The Buzz: Special New York Comic Con Edition {MotH Original}

{Originally published in two parts in Man of the Hour Magazine on October 20th and October 22nd, 2014}

The Buzz is back this week, but a little different. That’s right, this week its the Special NYCC Edition (not to be confused with Special Edition NYC, which is in June). Man of the Hour sent Entertainment Editor Mike Natale out to New York’s biggest pop culture event (and technically the biggest in the entire country, now that the numbers are in), and in full Lone Ranger costume, no less. Here with the play by play of a crazed four days, Mike chimes in:

Forget The Book of Mormon, there’s a new hottest ticket in town. Where once badges to enter the Jacob Javitts center on its most nerdy weekend could be obtained even on the day, this year 4 Day Passes sold out within a matter of minutes, and for good reason: NYCC is the Media Mecca, bringing together retailers, creators and fans in a massive collective of pop-culture passion. Ever since Marvel united (most of) their Avengers on stage to debut new footage, NYCC has been fighting its way up, gathering steam to overtake its West Coast rival, and the fans have been reaping all the benefits. From The Walking Dead and Gotham to the upcoming Big Hero 6 and the Netflix exclusive Daredevil, anybody who was anybody to the comic book culture was there. I decided to join in the fun, costumed as the original costumes hero (well, ok, besides the Shadow, Zorro, The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh and the Scarlet Pimpernel), the ghost of failed blockbusters past, The Lone Ranger.

As the line to get in stretched down two avenues, the anticipation grew amongst the crowd for all that would be revealed. The first panel of the day in Main Hall D (the biggest room in the building, home to the biggest bombshells every year) was for two upcoming Disney films, the comic book adaptation Big Hero 6 and Brad Bird’s mysterious new project Tomorrowland. Thanks to a far more efficient wristband system (until this year, NYCC used to have a first come first served policy for the main panel room wherein those who got to the room first could sit for the entire day awaiting an evening panel, forcing those who were delayed to wait outside in the hopes one seat would free up), I walked right in, though not before taking a picture with a 5 year old Captain America who repeatedly told me how he “had [me] in Disney Infinity” (an interactive toy-based video game featuring Disney characters that’s cool enough to make you wish you were a kid again).

Sitting down, one discovers that beneath each seat was a collection of items, including an exclusive poster for Big Hero 6, a mysterious T shaped pin (the meaning of which would be explored as the panel drew on) and a preview sample of the upcoming Tomorrowland prequel novel. Some bags (though not this intrepid masked journalist’s) contained a white wristband as well. After a warm-up set from a DJ and comedian (a new addition to NYCC just introduced last year) who had to stall while the panel was allegedly stuck in an elevator, it was time for the festivities to officially begin, with moderator and media icon Chris Hardwick taking the stage to introduce the team behind Disney’s newest animated adventure. As the behind the camera team first took the stage, director Don Hall explained that it was at this very convention where the idea to make the film first came together and revealed a picture of himself taken years prior at the Marvel booth holding Captain America’s shield. “I grew up loving two things more than anything: Marvel comics and Disney animation” Hall stated, and that loved shined through as we were introduced to, in an exclusive clip yet to leak online, the full colorful cast within the film’s fictional fantasyland dubbed “San Fransokyo”, including protagonist Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter), an robotics prodigy and underground illegal bot-fighter, his older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) and Tadashi’s college friends GoGo Tomago (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) and Fred (T.J. Miller).

After the clip, Hardwick brought out the cast, including 30 Rock’s Scott Adsit, who gazed upon the room with emotional eyes. “…I have always been, you know, in the crowd and to be up here and being something so kind of central to this movie is mind-blowing” the frequent con-goer expressed, before stating that he himself has never been able to get into Main Hall D in any of his times coming to the convention as a regular attendee. We were then introduced to Baymax, the character for which Adsit provides the voice, a healthcare robot designed by Hiro’s brother Tadashi whose pleasant voice and chubby, soft, inflated body will soon be reprogrammed by an ambitious Hiro to create the ultimate fighting machine to square off against a strange, evil force known thus far only as the “man in the kabuki mask”. After a thrilling chase scene that plays likeFrozen meet Bullitt, Hardwick dismissed the cast with a final surprise for the crowd: that nifty white wristband would grant the wearer access to an early screening of Big Hero 6 that evening. The crowd went wild as the stage cleared and Hardwick introduced the team behind Disney’s Tomorrowland, director Brad Bird, best known for The Iron Giant and the Oscar-winning The Incredibles, and Lost producer and Star Trekslaughterer Damon Lindelof, both of whom delightfully danced around providing any real information on the enigmatic endeavor short of admitting the film was inspired by the Disney Park of the same name. Hoping the cast would shed some light, Hardwick beckoned Raffey Cassidy, Britt Robertson and House M.D.’s Hugh Laurie to the stage, yet beyond people describing their characters as “good” or “not good”, not much was revealed until Bird finally relented and presented the crowd with the Tomorrowland teaser trailer (which would debut online later that day).

