I should have known things were going to be intense when I got on the bus and realized two women sitting across the aisle were already decked out in their New York Comic Con gear: cosplaying outfits (I did not recognize them), passes hanging from their necks, printed out schedules and a devout love of anime.
I wasn’t even in the state yet and already, New York Comic Con was in full swing.
Keep in mind, this was first my comic con experience ever. I have long wanted to attend New York’s seeing as it was nearby but the scheduling never worked out. This summer, however, as I read more and more comics and got to know other people involved with the comic book world, I decided to throw caution to the wind and get a ticket. I was going to Comic Con, damn it! Try and stop me!
Then I arrived and was instantly overwhelmed.
Seeing as I’m such a cool person, I know it must seem odd that I am not the most socially capable individual. I don’t do crowds. They make me extremely nervous and anxious. I can only say that my extreme love of comic books and the desire to be in the same room as Mark Hamill and Tom Hiddleston kept my anxiety at bay.
For those of you who have never been to a con, especially one of this magnitude, let me try to paint a picture of it. The event took place over the course of four days at the Javits Center. Imagine, if you will, several airplane hangars attached to one another, layered on top of about four other floors, each of which contain several hallways that are each host to meeting rooms, conference rooms and theaters of various sizes, the largest of which, I believe, was the IGN Theater. Oh, and there was another airplane hangar, the sole purpose of which was to wait in a massive line to get into the largest theater. Now, imagine that within all of this space, there are thousands upon thousands of people squeezed into lines, conference rooms and theaters, floor shows, more lines, autograph booths, more lines, food courts, and more lines. Within this mass of people, sprinkle in some Jokers, a couple Professor Laytons, Finns, Harley Quinns, Lokis, Black Widows, Spider-Mans, Quail-Mans, Pokémon of every type, and for some reason, a cow, and you can begin to see the sheer insanity of New York Comic Con.
And in the midst of all this, me clutching my messenger bag and face set in determination to be in the presence of Luke Skywalker and Loki.
The insanity aside, it was a pretty incredible experience. I am so happy I went and though I was so exhausted after just one day (I slept for 11 hours that night), it was well worth it. If New York Comic Con did anything, it me proud to be a comic book fan.
The Avengers Helicarrier: where dreams come true.
Without a doubt, one of the best memories I take away from this experience was standing in the front of a large crowd before the Avengers helicarrier as Marvel employees passed out free gifts: t-shirts, buttons, action figures, DVDs, Norton Anti-Virus (for some reason) and other treats. Standing next to me and my friend, Lauren, were two guys probably in their twenties. Both were shouting and waving and managed to get on camera several times over (and correspondingly, so did Lauren and I, much to our mortification) but they were having so much fun and so enthusiastic, that you couldn’t help but join in with them.
A little voice behind me managed to speak up, however, with a polite, “Excuse me.” A boy, no older than ten, was trying to squeeze up front amid the throng of much older fans. We managed to make room for him and when the two twentyish guys realized they were standing next to a little kid, they both promptly made it their mission to ensure that he received as many free gifts as possible and got on camera as well. At one point, when a Marvel employee was about to hand out a set of action figures, they started the chant of “THIS LITTLE KID” and frantically motioned for the employee to give the figures over to him. I also saw one of the guys take off his Avengers button and hand it to the little boy. It warmed my little cold heart.
Sadly, I could not stay and try to get as many free things as possible from Marvel. I had Luke Skywalker and the Avengers to see!
My first line experience was searching frantically for the correct queue for a half an hour and then resigning myself to the fact that as I was most likely not going to get in to see Mark Hamill. The Force was with me, though, and I made it in, rather delirious and overheated. It was worth it to bask in the presence of both Luke Skywalker and the Joker. The 8 year old in me was somewhere losing her mind and sobbing, especially when I heard Mark Hamill say the word, “Light saber.”
Mark Hamill still warms my heart.
The Avengers panel, on the other hand, was a challenge of heroic proportions. From the time I got in line to the time I managed to claim a seat in the theater, I had spent over three hours waiting in a windowless, vast, concrete garage along with a couple hundred other people. I, thankfully, had two friends with me and we managed to pass the time weighing the merits of Left 4 Dead versus Left 4 Dead 2, among other similar topics. As we slowly inched to the theater entrance, there were whisperings of no more available seating, then it was just single seats available and finally, a NYCC worker announced that only if he tapped you on the shoulder, you’d be allowed in and God help you if you needed to leave and use the bathroom. It was all very grim.
We watched as people who were definitely behind us got in first by maneuvering to our side. While this was a nerve-wracking process, one of the high points was witnessing the intense public shaming that occurred whenever anyone dared attempt to cut the line. I have never seen anything quite so cutting.
It was a glorious moment when the worker’s hand fell on our shoulders and we rushed in deliriously and somehow managed to find three seats together. We threw ourselves in them and refused to move for the rest of the evening.
The Avengers panel, which can be seen in its entirety here, was basically the most epic thing I’ve ever experienced. The trailer, on the big screen and watched by thousands of enthusiastic, screaming fans, was incredible and the panel was lovely. Chris Evans is unassuming and rather sweet, Tom Hiddleston is charming and oh so tall and lovely, Clark Gregg is secretly awesome, Cobie Smulders is rather endearingly overwhelmed by all this and Mark Ruffalo is extremely funny. It was the best.
The high and low point of this panel was the fact that every teenaged fangirl managed to grab a hold of the microphone during the Q & A and just gush to Tom Hiddleston over how much they love him. It was adorable and funny at first, but after the fifth one, it just got embarrassing. Luckily, he took it all in stride and even the rest of the cast managed to join in on the Tom Hiddleston/Loki-love (and who can blame them?). I have to admit, I admire these fangirls and their ability to just get up in a crowd of thousands and declare their fixation on an actor right to his face. I could not have done that as an awkward teenager. Good for them! We all don’t get that chance.
Apparently Tom Hiddleston is the object of every 15 year old girl's desire. They have good taste.
Following this overwhelmingly awesome experience, I staggered out of the Javits Center, managed to not fall asleep on the bus ride home and collapsed in my bed and stayed there for 11 hours. I’m still reeling.
