Art Department Weekly | Issue 95 Vol. 10

ADW AD ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY ISSUE 95 VOL. 10

A New View IN THE FUTURE, THINGS LOOK DIFFERENT

COSTUMES, PANELS, ARTISTS AT

2018 NYCC

YOU ARE HERE

FROM TOTALLY CUTE TO REALLY RARE COLLECTIBLES, NEW AND OLD

COVER

ED LETTER

MINI BOARD

MINI BOARD

PUGLIE'S HOUSE 3

2

NEW YORK COMIC CON INTRO

WINGMAN

...

6

AQUAMAN + SHAZAM!

NEW YORK COMIC CON INTRO

DC LEGO VIDEO GAME

22

13

DC BOOTH

...

THANKS, JOSE

27

THANKS, JOSE

37

36

COSTUME CONTEST

14

STAR WARS

...

ARTIST ALLEY

28

17

5

4

PADAWAN TRAINING

...

31

MAN OF MAN OF ACTION PANEL ACTION PANEL

39

38

...

18

BEST COMICS OF THE YEAR

BENDY VIDEO GAME

TOYS

BEST LAUNCHES

...

32

BETTY COSTUMES

40

21

35

BETTY COSTUMES

...

45 FANGIRL

LOVING IT

COSTUMES

46

COSTUMES

...

66

BOOM’S HIGHLIGHTS

64

...

BLAST-ATROOPER

67

5 THINGS

68

Art Department Weekly is published by Dinosaur Girly Productions, 184 Bay 26th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11214. The entire contents of ADW are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without expressed written consent of the publisher. ADW accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. ADW reserves the right to edit, rewrite, refuse or reuse material, is not responsible for errors or omissions, and may feature same in other mediums for any and all purposes.

IN THIS ISSUE 3 Editor’s Letter 4 Mini Board 6 Believe It

New York Comic Con intro, entrances, signage, activations, construction, and more

12 Successful Adoption Drive Puglie booth plus Saber Guild

14 Thrilling Disguise

Cartoon Network contest

16 Side Mission

Saber Guild remote location

18 Train You Will

Padawan Training Institute

20 Speaking Up

National Geographic and Rooster Teeth activations

22 DC Booth

Lego DC Super Villains, Aquaman, DC Universe, Shazam

28 Creators Row

Artist Alley, chutes, The Block

30 2018 Comics of the Year Luis' favorites

32 Toy Shopping

Exclusives and rare finds

34 Ready for Launch

New TV shows and games

36 Thanks, Jose!

Meg's four days at NYCC

38 Man of Action

Kal participates in a panel

40 "So Pretty!"

Betty likes costumes now

46 Attention Grabbing

Behind the cameras at NYCC

64 Boom!

More of Boom's highlights

68 Five Things

Madeline crafted in 2018

ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY LUIS VEGA CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER MADELINE STRUM MANAGING EDITOR CREDITS @PUNKYBRUISERCOSPLAY BY MADELINE STRUM PHOTOGRAPHY ON OCTOBER 6, 2018

September 29, 2018

MOVING ALONG OBTAINING PASSES TO NEW YORK Comic Con seems to include more drama every year. Am I fan verified? Am I ready to sign on to wait in the digital sales queue? How's our wi-fi? The stool you were sitting on just broke? It's a dramedy.

The times I've considered having all five of us at NYCC is in a fantasy scenario where we have a booth with couches people can sit down on and charge their phones in exchange for being interviewed by my kids. In reality, when passes are only available as Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, we assume only one kid at a time is attending and no one is skipping school to be there. That means someone needs to be picking kids up from school and then home with whoever is not attending. The way we chose who was going in 2018 was similar to how we chose who was going in 2017—Luis doesn't like crowds and I take better pictures, so I would go on the weekends. I seemed to be working a lot harder to keep shooting video and stills, which might have been motivated by the fact Luis wasn't going to be at NYCC for very long at all.

Going back to this being more dramatic than comedic, we started looking for a new apartment the week before Comic Con. Our landlord said he planned to sell the house quickly, so we needed to start shopping for an Oct. 1

move in date. I went on more than a dozen showings while trying to pack and deal with school stuff. We needed to find a place, file paperwork, throw out so much stuff, and move everything else— while Luis was producing Stylemaker and Red Plaid events.

There was so much to do, but we can't cover the con if we didn't go... So away I went to do whatever my kids wanted.

While we watched videos on July 12, 2020, Kal sighed. More videos of being in line and not of him playing yet.

"Yeah, dude," I said. "That’s how long we were in line. I stood in line all this time and then I didn’t even get to play the game!"

“I never thought of it like that," he said.

"Do you understand that? I just get to make videos and magazines about you guys doing the stuff.”

