exciting things that we want to do during our lives. If you have any better alternatives to the name “bucket list”, send them my way. I’d love to hear them!
Alright, bucket list rant aside, one of the first things Lance told me to put on the list was Comic Con. When we first started venturing into NYC on our own, we seemed to always end up in the city during Comic Con weekend. We would walk through Hell’s Kitchen, wander into the flea market and then catch on that it was Comic Con weekend due to the large number of costumed peoples passing us.
That and the experience I had in ordering my tickets should have been an indication of just how many people attend each year. I signed up for email notifications from Comic Con as soon as Lance told me he wanted to go to be prepared for when tickets went on sale. This seemed to be one of those events that you needed to order yours tickets way ahead of time, so I was ready. Because I was working back then, I didn’t get online to order my tickets until two hours after they went on sale. I figured, I’m only two hours behind, it shouldn’t be an issue. After sitting in the queue, then getting kicked out of the queue, then sitting in another queue, the only tickets left for purchase were on Sunday (Comic Con lasts from Thursday until Sunday). I had about five minutes to consider my purchase or get kicked out of the queue, again.
For $50 each, we had our tickets for Comic Con.
Sunday, as you might expect, was the shortest day of the convention. Still I thought for certain we would be bored hours before the 5 pm ending time. That was not at all the case. There was so much to do, the only downside being the massive amount of people we had to shuffle along with in order to be able to do everything!
Seriously, it was worse than being in Times Square.
I’m a shopper, in case you haven’t realized that already from this blog, so we headed to Artist’s Alley where artists were selling their creative renditions of popular characters. In the morning, this area was crowded, by the afternoon it was wall to wall with people. It was all so overwhelming. We didn’t end up buying anything, but if you have a favorite character who you love like family, you certainly could find incredibly unique art of them in Artist’s Alley.
I learned a new word at Comic Con. Many of you probably already know it, however, I’m the dummy who didn’t understand it until it was shoved in my face. I noticed signs around that said, “Cosplay is not consent”. It took me hearing a girl tell another girl that she “loved her cosplay” for me to realize that cosplay is the dressing up that is done at Comic Con.
I know. You’re probably all shaking your heads at me in disappointment.
In my defense, cosplay sounds a lot like some of these newfangled games that are available today, of which I am completely ignorant.
I suppose sometimes people who dress up don’t want to have their picture taken, thus the ‘cosplay is not consent’ signs. However, I feel like if you dress up, that is kind of what you’re signing up for.
Just another day at the office for Darth Vader.
Some of my least favorite costumes included guys dressed as girls, for no apparent reason, and girls dressed in costumes that were two sizes too small for them. If you have thick thighs, as I do, you probably shouldn’t be wearing a leotard that makes your butt cheeks bulge outside of the leotard and then pair it with only a cape–a cape that stops above your butt.
Alright, second rant over.
My favorite costume, was one that most probably wouldn’t know. As we were walking in one of the more crowded areas, I saw a man wearing a pot on his head, a white long sleeved shirt, white pajama pants and a board in front of his chest that had a few things glued to it, including a kitchen sink faucet. As soon as I saw the faucet, I knew what it was…anybody else?
If you aren’t familiar with The Honeymooners, you probably have no idea and will want to skip this paragraph. Fortunately, I was raised on old shows like The Honeymooners, I Love Lucy and The Marx Brothers. The costume was Ralph Kramden dressed as The Man from Space. We were moving so fast that I only had a split second to recognize and then point out the costume to Lance. It wasn’t until we were away from him that I realized I should have taken a picture with him.
Maleficent and her little descendant
I don’t know about the Joker and Batman, but that is one awesome Penguin. (And how about little Robin, too?)
Another favorite included a rather young, baby faced man dressed as Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation. His baby face could have detracted from his costume, but his costume was flawless and he had the eyebrow raise down so perfect that it made up for it.
Honorable mention goes to this couple dressed as the old man and boy scout from Up.
As we were standing in line for lunch I saw the man and couldn’t place what he was supposed to be. Then I saw the ‘boy’ scout next to him and said to Lance, “Aw, that’s cute. That old guy dressed up as the old man from Up and brought his granddaughter with him as the boy scout.” Then I realized that it really wasn’t an old man and that the boy scout wasn’t a young girl, but actually the not old man’s girlfriend.