Finding an opportunity to finally get the panel moving (thrilling as the brief flicker of a trailer was), Hardwick pressed the cast as to what it was like working with George Clooney, who appeared in the footage shown. The two actresses recited the usual kind words about the Oscar winner, explaining how Clooney would play music on set, and they’d dance, before Laurie turned his usual dry British wit towards the former Sexiest Man Alive. “I’m glad he’s not actually present at the moment because it frees me up to say one or two things about George Clooney, who has constructed, painstakingly this image of the good guy, the nice guy, everybody’s friend, the chivalrous saint. Well, there’s been no mention of the drinking. There’s been no mention of the shouting, the ceaseless shouting. Lying about his age, he’s 75 if he’s a day…” Laurie’s continued speech was drowned out by a dawning realization as the well dressed man who had begun walking across the stage became recognized. Low grumblings began as soon as the sight of the greying yet immaculate hair was hit by the light, and before the cameras of Main Hall D found their target, the audience was already well aware that the big momentous moment of NYCC, the one that would make the papers and be the “I was there” event of the whole convention was happening on what was usually the slowest day. Yes, the former Caped Crusader himself, George Clooney, strode across the stage of Main Hall D and took his seat alongside another former TV doctor, but Hardwick wouldn’t let him forget his comic book connection. After Clooney pointed out that he was spending his honeymoon at Comic-Con (his first, in fact), Hardwick complimented him on his “excellent Bruce Wayne cosplay”. “I think since my Batman I was disinvited from Comic-Con for 20 years” Clooney remarked, to which Hardwick retorted “No one would say that…out loud” before George continued to comically apologize for 1997’s disastrous Batman & Robin (a film notable for both killing the lucrative franchise until Nolan’s trilogy and for its full-length apology DVD commentary by its director). “I met Adam West [backstage] just now and I was like ‘Hey, I’m really sorry’. He goes ‘Give me a fist bump’ and I was like ‘Just hit me’.” Clooney then playfully badgered Bird about the lack of footage, segueing into a thrilling piece of action as Clooney’s cantankerous Frank Walker and Robertson’s Casey Newton are chased through Walker’s high-tech house, trying desperately to evade terrifying humanoid robots who seem to be hunting Casey for an unexplained reason. Though little was revealed about the actual plot of Tomorrowland (though Entertainment Weekly would get the exclusive scoop on the story), its bits of footage and book sample showed enough promise to absolutely be the film to watch out for this coming year, and the panel itself quickly became the talk of the con floor.

It’s worth noting that this convention had not just one but four former Batmans on hand, as though to continue the celebration DC had launched to commemorate the dark knight’s 75th Anniversary, with Adam West 9 present to promote the upcoming Blu-Ray box set of the 1966 Batman television series, Kevin Conroy (the voice of Batman from the beloved and groundbreaking 1990’s animated series) signing autographs for fans and 1989’s Batman Michael Keaton on stage alongside Edward Norton to promote his upcoming Oscar-buzzed Birdman. Forgoing a traditional booth on the convention floor for a strip outside the Empire E-1 stage (similar to what they did last year for the man of steel’s diamond jubilee) DC crafted a loving tribute to the caped crusader rife with Bat-artifacts, including the memorial statue from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, and a costume from (almost) all of the cinematic Batmans, from Keaton and Kilmer to Christian Bale and, yes, even Clooney (complete with infamous Bat-nipples). Before the convention floor even opened, the US postal service was on hand to launch the official US Postal Stamp to honor the costumed hero, featuring four different incarnations of the character made available for sale at the convention (now available at post offices everywhere), including artwork from revered comic book artist Jim Lee and the original Batman design as crafted by creator Bob Kane. Even if no “big reveals” came from the upcomingBatman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (though Affleck’s cowl, as you can see in the above video, was present), from the booth to the Batmen to the 75th Anniversary panel (which featured basically any comic book artist present who had ever drawn a Batarang), it was clear the legacy of the caped crusader hadn’t faltered at all in three quarters of a century.