They actually all were helpful with commentary to help create this issue about their trips to New York Comic Con

Conventions 2018 • Art

(Madeline)

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MINI BOARD FIXER UPPER

MARCH 4 OUR LIVES

Some tags are impossible to read if you don’t know any of the artists. According to BoredPanda.com “Mathieu Tremblin is a French artist who decided to fix this. He paints over the ugly graffiti and makes them legible.” It could be Bored Panda is looking to generate comments...

According to other sources, Tremblin’s work lives in the valley where the digital and real worlds meet. He once painted “gettyimages” on a car park wall to look like a watermark in any photos taken there.

Translating tags into Helvetica is part of a project to turn the tags into word clouds. —MV

After a gunman murdered more kids in a school shooting, marches were organized to say enough. I took Kal to the one in Coney Island because I’ve sat through at least two active shooter drills at his school. It’s gross that parents will argue children shouldn’t do fire drills without their coats but background checks are extreme. —MV

THE MARCH CONTINUES Tell your Senator you support S.42 if you want to help the organization inspired by Stoneman Douglas High School students. The bill introduced to the Senate on January 8, 2019, “establishes new background check requirements for firearm transfers between private parties.” March For Our Lives also seeks to raise the federal age of gun ownership and possession to 21, restore the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, and ban the sale of high-capacity magazines and bump stocks in the United States. According to marchforourlives.com, “we will stay loud until this bill becomes a law.”

TINY GOOD-BYE Even though the boys and I were pulling apart old electronics for fun in the summer of 2017, we didn’t think to dismantle our old rear projection TV, affectionately named Tiny.

More than once, I had replaced the lamp inside this beast of a television after we paid too much to have a repair shop take it away the first time the lamp burnt out. But in 2017, the electronics seemed to be beyond repair and there were too many cheap flat screens on the market to justify ordering another lamp.

Tiny was too big to put in the car to take to a recycling center and the city would never haul him. Finally, I realized I could turn him into more manageable pieces with a screwdriver. We bid adieu.

—MV

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R A E RH

T R A Y B

OVE TOO MUCH IS NEVER ENOUGH Is there even a baby in this stroller? Walking in the rain in Midtown, the joke is always that other people have patio umbrellas out, but I had to take a picture when I saw this woman on a sunny day in August.

Maybe she’s hoping to catch some air and take flight like Mary Poppins.

—MV

“Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good” -Peter

“Why would they change math?

Math is math” -Bob

“You’re like a Mr. Potato Head of beautiful people” -Jared

“I still hold the record for longest-running demonic possession on daytime television” -Moira

“Have you ever had a doctor look at your asshole and say that?”

-Amy

CAN’T UNSEE FAMILY OUTING The discarded tube TVs reminded me of Prince Robot from Saga. I took this picture in March 2018, but still had not read the series and might not have known about the infant robot...

—MV

Awkward Family Photos went through a phase where I didn’t find their shares that surprising or entertaining, but this dog was so creepy I had to take a screenshot in February 2018. I can’t stop staring at it, deciding it looks more and more human the longer I look. —MV

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll just go sit by the pool and read some fiction like the bimbo that I am”

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-Raymond

Department Weekly

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BELIEVE IT THE WORLD IS A COMIC BOOK AT NEW YORK COMIC CON

Not my kid, but totally my hero

Setting foot in the Javits Center during Comic Con is like stepping into partly an inside joke and partly a wild dream. Not only are you and your dad bonding over enthusiasm for a favorite character, but people all around are encouraging that bond. Meanwhile, other kids are seeing hot pink and samurai swords in real life for maybe the first time. Unlocking creativity and connections is the important take away for all ages.

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WELCOME, WELCOME

TAKING THE TIME TO ENCOURAGE WILD DREAMS ALSO INCLUDES SOME BORING TECHNICALITIES Boom always says he wants to be a veterinarian when asked what he wants to be when he grows up. He doesn't say it in a confident way. He says it like he thinks it's the right answer. He also says it like someone who knows we're going to tell him he needs to not say math is boring if he plans to be a vet.

We tell him he could design Transformers. There are people who build Legos for a living. It seems important to make sure he sees things in real life that people are doing because it's their passion.

What Boom really wanted in 2018, though, was to do the Padawan training he missed out on in 2017. So we arrived early and took a long walk from Times Square on a foggy morning to be there as soon as the doors opened. I'm not sure he appreciated how smooth the entry was in 2018 compared to other years... —MV

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On a scale of 1 to 10 with "1" being the most boring, Boom gave waiting to get into the con on Saturday a 1. Some wristbands could only be secured in online lotteries, but others required attendees to arrive when doors opened. Luckily I saw the sign about Padwan Training sign-ups.

10:04 a.m.

12:55 p.m.