Ew.
Wrong combination of people to go as those characters.
I did catch a glimpse of Jon Snow and Daenerys which I deemed much more appropriate as a couple’s costume.
Cuteness award goes to this elderly man who dressed up in a pumpkin suit and brought his grandchildren.
When we first arrived I was out-of-my mind excited to see that the Mac Truck of NYC was there. If you watched Food Network’s Star this season, you’ll remember one of the finalists: Dom Tesoriero. You know, the one who should have won. (I promise, I’m not bitter or anything). Mac Truck of NYC is his food truck. Though he wasn’t working the truck on Sunday, I was still thrilled to have finally found it and to be able to enjoy his food. 
The line for Mac Truck was no joke.
The mac and cheese had the perfect balance of cheeses with a beautifully creamy consistency. We couldn’t resist and ordered two: Bacon Mac & Cheese and Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese. Even though the mac and cheese part was the same for both, the flavors developed by adding bacon to one and buffalo chicken to the other created two completely different dishes. I loved them both.
In addition to costume watching and shopping, fans are able to stand in lines and pay for pictures and autographs with celebrities.
We did not do this.
We passed the table of body builder, King Kai, and Chad L. Coleman from Walking Dead, both men who I had never heard of before this day. So we saw celebrities, but waiting in long lines and then having to pay $50 just for their signature was something we weren’t willing to do.
Seriously, do celebrities really need $50 for their signature?
We did, however, sit in a few of the many panels that were scheduled that day. The panels alone could take up your entire day. The last panel we went to was titled “Warner Brothers TV Takeover” and it was four hours long because it included five new TV series that Warner Brothers is currently offering. They went out of order from the program, so we ended up seeing the panel for the shows Blindspot, Person of Interest, and Gotham. Gotham was the only one I was really interested in since Lance and I have been currently watching it. I’ve heard some old school Batman fans (Lance included) say that they don’t really like the show, but I’m in love with it. To put it in a few words, it is showing Batman before he is Batman, as well as, all the villains before they are the true Batman villains we all know and love.
The stars of Gotham
While in the panels we had to endure some awkward questions from fans during Q&A time. Included were men telling Ashley Johnson how beautiful she was and then asking for her autograph, people who didn’t actually ask questions, but instead told the actors how much they loved them in their other works and people looking for tips on how to break into acting. The worst of all was the girl who started by asking the panelists of Person of Interest how they became actors and then directly asked Jim Caviezel for a hug. It went like this, “Oh my gosh, I’m so nervous. Umm, I wanted to know, umm, how did you all become actors? And also, I know they told us last year we couldn’t do this, but then I saw other people do it and, could I get a hug from Jim? It would be like, the best thing ever, and it would be an early birthday present for me,”
Awkward.
Jim Caviezel on the panel for Person of Interest
Of course, not wanting to be a jerk in front of hundreds of people, Jim Caviezel said yes and the girl came on stage and literally wrapped herself around him. She was removed from stage a few minutes later.
The panel of Wabbit: Wile E. Coyote, Porky, Bugs and Mr. Producer
Another panel I enjoyed was “Wabbit-A Looney Tunes Production”. They played two unaired episodes of the newest Looney Tunes show Wabbit. Though it is missing something of the old Looney Tunes, it was still cool to sit in a panel and hear the perspectives of a producer and voice actors of the show. Apparently, Wile E. Coyote now has a voice. Lance and I weren’t too thrilled with that, but the voice of Porky Pig was there and we learned that he was the voice of Porky in Space Jam, a little piece of our childhood.
Overall, I’m glad we went. Though the crowds were a little overwhelming at times, it was worth it for the experience of Comic Con. If we ever go again, our plan is to go on one of the first days and/or to go to the Comic Con in San Diego.
If you aren’t interested in paying $50 to go into Comic Con, but like people watching, I would recommend grabbing a folding chair and parking it outside of the Javits Center during Comic Con weekend. I’m pretty sure you will find hours of entertainment.
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