Time, as always at a bustling event like New York Comic Con, was not on my side, as I rushed from gawking at gadgets from a utility belt over to the McFarlane Toys booth, where Man of the Hour was invited to an unveiling of the popular adult collectibles company’s newest endeavor, introduced by the company’s founder, Todd McFarlane. For those unaware, McFarlane was a comic book artist who rose to prominence in the 90’s for his stunning and distinct visual style, revamping the character of Spider-Man (as well as co-creating the beloved villain Venom) before casting aside his contract with Marvel Comics in order to try and make it on his own. Marvel, like its rival DC, had a policy of retaining exclusive the rights to any characters published in its books, to do with as they pleased without the consent of the creators. Though independent comic books did exist before Todd and his crew broke free of the chains of the “big two”, they’d always been a faltering, extremely niche genre. That all changed with the dawn of Spawn, the “superhero from hell” that spread like wildfire across the cultural consciousness and established Todd’s Image Comics as a viable contender, at times even outselling the “big two”. Always ambitious, Todd set his sights on conquering another medium he felt had untapped potential, the toy market. “Go into a toy store and ask yourself one question” Todd explained as the impetus of his endeavor “Say ‘I’m a 13 year old, what’s in this toy store for me?’ There’s not a lot. Bicycles, skateboard, video games…why can’t we make toys for people who are older?” Originally crafting toys around his own characters, McFarlane branched out to tackle movies and even athletes (McFarlane, an avid sports fan, even bought Mark McGuire’s record breaking ball, truing it around the country). His collectibles were and are revered for their extraordinary detail, as McFarlane is meticulous in his design and craft, seeing toys as another form of expression. “I’m an artist first” McFarlane told Man of the Hour, and his newest endeavor shows that more than anything he’s done before, as it brings a level of interactivity heretofore unseen in this type of toy.

After Spawn, Youngbloods and the other Image titles of the 90’s had fallen a bit out of vogue, it seemed the once booming independent publisher was doomed until it took a chance on a strange horror title from Robert Kirkman, at the time the writer for Image’s Invincible series. The Walking Dead, with its blend of soap-opera drama and blood-thirsty zombies, would become a smashing success, even moreso after The Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont would bring the comic to life on television with the hit AMC series (currently in its 5th season). Though McFarlane Toys has always produced the Walking Dead toys, up until now their level of customizability has been left to the craftiest of consumers, equipped with model paint and sculpting tools. Now Todd wants to put the power in your hands with the new Walking Dead building sets. With interconnecting pieces that allow the consumer to rearange the blocks in whatever fashion they like, both with Todd’s blocks and other building block toys, including Legos (“The patents have run out” Todd notes, providing the consumer optimal customizing options), McFarlane’s Walking Dead building sets are far more detailed than any other toy on the market. Instead of green blocks representing grass, McFarlane provides the consumer with detailed grass on a base which connects to the pieces, making a complete picture, a complete sculpture ready for display indistinguishable from the other high end collectibles you might own, yet still infinitely customizable. On display at the convention were three sets: Daryl’s motorcycle (seen above), the Governor’s room (picture below) and the famous prison from seasons 3 and 4. In addition to the sets, McFarlane will be introducing “blind bags” or randomized packages of figurines that can be put into the sets, with two designations, human (signified with an H on the bag) and walker (zombies, signified with a W). Exclusive to Toys R Us until 2015, Todd not only anticipates but is excited for how the consumer will use these blocks in their building, not just with his own sets, but others. “I want [the builders] to say ‘I want a McFarlane tree, I want a McFarlane window because its the best one on the market’”.