IT’S A FAN MADE THING The convention provides so many opportunities and outlets for fans, but at the same time some things just never change, like seating. Need a break? You might be sitting on the curb or the stairs, hoping you don't get scolded by staff. Meanwhile, SYFY partnered with Deviant Art to bring in original art for signage and had makeup artists on hand for face painting, but fans need places to sit. I love the food trucks on site, but how about a table?

—MV

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SO MUCH TO TAKE IN The man in the Quiet Room as soon as doors opened struck me as a total misuse of the space, but Boom saw the video and immediately said he would love to use that room to make a phone call or maybe build a Lego. American Express and a private pop-up library also carved out quiet spaces. Boom didn't have a lot of interest in the Skye Suits or Loud House family picture. Wild Bill's Olde Fashioned Soda Pop Co. caught my eye because I was expecting it to be promoting a TV show like so many other activations outside. Also, I was excited to seen the fine print blown up big. —MV

I had seen The Good Place using "fork" in its advertising but never actually seen an episode, so I thought Boom's pose was hilarious. It says "Why are you making me do this?" like a reasonable person.

The artist puts in 100 hours of work at JellyBelly

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Boom says he was a less worried about being separated from me in this sea of people after getting his taxi cat. This sea is only one walkway.

Construction had already changed where Artist Alley was set up and logistics like that in previous years, but I was still curious to see what they were working on at the Javits Center. The north half of the entrance hall housed Audible's Harry Potter 20th anniversary "A Pensieve Experience" that I refused to take Kal through because he hadn't finished the series.

Meet ups for Adventure Time cosplayers and a huge ad for The Boys also filled the space.

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SUCCESSFUL ADOPTION DRIVE Rewatching the videos, it appears that in order to get Betty to keep moving early on Friday, we asked her if she wanted to go look for Five Nights at Freddy’s characters (her obsession at that time) “or a different dog house.” Luis had been at the convention Thursday, so he had seen the Puglie booth. We basically took her straight there and it seems she screamed “Lady Bug!” before cutting in front of the girl dressed as Lady Bug (see Page 43). For real, I think she cut in front of Lady Bug to hug puppies and then held up Lady Bug some more by asking her to pose for a picture.

Betty says she remembers “puppies stuck in donuts. We had to get them out.” On video, the woman running the booth says, “Please don’t pull on that! You can hug them...” The booth was basically empty by Sunday afternoon.

—MV

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MEET UP In 2017, Saber Guild members and ReedPop employees had encouraged families to complain about a lack of time and space for kids' events inside the Javits Center. Because costume contests and other gatherings had already been happening off site for years, it was not that surprising the 2018 set up required a map to navigate. Kal and I started Saturday at the Hammerstein Ballroom and then the Star Wars fan club experience on 37th Street.

—MV

We had just left the off site location for Star Wars without taking any pictures with characters, so I thought it was funny that the first thing Kal did after entering the Javits Center was to take pictures with Mandalorian Mercs members.

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THRILLING DISGUISE OR MAYBE NOT SO THRILLING IF YOU DON’T KNOW THEM Looking back, Kal said the costume party went on too long. We didn’t watch enough Cartoon Network at the time to recognize the Steven Universe or Adventure Time costumes. And I guess there are only so many times you can care about watching Beast Boy and Raven walk the stage (though, every version of them did get to split the prize backpack of swag Greg Cipes, the voice actor, was supposed to award one winner). We didn’t even watch enough We Bare Bears at the time to care much about the blind bags everyone got for attending. I thought it was a fine start to the day, though, laughing at Cipe’s dog, Wingman, suddenly freak out on another Beast Boy and catching pictures of Mas y Menos to share with their family who lost their photos from the trip. Alien was Kal’s only interview for the whole convention. I couldn't get him to stay still for his own talking heads.

—MV

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SIDE MISSION

MAYBE WE GAINED SOME EXPERIENCE Once he finally spotted members of the Empire, Kal started blasting them with imaginary weapons.

There were so many droids and people in costumes, but not much to do. I forgot we had been looking forward to droid building until we rewatched the videos. I think the description for the venue had us excited Kal would get to play with robotics, but instead it was a table with an unfriendly person who said he builds droids. End of story.

At a different table, Kal flipped through a Jedi book while someone told him to become a Sith. I think he was supposed to vote with his new coins, but we took all the coins home after I purchased the cheaper option for Blast-a-Trooper for Kal. —MV

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TRAIN YOU WILL WITH BETTER PLANNING, WE MADE IT WORK Boom’s first stop on Sunday was to put his name on the list for Padawan training. We got our ticket and then made sure to come back in time to eat lunch on the floor before the doors opened for training. On video, all he can talk about is getting a new Tentacle Kitty. Looking back, he says Padawan training and getting a new kitty were tied as the best things about that con.

