STAR WARS LOVERS What started as a photo op ended with a newly engaged couple Exiting the Main Stage after the AEW takeover, I spotted a pair of Twi’leks. Before I could ask them to pose, a Padme walked by and they asked her if she knew what was going on with the meet up. We took a walk to where group photos have met in the past before looping back to the Main Stage exit. More and more people with lightsabers and helmets gathered. One guy dressed as a Jedi with a gray cloak seemed to be in charge, getting the group of maybe 50 people to form up in a half circle in multiple rows (opposite page). When fans with phones out swarmed the group, he shouted at the crowd to take a step back. No one really backed up. The photo op seemed to be over when suddenly people gasped. Jedi Luke had proposed to Mara Jade. There was a new round of pictures before fans moved on. I hung around to see what they would do next. The group reorganized on the steps. Saturday was shaping up to be everything we’d missing about New York Comic Con. —MV
THE HAPPY COUPLE Jedi Luke surprised Mara Jade and delighted all the onlookers
50
Art Department Weekly • New York Comic Con 2021