In addition to his Walking Dead toys, Todd took some time to talk about the character on which he made his name, Spawn. In December of this year, Spawn hits a milestone, publishing its #250th issue, a rare feat for any indie book outside of Riverdale for achieve. Refusing to “re-number” his books as Marvel and DC have done, McFarlane admits to chasing to meet and surpass the mythic 300 issues Dave Sim famously hit in his long running comic book Cerebus (Sim was also a crusader for creator rights and an inspiration to McFarlane, writing issue #10 of Spawn and donating his fee to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund). In addition to brining back the original Spawn, Al Simmons (for the past six years, the mantle has been held by Jim Downing) Todd is introducing a new creative team to the book he’s helmed for over 200 issues: Brian Wood, known for his writing on the X-Men, and Jonboy Meyers. McFarlane gave the team his blessing saying “You will be doing your job if every reader says, 'This is awesome! I don't get why Todd didn't do this years ago.' Make me be the dumbest guy who's ever written the book.””. With #250 being Todd’s final issue not in a solely supervisory role, he relented his stance on “re-numbering” briefly by introducing the new team on a one-shot entitled Spawn: Resurrection #1 which will take the place of February’s usual Spawn entry, in the interest of allowing new readers a chance to enter in fresh. “If you like what you read” Todd says “You can come back next month for Spawn #251”.

The night closed out with a special Warner Bros. Screening Evening (the second edition of the seemingly annual event). The event was originally intended to be solely the second season premiere of the CW showThe 100 and the pilot of NBC’s new comic book adaptation Constantine. However, citing the massive reception to the new CW show The Flash (based on the DC comics character who will be celebrating his 75 year anniversary in 2015), Warner Bros. opted to first present us with the second episode of the superhero drama first (“Fastest Man Alive” which has since aired on the CW). They followed that up with a trailer for the upcoming Adult Swim show The Mike Tyson Mysteries, a satirical take on the Saturday morning cartoon featuring the boxing champ as himself, Jim Rash as a foppish ghost and Norm McDonald as a foul mouthed, alcoholic pigeon. After a second season premiere for a show no one was really there to see (I’d imagine fans of the first season had a much better time watching this episode than those of us completely in the dark. It did have intriguing moments, but not enough to demand a binging of the previous season in order to catch up) it was time for the main event, the chance to see whether the Hellblazer adaptation would join the ranks of Arrow and Flash or stumble into the spiral downward Gotham appears to have hit (for those who didn’t follow our possibly misguided suggestion that they “must watch” the Batman prequel, they recently introduced a balloon based villain too absurd for even the Adam West era). So where does it fall? Sort of in the middle ground. It’s good, but not where Flash or even Arrow were at their pilots. Far better than Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but too tame for its own good. The show plays like a watered down Buffy (complete with blonde haired Brit) when it should crank it up to eleven. Matt Ryan makes a fine Constantine, and is indeed the one true highlight of what otherwise is the standard supernatural show we’ve seen countless times. Yet, the show needs more grit, more edge. It needs to get punkier, and that one portrait of Johnnie Rotten they show in the background and a punk take on “Ring of Fire” aint enough to cut it. Overall, its a serviceable distraction with a solid lead actor, worth the watch, and poised to improve once the show finds its footing. If nothing else, it was a fitting end to the first day of New York Comic Con.

Welcome back, it’s time for Part 2 of The Buzz: Special NYCC Edition. For those of you who missed Mike’s coverage of Thursday at NYCC, check out Part 1 here. Now back to our irregularly scheduled program:

After a surprisingly epic Thursday, our masked reporter took Friday to arrange some exciting interviews with comic book artists and even a 3D printing company (all interviews coming soon) and seemingly in a flash it was Saturday, usually the big day, the apex of nerddom when the big guns come out. This year was no different, with Main Stage D lining folks up for the Lego Batman 3 panel (way more exciting than it sounds, trust me), AMC’s The Walking Dead (way less exciting than it sounds, but we’ll get to that in a bit) the much buzzed about but heretofore unseen Netflix original series Daredevil, based on the Marvel comics character, and rounding out the evening the NYCC Eastern Championships of Cosplay. The Cosplay Champoinship, however, would be missed as Man of the Hour was invited aboard the secret Adult Swim Tyrannical Maiden Voyage, a yacht leaving from an undisclosed location provided only later that evening to those lucky enough to land on the guest list.