The routine was basically the same as when Kal trained in 2017—talking about the force, vowing to use the light sabers properly, practicing some combat skills, and then fighting off Sith who invade the room.

One Sith declares that the kids could do some good for the Empire. Watching the video, I asked Boom, “Did she convince you to change sides?”

“No, not all. But we only have Sith sabers here, so that’s kind of a bust for me.”

“We have light up blue.”

“Oh, yeah, and we have a white, too.”

This batch of Padawans received not only certificates of recognition, but also Empire Saber Guild Padawan Training Institute pamphlets with diagrams blade combat forms to practice. We’ll have to see if they make good use of it.

—MV

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SPEAKING UP

BOOM LEARNS TO TURN AROUND A BAD SITUATION National Geographic’s booth had no line for their VR experience, so Boom was able to jump in right away and say he wanted to look at glow worms. The exhibitor takes the headset back, seemed to select something, then put the headset back on Boom, told him to click the remote, and then took the remote away. Boom turned his head around but never really reacted to anything. Enough time passed, the exhibitor said it must have ended, and all Boom got were marks on his cheeks. Watching the videos, he was angry. “Why didn’t he load it for me? Did he think I was big enough?” He cried that day when I asked him what it was like and the only thing he had seen was the menu.

So, later on, we went to Rooster Teeth’s booth to play the Bendy and Ink Machine video game. We showed up when the line was short, but no one was working the booth.

The same people kept playing and letting their friends take over their machines. I decided not to stick around. At the end of the day, we exited to complain at the main desk. The woman who was registering my story didn’t seem surprised and asked if we wanted to go back to play. Boom didn’t remember getting the VIP treatment of having a ReedPop employee help him cut the line. I was hoping he learned to speak up. —MV

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WORTH THE WAIT

We spent more than an hour in line so Kal could play the newest Lego video game

Kal debated whether he really wanted to stand in the line. I think I partially pushed him to do it so I would know how to respond if his brother wanted to stand in what might be a longer line on Sunday. (Lego was so organized, I was more motivated to complain about Rooster Teeth.) According to the time stamps on my videos, almost an hour passed between the time we decided to get in line and the time he picked up a controller. Plenty of time was taken up creating characters that did not actually get used in the demo. He didn’t get as far as he saw other people get while he waited, thinking he was learning how to play. Looking back, he doesn’t want to give it 5 out of 5 stars. “High, but not perfect.”

Maybe 4 out of 5. Lego Harry Potter is the best.

—MV

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SCREEN-FREE At the time, Kal was collecting Pokémon cards, but didn’t play it properly. We walked past Yu-Gi-Oh! tables and it didn’t register much of a reaction. Even now, he doesn’t seem as keen to talk about card games as trying to figure out how much he cared about Overwatch (not a card game...) back then. I don’t think we visited that Pokémon booth and the Overwatch Payload Tour was a photo op.

“Remember, the best way to conceal the prizes from grabby hands is to encase them in Lego-shaped boxes that look solid and then sit on those boxes” -Kal, quoting the Lego employee who awarded him a 45-piece Batwing set LINE UP Scarecrow

was hard to miss.

Starting even when we were considering getting in line, I was aware of how much he was (or was not) in my shots. Based on the files’ time stamps, I waited at least 30 minutes before asking him to pose. Kal wasn’t as impressed even though this could be Scarecrow about to play as Scarecrow in the game!

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DC BOOTH Paddling upstream to get people excited?

If you didn’t grow up making fun of Aquaman’s ability to speak to fish, then you might be one of those people who has no idea how long he’s been around. While I imagine there are people who were stoked to see Aquaman be in charge of 70 percent of the planet and command sharks, I also imagine that is a thin slice of the population. DC has set up shop in south end of the entrance hall for years, but the 2018 format made great use of bridging the new movie to the Lego video game demo on site and how a typically colorful character could appeal to movie goers seeking a brooding anti-hero.

—MV

Classic Arthur was worked into the ceiling art

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NEW UNIVERSE Near the cases of costumes under the poster to promote Aquaman, attendees could find cases of toys in one direction and the DC Universe app in the other.

Luis told me about the toys first, so I have to assume he was more excited to see the Watchmen and Superman offerings. Around the booth, I mostly saw people doing the usual fan videos in the Universe corner.

—MV

“I don’t remember that movie [Aquaman]. I remember Shazam! better. His friends turning into superheroes is my favorite part” -Betty

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LIMITED TIME As we were going through our visual assets for this issue, we noticed a severe lack of contributions from me. Which caused me to remember that I was severely distracted this convention because we were signing a lease on a new apartment and I had to run from the convention to a real estate office to finalize all the details. All of which led to me spending way less time at the show than I would normally spend.

