In this issue 3 Editor’s Letter 4 Mini Board 6 New York Comic Con 2015 What were we thinking about four years ago?
16 The Crystal Palace
New DC Super Hero Girls and Batman vs. Superman displays
20 The Block
Vendors and artists reach fans in new ways in this corner
24 Toys & Collectibles
McFarlane, Lego, Funko, and more treasures on the Floor
30 Gaming
Video games, card tournaments, and building challenges
32 Lights, Camera, Interaction! Attendees could pose, sing, or watch interivews with guests
34 The Show Floor
Clothing, booth babes, comic books, and creators
40 The Concourse 41 Artist Alley
Plus the Marvel and DC booths
44 Masquerade
So many costumes everywhere
62 Surviving the Show
Taking pictures with a baby, finding a place to eat, finding a place to sit, finding your props...
70 Parting Shots
Even on the way out, there’s still more to see
Art department weekly Luis Vega Chief content officer Madeline Strum Managing Editor Credits Madeline strum photography (Cover and pages 6-11, 21, 22, 26, 28, 36, 44-49, 62, 66-74), Luis Vega (Pages 15, 42, 43)
nerd christmas I’ve renamed the first weekend of October as Nerd Christmas. This is strictly due to one of my favorite annual events: New York Comic Con. Held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, NYCC is quickly growing and will soon surpass SDCC as the largest North American comic convention. Here at the Dubbs, we go all out in our New York Comic Con coverage. Cameras and 4-day passes in tow we cover the sights, sounds, cosplayers and swag (like the sweet Progressive Protector-Girl tee pictured above). This year’s con proved especially harrowing as we tried to bravely navigate the con with a newborn. Traversing the Javits Center floor is hard enough— imagine how challenging that is with a baby strapped to you! In the greatest feat of multitasking ever, Madeline shot the entirety of the show with a baby. While DC avoided the main floor (again) so they could have a larger footprint, Marvel dominated the Show Floor with their stage and the endless stream of Agents of Shield. The Block also seems to be growing larger and larger— even if it was harder to get to due to the largesse of the Funko lines. That is a phenomenon I definitely did not predict. When I wasn’t marveling at the amazing costumes or searching for exclusive Legos, I was totally geeking out over meeting my favorite creators and
getting to ask them what inspires their work or who their favorite characters are. Amy Reeder and Dustin Nguyen were two of my favorites to converse with this year. Jim Lee once again had the largest lines of any creator. Even though we were there all four days, there is so much to see and do that we could not cover it all. While I did receive a Protector Girl shirt from Progressive, I did not realize that I could have summoned the Protector-corn to provide “line insurance” and hold my place while I used the bathroom. (Though, maybe they should have had the Protector-corn holding spots for guests in the women’s bathroom lines. Those are insane.) Marty McFly is supposed to arrive in the future on Oct. 21, 2015, where he drinks Pepsi Perfect. Sadly, I did not see any Back to the Future Pepsi bottles. Needless to say, if you ever want to fully celebrate Nerd Christmas, make your way to New York in early October and come experience the sights at NYCC.
Conventions 2015 • Art
Department Weekly
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