Mike as The Lone Ranger posing with Kirby Hale from Oni Press' The Sixth Gun

First thing out the gate of course was the panel for Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham. For those unfamiliar with the Lego video games, they’ve proven themselves to be one of the most successful and universally beloved franchises, mostly due to their accessibility, simple yet enjoyable gameplay and their terrific sense of humor that straddles the line between clever and juvenile while alway being utterly adorable. After expanding the scope of the second Lego Batman game to include other DC superheroes (and capitalizing on the smashing success of The Lego Movie, featuring Will Arnett as the tiny Dark Knight) Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham does just that, expanding beyond the home city of the caped crusader into the same place every franchise from Spider-Man to Friday the 13th goes: Space! While the panel focused a bit on gameplay, it spent a majority of its time with character reveals, and man do they have a lot of them. From obscure villains like Polka Dot Man and the Condiment King to fan favorites like Deadshot and Deathstroke, the panel took it a step further announcing DLC like the “Man of Steel” pack, which involves the player scurrying about the planet Krypton with a baby Kal-El, the “75th Anniversary” for which they only teased that it will be “a lot of fun” (though its been made clear Adam West has an appearance in the game, so one can only imagine the two are related), and of course the “Green Arrow” pack, at which point Stephen Amell, the actor who portrays the Emerald Archer on the popular (and Buzz-praised) CW show Arrow, appears in the game both voicing the Green Arrow in the main gameplay and in the DLC which takes a comical spin to the brooding show, taking Oliver Queen back to the island and introducing Lego versions of popular Arrow characters like Diggle and Felicity Smoak. Of course, Lego Batman 3 doesn’t just go beyond Gotham but beyond the DC universe, incorporating not just TV characters but real life figures. Comic book legends Geoff Johns and Jim Lee both appear in game as themselves (the revered artist flings pencils as his weapon, whilst Johns uses a freeze gun), and filmmaker/Batman enthusiast Kevin Smith gets brick-ified with a super powered megaphone to knock down bad guys. Of course, Smith isn’t the only celebrity in the game, as infamous video game failureand talk show icon Conan O’Brien shows up to guide the player through the world of Lego Batman and functions as a sort of joke cracking tutorial. From an early morning panel where folks expected at most a minor distraction before the heavy hitters, we were instead treated to a preview of what could rise up as the one game this year to not only live up to but exceed the hype around it.

After Lego Batman let out, and after a bit of floor walking amongst the horror booths (as NYCC is also the ideal place for horror fans looking for the newest indie releases) including IFC, Magnet (with special editions of the anthology horror films V/H/S and V/H/S 2 available in the titular format) and of course the Troma booth to see the newest offerings of the longest running independent film studio in the country (currently promoting a Toxic Avenger Blu-Ray and the newest film in the Nuke ‘Em High series with stars Asta Paredes and Catherine Corcoran and Troma Founder Lloyd Kaufman on hand, taking pictures and signing autographs), I made my way downstairs for what is always the impossible panel to enter: the hugely popular The Walking Dead panel, also known as the personal bane of my existence. As a journalist, you know its your duty to attend the hottest panels at the convention, but you almost wish the press lounge had come equipped the the video screens the VIP lounge did (Pro Tip: If you can afford it, go VIP to NYCC. Their private lounge, in addition to exclusive meet and greets, came with couches and HDTVs broadcasting the panels in Main Hall D so there was no need to wait in line) not just so that I wouldn’t feel I was depriving a hardcore fan of a seat, but also that I might be able to tune out from what always proves to be the most painful aspect of any panel which allows it: the Q&A. Unlike San Diego Comic Con, which runs the question and answer session more efficiently by having the audience write down questions in advance and then allows the moderator to read them, preventing awkward questions and rambling diatribes, NYCC still allows fans to line up at a microphone and just word vomit waterer they like to the entirety of Main Hall D, and considering the Walking Dead panel is mostly Q&A with a (to their credit) totally game cast who after 5 years continue to sit wide eyed in wonder of the sheer great fortune they’ve had to be a part of this astoundingly successful show.