With such a small amount of time at NYCC, I had to do what brought me the most joy—hang out at the DC booth. I spent roughly 85 percent of my time getting books signed, getting sketches, and snapping photos of the overcrowded booth when exclusive signings queued up—Tom King and the Titans cast were the biggies during my attendance. So while my time at the show was brief, it was still massively enjoyable.

—LV

Luis asked Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon for a Spaceboy sketch. See Page 35 for the whole story. While I waited for Kal to play Lego’s video game, two things caught my eye: Fans boarding and bagging comics they’d just had signed and near empty bowls of pins.

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A BOLT OF LIGHTNING Based on the schedule posted outside the booth, I couldn’t figure out who was drawing such a crowd. Kal and I were there for the Lego video game. Knowing some booth appearances required a wristband, I decided not to fight for a shot. It was Shazam! Zachary Levi was at the table.

Levi told ScreenRant.com this was his first real trip to NYCC, actually walking around and having a table in the autograph hall. To promote the movie, he seems to have been giving interviews everywhere to explain who Shazam is and how hard it is to physically prepare to become a character he already embodies. “You can’t take me seriously,” he told Screen Rant, but, as he told the SYFY crowd, “I have a heart of gold.”

—MV

When Kal and I walked by after he finished playing Lego DC Super Villains, the booth was completely empty.

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CREATORS ROW Artist Alley moved to a new location for 2018 with higher ceilings and brighter lights, but Luis had less time to walk me through who we should be featuring.

Scott Snyder had a massive line leading to his table. Tim Sale, Mitch Gerards, and Jock were some of the names Luis normally brings up. Frank Cho was not at his table, but Luis caught the bombshell versions possibly with the artist.

—MV

I liked Greg Horn Art’s use of lighting

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AW, CHUTE White boards direct attendees where to line up for Main Stage and autograph events. Luis took a series of photos to show how many fans gather for their chance to meet an actor or see a preview.

LESSONS ON HOW NOT TO GET AHEAD

in business. When alumni comes up to your table, try asking where they work and focus on networking—not how young you yourself are.

Audio from when we met up again at the Tentacle Kitty table:

In the Block, Headlocked had signs showing where lines should form for Trish, Lita, Sting, and Lawler. Luis happened to be there the same time as Sting.

LV: You know, you tell them Class of ’89, and they’re like, “Whoooaa that was so long ago.” So I’m like, “All right. Fuck off.”

MV: “I wasn’t born until 1997!” [But really they were probably born in 2002..]

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2018 COMICS OF THE YEAR Luis lists the best books he read from all publishers

RUNAWAYS I was a

SEEDS I worship at the

MISTER MIRACLE There are

No best of list of mine is complete without this book. For over 5 years the monthly excellence this book delivers is unparalleled.

Star-crossed lovers, political warfare, infidelity, drug addiction, and heart-splitting tragedy. Comic perfection.

huge fan of the original series created by Brian K. Vaughan. I hesitantly picked up this new iteration by Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka. It completely rekindles the fire of the original series while incorporating all the angst of growing up.

not enough superlatives to describe my feelings for this book. King and Gerards are a super team putting out the best book in decades. Plus Darkseid and a veggie tray is pure gold.

THOR

I never thought I would see a Thor run that topped Walt Simonson’s ’80s run. Along came Jason Aaron. Jane Foster has become one of my favorite characters, plus the return of the OG Thor was breathtaking. My favorite Thor run ever.

X23 I’ve never been the

biggest Wolverine fan. X23 on the other hand I love.

Tamaki builds on Tom Taylor work turning her into a fully formed character with a complete nurturing side as she cares for her younger (clone) sister Gabby. Easily one of my favorite Marvel books.

BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT

A perfect Batman story. See ADW Issue 93 for my official review of the series.

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altar of Aja. One of my favorite visual creators in the medium. This original aliens on earth story for Dark Horse is amazing.

SAGA

THE WILDSTORM

Warren Ellis new take on Jim Lee’s universe. Slow and methodically paced, it’s the Better Call Saul of comics.

X-MEN RED

The best Marvel mutant title in years. Its filled with hope and discovery and harkens back to what made the X-Men fun to begin with. Another wonderful book by Tim Taylor. Mahmud Asrar’s pencils are mesmerizing.

DARK NIGHTS METAL DC’s best-

selling duo of Snyder and Capullo took us on a twisted journey through the dark matter universe. While I liked the tie-ins more than the core story, the whole event should be applauded.

KAL HUNTS FOR BOOKS While Minecraft was pushing its new comic series, Kal was more interested in the Guide To series, like Guide to Farming. At the time, Guide to PVP Games might have been on the table before it was on store shelves. He couldn't remember going home with any of the books—even the Overwatch Anthology Vol. 1 that he still has.

"Volume one?! Is there a new one with more characters?" It doesn't seem Blizzard Entertainment has printed a second volume.

STRIKE A POSE

In the entrance hall, Chevy displayed custom cars to celebrate Mickey's 90th birthday. Fans could walk up to take pictures with The Nightmare Before Christmas, Little Mermaid, and other paint jobs. On the Show Floor, 2000 AD had a Judge Dredd photo booth where attendees could pretend to have their skulls crushed.

The only thing I know about Rick & Morty is that McDonald's suddenly carried Szechuan sauce, but other than these pictures I took early on Sunday, their outdoor set was always crowded. They were selling pins, masks, T-shirts, beach towels, tote bags, toys, wubba lubba dub dub hats, and more.

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TOY SHOPPING Cuteness seems to be in unlimited supplies from major retailers to collectible statues. Price is all relative. Think $30 for a plush sounds like a lot? How about $4,000 for an action figure? Everything from tablecloths to wooden dice caught my kids’ eyes.

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NYCC18 EXCLUSIVES LUIS WALKS US THROUGH HIS FAVORITE FINDS The continued exclusives domination of Funko was very prevalent in 2018. You’d be hard-pressed to not find a collector toting a giant bag of Pops they waited hours for in line to get after getting their time by waiting online. It’s Funko’s world, we all just collect in it.

Their top exclusives were the BLACK PANTHER OKOYE in the red dress with removable wig, the Pop! Rides PIZZA

PLANET truck with Buzz Lightyear, and the Pop! Justice League 2-pack with FLASH and SUPERMAN racing. In the more articulated action figure line, the MARRIED WITH CHILDREN 4-pack proved to be a fun hit.

Another exclusives destination was the Hallmark booth where they offered an exclusive IRON GIANT holiday ornament as well as a BOBA FETT™ itty bittys plush in Kenner- style blister-card packaging.

The Marvel booth had an exclusive KORG & MIEK plush. I mean who wouldn't want a plush Taika Waititi. The Reed Pop booth had my favorite plush of the entire convention in a Spiderverse 12” SPIDER-HAM. Super7’s exclusive offerings were highlighted by CYBORG

OPTIMUS PRIME (see through and light up all in one) as well as their preview of the SHE-RA and CATRA figures based on the new Netflix series.

The biggest and possibly most sought after exclusives had to be the Gentle Giant Star Wars 12” BOBA FETT Jumbo figure on Kenner style packaging. If you were lucky enough to snag this limited exclusive you were a happy conventioneer.

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THE HORROR These TV shows and products did not meet great success Looking back, there some tells. Why did Marvel think anyone needed a mobile card game? Other shows NBC promoted with huge ads at NYCC lasted only a season.

Midnight, Texas was cancelled shortly after NYCC. Heathers was actually cancelled in June 2020, but Paramount tried re-edited for streaming, so it had nine U.S. episodes instead of 10. And maybe if DC had given Superman a beard in its Primal Age line, Luis would have been more interested in the Target exclusives. They all went away quickly.

Luis had no idea what Battle Lines was when I asked in 2020, and Heathers is certifiably rotten with "its blunt, misguided attempt at social commentary,"according to Rotten Tomatoes.

BLOODY GOOD Hopefully unlike the brands above, the artists doing horror makeup at Java Monster and Symphony Blush met more success. I always like seeing what Symphony Blush decides to change about their set up from year to year, but I'd never heard of Java Monster before.

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At the end of Sunday, when no one was in line, the Netflix booth operator gave up telling him not to pull on the umbrella. He was working it hard.

Spaceboy looks like he belongs in a gloriously animated TV series.

Paper crowns and swords for attendees

READY FOR LAUNCH LUIS ROUNDS UP MOVIES AND SERIES COMING SOON Every year, you can count on NYCC to be the place where major launches or reveals take place. In years past, you were able to see costumes from upcoming movies (this has been the main photo op for years at the DC booth) sit in the offices of major Marvel characters (Netflix recreated Jessica Jones and Matt Murdock’s for the Marvel booth), signings with newly announced casts (DC trots out the cast of their animated adventures every year while Marvel usually counters with the cast of Agents of SHIELD or one of the smaller members of their cinematic universe) or go through interactive experiences for a sneak peek or snippet of information.

Here were some of the major launches from 2018:

SHE-RA

Netflix unveiled the look of the title character for its new series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power with some screens of the animation with a large presence at the Block with a nearly 10-foot tall statue of She-Ra with an accompanying booth where you could order the exclusive first figures from Super 7.

AQUAMAN

The DC booth was adorned with Aquaman signage as well as having the costumes from the movie on display and a life-size Lego Aquaman in his original costume but with a Jason Momoa head.