Of course, to the average reader, complaining about getting to see early footage of The Walking Dead makes me look like a complete a$$hole. I recognize that fact, but assure you its not the case (at least not for this reason. I am one for many other unrelated reasons). The problem with the hype around The Walking Deadpanel (that, for the record, even causes sneering in the press lounge like a grade school cafeteria from some snide podcasters towards those who were unable to obtain a wristband for “the biggest panel of the con”, and at least one desperate blogger to ask this silver bullet wearing pressman to “share notes”) is that its unwarranted. Yes, we’re treated to clips of the season premiere early, but only about 24 hours early. This isn’t like the Agent Carter footage shown at the previous day’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. panel, the air date of which is still months off. October 11th the “early footage” plays, October 12th the full premiere airs, which is so little a space of time that the frantic, Gil from The Simpsons-like journalist begging to “borrow some quotes” wouldn’t even have time to publish his “spoiler-ific scoops” before all that footage had played before the general public anyway. After the footage and a brief bit of banter from Talking Dead host Chris Hardwicke where all of the cast insists this season will be “the best one ever” (don’t you just once wish one of the actors would say “Personally, I think it’s all gone downhill since Season 1”), the floor is opened up for questions which are almost always either a) spoiler-related questions its obvious won’t get answered, b) insipid gushing capped off with a bland question like (real question from a previous panel) “Norman, how do you act so good?” or c) long-winded personal anecdotes with no question attached because “Q” part of Q&A isn’t strictly enforced here at NYCC. To its credit, god bless it, this year’s Walking Dead panel audience did find a fourth category in which to classify the “questions”: Category d) saying your “original question” can’t be answered because the actor you wanted to ask it of wasn’t there (which apparently you didn’t notice for the entire duration of the panel until you got up to the microphone) and then offering one of the actors a f**king Coke. This…this actually happened, and when THAT was the one thing everybody kept talking about after the panel, if that is the highlight, then you, dear reader, need nothing more to tell you not to believe the hype, as Flava Flave would say, and skip the massive line for this non-event next year. For those still interested, the entire panel (sans since-aired footage) is below, at at the 41:02 mark, witness the aforementioned soda-slinging social wunderkind at work.

After the zombies had wandered out of Main Hall D it was time for the main event. Marvel fans packed into the hall for a chance to get their first look both at the first live action take on the man without fear since Ben Affleck’s not-as-bad-as-they-make-it-out-to-be 2003 endeavor and at the first Marvel TV series that might actually work. The electricity was in the air as Marvel’s Head of TV (and always enthusiastic spokesperson) Jeph Loeb took the stage to tease the process by which the show came about, explaining that one day out of the blue, Marvel’s grand high pooba Joe Quesada called him up to say he’d “found their Daredevil” in reference to series star Charlie Cox. Jeph tried to dance around the fact that at the time Daredevil’s film and TV rights were owned by Fox (with whom its no secret Marvel has a massive feud) by saying Daredevil was “across the street” and they had to get him back first, but once they did, Loeb said Marvel gave them their full support to create a binge-able series based around the titular blind superhero. Though no info was given about the sister series Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and The Defenders (also coming to Netflix at undisclosed dates) beyond the denial that they’d been cast already, Loeb did treat us to some footage from the show before bringing out the cast. The first thing that has to be said is how remarkably shot the show is. Though I’ve never been one to pile on the whiny fanboy bus of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D looks cheap” or “Flashlooks cheap” or even “The Avengers looks cheap” as though “looking cheap” is just an accusation leveled against whichever of the bit two you’re not rooting for in this rivalry, it must be said that Daredevil’s cinematic shooting style puts every comic book show that isn’t season 3 of Arrow (which must have obscene amounts of money dumped into it by how gorgeous each shot of that premiere was) to absolute shame. We were treated to a scene where Daredevil staple Karen Paige has her house broken into by an unnamed attacker, who appears in silhouette, brandishing a knife in a sequence which feels more like it belongs in a high-budget horror film than from the folks whose output thus far faltered after that flying car in the pilot of AoS. Then, heroically but not quite comic-book-ish-ly, Murdoch appears in the window, in neither the red nor yellow tights the character is best known for, but rather an all black outfit, with a black bandana tied around his head several in the audience remarked as looking “like a ninja”, but astute comic book fans noticed it was the same outfit worn by Murdoch in the revamped Daredevil origin story by Frank Miller known as The Man Without Fear, which is an absolute must read for any curious about Marvel’s newest addition to its MCU (because yes, when asked whether this show tied into Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D or the movies, Loeb retorted “You should know by now, it’s all connected”). After introducing the full cast (and explaining that, while unable to attend the con, Rosario Dawson would be joining the cast as well) all eyes fell on Vincent D’Onofrio, of whom the rest of the cast still seemed to be in awe. Little was shown of D’Onofrio as Wilson Fisk, also known as the imposing Kingpin, but what we did see took us to a quiet art gallery with an introspective Wilson, seeming to indicate Matt Murdoch wasn’t the only one we’d see transform within the series. While disappointment may have reigned supreme for some that we saw no hint of suit beyond the black Frank Miller get up, they closed the panel out with a rain soaked fight scene (thankfully bereft of Evanescence music) that was more smooth Raid 2 camerawork than the shaky-cam super heroics we’re used to on the silver screen. Suddenly, a show no one even knew about became the most hotly anticipated show of the season (ok, not saying much in a year that gave us The Mysteries of Laura and Mulaney, but wouldn’t it be a charge to see Matt Murdoch beat the hell out of the cast of Selfie? Cause forget Arrow/Constantine, that’s the crossover I want).