DC UNIVERSE

The most buzz-worthy thing happening in the DC booth was the launch of their DC Universe app. With the full content library of their past comics releases (with an embargo nine months on newest releases) DC was making a huge push to incentivize convention goers to sign up. There was a signing at the DC booth with the cast of Titans highlighted by Minka Kelly (Dove) of Friday Night Lights fame.

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

Donald Faison and BB-8 were also around the booth that Friday, but R2 was the biggest star while were there. Kal wanted to watch Star Wars: Resistance, so Luis has only seen the premiere (and not finished Rebels).

Prior to the convention I thought the Netflix adaptation of the brilliant Dark Horse Umbrella Academy comic was going to be an animated series. Then during a signing at the DC booth the artist on the series Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (they were there promoting the hardcover edition of their genius Daytripper series) told me about how much fun it was being on the set, to which I immediately asked “the set.” That’s when I realized it was a live action series. The Dark Horse booth contained a photo op to promote the series.

Moon and Bá drew White Violin and Spaceboy for me which was the absolute highlight of the show.

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THANKS, JOSE! MEGAN SHARES HOW SHE SPENT HER WEEKEND My uncle hooked me up with a Sidekick badge (the 4-day passes for friends of NYCC), so I spent the whole weekend at Comic Con. This was the year Aquaman and the Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy book were coming out. Thursday I ran around the Show Floor and checked out the DC Booth, took pictures of the Aquaman costumes, and a very impressive Aquaman Lego. That night, I attended the Star Wars: Women of the Galaxy panel with Ashley Eckstein (voice of Ahsoka Tano), Sara Alfageeh, Elsa Charretier, Jen Bartel, Cryssy Cheung, Karen Hallion, Sarah Wilkinson, and Annie Stoll. All of these women provided artwork of different iconic Star

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Wars women and talked about the significance of each character and how they play key roles in the universe. My Friday consisted of cosplayers and more panels. I attended the Tell Me A Story panel, which gave the audience a first look at the new CBS television series that turns beloved fairy tales into modern day reality. The rest of my weekend concluded with a panel based on the CW spin-off series from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals called Legacies. I took more pictures of cosplayers and even took a few with them. I got a Supergirl and Aquaman sketch on Sunday from Mike Perkins and Wonder Woman and Jessica Cruz from Marco Santucci.

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MAN OF ACTION KAL BRAINSTORMS A GRAPHIC NOVEL WORLD BUILD

Kal flipped through the guide book and decided he wanted to go to the Create Your Own Comic panel with Man of Action Entertainment because, as he says now, "they make video games and I wanted to do that kind of stuff to help me design video games. And they're the Ben 10 guys."

Steven T. Seagle, Joe Casey, and Duncan Rouleau were there to represent MOA. "We only have an hour, so we gotta fly through this one," Seagle said. We did. They explained how to brainstorm effectively and what our rules were: Raise your hand, wait for the microphone, and applaud. We voted on the ideas we generated to pick the kind of project, the setting, the main character, and so on, and then tried to make it better.

The main thing Kal remembered before watching the videos was that MOA had put a copyright symbol on the ideas pad. He didn't remember the kid singled out to be a TV executive. As I recall, this kid was told to sit at the table in the front after he gave a total killjoy answer. What I do have on video is everyone voting on the name of the main character and it not being decisive. So they ask the TV exec who decides it should be Dr. Frozen—a choice not even close to winning. Seagle says, "This happens to us all the time. Someone sitting around in the meeting, not paying any attention, and then suddenly he makes a veto decision."

Kal's hand shoots up. "Isn't Dr. Frozen just a rip-off of Mr. Freeze?"

"It's important to understand that rip-offs are often very successful." The room laughs. Then the TV exec vetoes his veto and says the name can be Dr. I Forget Dang It. The other part Kal didn't remember was needing to ask Rouleau to explain "hoist the petard." Rouleau was enthusiastic about where some of our ideas could go and how we could introduce poetic justice—how good stories are when the person who is supposed to be the face of an operation is actually trying to bring it down.

After watching all the videos from the day, Kal said the panels were the best part of Comic Con. And the costumes.

—MV

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Unlike 2017, Betty was happy to meet costumed characters in 2018

BY MADELINE STRUM PHOTOGRAPHY

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Betty was so happy to see the Tangled crew, she drew the attention of people waiting for The Good Place photo booth.

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Betty screamed “Shredder” when she saw her in the tunnel.

It looks like Betty is fleeing danger, but she just didn’t want to pose long enough before I took a real picture.

“Lady Bug and Belle are the best costumes on this page,” Betty says now. The way she’s gripping her skirt, I thought she might remember talking to that guy. Nope.

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I asked Betty if she could tell me more about what was happening in these pictures.

“Sometimes I would just want to get carried,” she said.

“But you’re running around there,” I say.

“Yeah. Look at me. I’m angry because I’m back in the baby stroller.”

Betty wasn’t into posing for pictures with people she knows. She almost missed the dog because of whatever she was watching on the phone. People rarely missed the opportunity to compliment her shoes.

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“We tried to find Robin, and then we did.

What we really needed to find was Cyborg, and he was not there.

But at least we found Starfire.”

-Betty

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ATTENTION GRABBING 46

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BEHIND THE CAMERAS AND THE COSPLAYERS’ WORK TO MAKE THE CONVENTION LOOK SO MAGICAL Conventions 2018 • Art

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ATTENTION GRABBING

As long as you don’t try to pose anyone in the middle of an aisle on the Show Floor, photo shoots can be happening pretty much anywhere.

It feels like the number of photographers trying to create pop-up studios around the overpass exploded.

This spread alone has two people with their own backdrops and two people with soft boxes mounted on their backs. Thinking of how similar all these underpass photos might look had me reminiscing about when photographers were sneaking off through “do no enter” signs for original shoots with ambient light in restricted areas of the Javits Center. I’m sure my brother-in-law who advised on security doesn’t want me encouraging attendees to ignore the rules, though.

—MV

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I’m so used to looking for behind-the-scenes moments, I assumed the young woman fixing her makeup in the restaurant window was a cosplayer.

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ATTENTION GRABBING

The first time I went to NYCC, my assignment was to look for people in costumes doing ordinary things. The cosplayers who knew I was with them all day to photograph their whole day were fine with that story line, but it seems to make everyone else a little more nervous.

Luis spotted Lego Spider-Man putting her costume back on, and she showed him how many fans are built into the head and torso to try to keep her cool.

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ATTENTION GRABBING

“I like seeing the costumes and talking to the people in the costumes even if half the time I don't know what they are.”

-Kal

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Sometimes special costumes require special help. I spotted the costume with all the teeth and plates waiting to cross the street before seeing he needed a guide for his mini stilts.

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ATTENTION GRABBING

I liked the Pop! figures so much I have video and multiple photos of them.

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ATTENTION GRABBING

“She’s the closest thing you’re gonna find to a real Harley. You can tell she really cares about the character in the way she carries herself and the details she changes” -Luis

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ATTENTION GRABBING

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Every kind of fandom is expressed in costumes at NYCC. Star Wars? Horror?

Intense construction?

Gender-bending twists? ADW hopes to capture a wide enough array while at the show.

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ATTENTION GRABBING

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ATTENTION GRABBING

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Seeing Soundwave in The Block was on our to-do list. At the time he said he would love to own one that big.

He will happily tell you now about how that's a G1 version with all the buttons.

The tiny Luke Cage dog commanded a big audience in the courtyard. Boom didn't really remember petting the dog, thinking he stuck his hand out but didn't get a turn. It was quick, but the dog came to him.

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THE HIGHLIGHT The best part of New York Comic Con for Boom is picking a new Tentacle Kitty. Betty was offered a dozen different kitties to hug on Friday, but by Sunday the table was streamlined to mainly three types. Boom decided he still wanted the NYCC exclusive taxi cat, so we had to head to the ReedPop store. Maybe now that he has a weekly allowance, Boom will start shopping for the ninja or Santa versions he didn't get in 2018.

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AT LAST A BLAST Boom started Sunday by securing his spot in the Padawan Training Institute and ended it by using a rapid fire Nerf gun on Storm Troopers—the two things he didn't get to do the year before. Watching the videos, he was excited to see how many times he hit the Troopers with a weapon he hasn't played with anywhere else. We have Nerf guns, but the way this one allowed him more control makes it the best he's ever used. Thirty seconds later, though, he says all the cute stuff at NYCC is the best part.

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NICE TO MEET YOU Boom seemed perfectly happy to meet droids and porgs with his taxi cat at his side.

HITTING THE ROAD I'm not sure if I was able to put off getting a big pretzel until we were

away from the Javits Center because I thought it would be cheaper or bigger or just a better time to eat it. I had no idea there was a stand alone store for Crocs on 34th Street. That's the weirdest thing I saw all weekend. And Betty napped on the subway on her way home.

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FIVE THINGS MADELINE CRAFTED IN 2018 BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT SHE MIGHT AS WELL TRY SPECIAL DELIVERY

The joke was a friend’s new baby should be named Fortnite, so I painted both sides of the canvas bag I used for as a gift bag for her baby shower.

SUPER LLAMA

Years earlier, two friends combined their last names for a fun wedding theme.

When they were expecting, I thought it could make a fun unisex baby toy.

CUSTOM COSTUMES Lady

Bug, Skeleton Cat, and an original Horizon Zero Dawn character that required different levels of construction.

GRAFFITI SET

The school dance performance was my chance to do a large painting.

100TH DAY T-shirts replaced the usual old person spirit day at school.

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