When the panel let out, it was time to wander. As folks lined up for the cosplay championships, I wandered out of the Javitt’s Center at the behest of a mysterious email beckoning me to Pier 81 on West 41st Street at 8pm. Of course, being familiar with comic books this seems like the kind of invitation extended only to criminals about to be busted by Batman accept, and being a life-long New Yorker, this seemed like the kind of situation that gets a guy dressed as an 80 year old cowboy mugged/murdered. I found myself instead greeted by a man in a Master Shake costume (who was surprisingly not hired by Adult Swim, but rather invited aboard the yacht because of his attire) and given a bacon flavored cookie that came with a free unicorn comic book (granted, that last detail was irrelevant to what was going to unfold, but no amount of professionalism will let you pass up the opportunity to write the words “bacon flavored cookie” or “unicorn comic book” when life provides you the opportunity). Boarding the boat, I and my fellow passengers were treated to free food, free drinks, and blasting music as our boat left the dock, bound to circle the Statue of Liberty before returning home. The promise of a “special musical guest” was intriguing, as was the prospect of talking to the various Adult Swim figures milling about the boat like Robot Chicken’s Matthew Senreich andBlack Dynamite’s Michael Jai White (whom, this reporter is proud to say, did not get totally fanboyed by a guy dressed as the Lone Ranger who just wanted to ask about working on Arrow), and just before the ship sailed past the famous big green lady that isn’t She-Hulk, two microphones were laid out and the big reveal was made. Run the Jewels, comprised of the fantastic showman Killa Mike and the perennial political pothead El-P, took the floor and launched into tracks off of both their original LP and their hotly anticipated follow-up, discussed their upcoming charity album “Meow the Jewels”, comprised entirely of cat noises whose proceeds will go to benefit the families of victims of police shootings, and closed out the night with their signature “A Christmas F*cking Miracle”. Then the whole boat seemed to cram to one side in order to snap picture of the lit up symbol of the city that doesn’t sleep, as two Irish men could be heard loudly remarking how this is “the greatest city in the f*cking world”. And on a night like tonight, you truly believe it. Yes it is. The greatest pop culture event in the greatest city in the world.

And really, that’s the reason this article took on the full, first person, almost Fear and Loathing-esque subjective narrative tone (though not full Fear and Loathing, or I’d be this guy). Because NYCC isn’t just a giant press junket, nor a retail event. It’s an experience. The sights, the sounds, they can’t be conveyed objectively. It’s a series of sensations, a Disney World open only four days a year, where every fandom gathers and finds their niche (even the ones that feel kinda creepy). And it just keeps improving. While its sadThe Mary Sue had to come in and introduce a “Cosplay is Not Consent” anti-harrassment policy (sad that it wasn't already common sense), it happened. It made people feel a little safer. The wristband system gives everyone a fair shot at seeing the things they love. The stars are all out in droves for these events, loving the adoration of the fans, who in turn feel respected by the people they idolize, as though its not a community of fans but just a community of people. What I chronicled within these articles isn’t nearly scratching the surface of all of the things made available to the NYCC attendee (see the full schedule here, to say nothing of all the booths and unofficial events), but merely one man’s experience in this mad centrifuge of sensations and obsessions. It’s something that must be experienced, something unlike anything else (even the much more hyped SDCC) given its famous setting within the city that many a costumed hero calls home. From first seeing the costumed hordes wander down 34th street towards the Javitts Center to seeing fans young and old delight in random strangers adorned in the attire of their childhood heroes (like when Adam West, waling through the press lounge, took a moment to point out The Lone Ranger with a look of recognition like that of a child). It’s maddening, enlightening, thrilling, exhausting and singularly spectacular, so keep your eyes on the prize and get ready to snap up tickets as soon as they go on sale (they sell them early at June’s Special Edition NYC comic-book only event), and I’ll see you next year October 8-11.

You know, reading that last rather stoned-sounding paragraph back, I’m worried that guy from The Chivemighta put something in my Jamba Juice out on the show floor.