Art Department Weekly | Issue 97 Vol. 11

ADW ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY ISSUE 97 VOL. 11

Snake Bit

THE BEST G.I. JOE FIGURE EVER?

Last Hurrah

ARTISTS, PANELS, COSTUMES, AND EXCLUSIVES!

THROWBACK TO CROWDS

2019 NYCC

YOU ARE HERE

SKETCHES AT DC

COVER

ED LETTER

LEGEND

NEW YORK COMIC CON INTRO

NEW YORK COMIC CON INTRO

7

6

AROUND THE SHOW

MAGICAL 20

AROUND THE SHOW

...

COSTUME PARTY

MASKS ARE COOL

3

2

YA GRAPHIC NOVEL PANEL

37

36

TOP COMICS

44

27

...

FOR SALE

47

FAMILIAR FACES

FAMILIAR FACES

...

8

COMIC CON LIVE STAGE

15

UNICRON

29

28

STATUES

36

...

5

VIDEO GAMES

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT

...

16

BOOTHS

...

30

39

63

40

19

SHOPPING

LINES

COSTUMES

...

MINI BOARD

4

TOYS

COSTUMES

48

MINI BOARD

35

FINE ART

...

43

5 THINGS

64

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

The Last Hurrah

8

Familiar Faces

Setting the scene for New York Comic Con Madeline asks Luis about his goal to not talk to anyone except creators and why he loves the convention so much

16 Video Games

Big sets and top secret demos

19 Exclusive Content

Luis rounds up the best of what was only for sale at NYCC

28 Comic Con Live

Casts from Runaways and AEW talk about their new seasons

29 Planet Eater

Unicron is unveiled to investors

31 Building a Fanbase

Gundam looked good to Boom

33 Family Obsession

We love with Steven Universe

34 Costume Party

Boom wanted to sit

35 Graphic Tips

Kal is excited for DC's YA panel

36 I'll Take Them All

Luis rounds up the statues and toys that caught his eye

41 Dynamic Duo

Fine art inspired by comic and athletic heroes

44 Top Comics

The best titles Luis read in 2019

48 Costumes

What we'll miss most about conventions

64 Five Things

About Snake Eyes

ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY LUIS VEGA CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER MADELINE STRUM MANAGING EDITOR CREDITS MADELINE STRUM PHOTOGRAPHY

Our 2019 badges are missing...

THE GREAT TEN A couple hours after placing this text, ReedPop canceled New York Comic Con 2020. I had already decided not to go. It would have been my 11th. I skipped the first few because I’m simply not about crowds and therefore don't want to pay to be in a crowd. But then I secured a press pass in 2010 and something happened: I fell in love with NYCC. The sense of acceptance and community in celebrating comics was definitely something I was about. The early cons were exactly that—a celebration of comics with few gaming, TV, and movie properties. It was comic nirvana. Meet creators, get free swag, buy exclusive merch, and simply take in everything good about comics.

As Marvel and DC became multimedia empires, their respective booths grew larger and larger and focused less and less on actual comics. In fact, Marvel’s booth got so large (and loud) that DC started to eschew the Show Floor and carved out a space for themselves down by the south entrance. Marvel's booth became about the sizzle—a large video board to host gaming tournaments, a giant stage to host cosplay parades, screens everywhere touting their TV shows and games. What it became less and less about was comics.

That’s why the DC area has always been my little haven. Off the Show Floor,

it gave me a place to stop and breathe and really interact with creators I was there to meet. It's not uncommon to see other creators hanging out or snapping pictures while they wait for their assigned signing/sketching times. I have gotten both Jorge Jimenez and Scott Snyder to sign things for me in years past while they simply interacted with fans outside the booth. DC was easily my favorite spot of the whole show.

On top of that, the DC area was kind a great location to see cosplayers starting or ending their walk through all the pop-up photo studios outside. It was a perfect spot to witness the creativity and craftmanship of makeup and costumes.

While I’m enjoying the virtual aspects of cons at home, I will definitely miss the sense of community that comes from conventions. I will miss engaging artists as they quickly sketch something. I will miss the sense of wonderment as to what the next costume walking through the door might be. I’ll miss you NYCC.

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MINI BOARD

MLP+DND Fandoms collide when My Little Pony meets Dungeons and Dragons in this new Crossover Collection, the first expanded universe of MLP mashup characters! This set combines the MLP form with designs inspired by the worlds of D&D. The set includes five figures, each inspired by an iconic class of D&D characters as well as an exclusive 20-sided die for all your future dungeon mastery.

—LV

LITTLE OFFICE Fisher-Price has added the legendary comedy series The Office to their line of Little People figures! This collection includes Michael Scott, Dwight, Jim, and Pam complete with their classic outfits and fun touches like Michael’s World’s Best Boss mug and a Jim Hearts Pam note.

—LV

SCARY WARNING This seemed like a warning coming from the scary family in the illustration.

I didn't want to chance getting bit, so I instantly put my mask on.

—LV

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D

R A E RH

BIRTHDAY SURPISE

T R A Y B

OVE

Luis must have said a thousand times that he missed Toys 'R' Us after the stores closed, so the new store seemed like a good place to take Luis for his birthday. While the selection was limited—no aisles of WWE, Star Wars, and Marvel figures—it still felt like the wait to get in was worth the chance to interact with the new store model. —MV

"You ever get a FaceTime from her after she's had a couple" -Savannah Toys 'R' Us opened in Paramus, NJ, in November 2019, and Madeline decided the cross country course in the Bronx was close enough that the family should swing by on the way home after a meet. Betty posed with Baby Shark characters.

BYE, ZOMBIE This show did not need another season.

The same as Modern Family, I watched the second to last season of iZombie thinking it was the last season. Then I watched the final season and wondered the whole time, Why? I took a year off between seasons so I was even more confused why it was back. Characters I was sure had died showed up. So many scenarios seemed to be invented just for the sake of giving characters a chance to perform special, unrelated talents. Then the real ending was stupid. *spoiler alert* Everyone is cured everyone except people who wanted to become zombies because they had incurable illnesses? And now they live on a secret island? How are they getting brains now? They won't grow older or get jobs. What life is that? The highlight was Aly Michalka's character got drunk and sang terribly.

—MV

"We are going to win.

Whatever it takes" -Steve

"Is it me, or is it getting crazier out there?"

-Arthur

"We showed that we are united and that we, young people, are unstoppable" -Greta

"The measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are" -Frigga

"No one's ever really gone" -Luke

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THE LAST

HURRAH Purell is on the tables and people are happily wearing masks in these picutres from 2019, but does anyone really see themselves gathering in a group of 100,000-plus attendees and celebrating comics/pop culure any time soon? It might be safe to say that the convention landscape has changed forever. While I love the sense of community the Con brings, I just don’t see a gathering like this happening in October 2020. It made me think how happy I am that I was able to attend all four days (for the first time ever) in 2019 and take my boys with me on Saturday and Sunday while they were old enough to actually remember being there.

—LV

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FAMILIAR FACES

SOME PEOPLE MAKE NEW FRIENDS OVER SHARED INTERESTS. LUIS DOES NOT MADELINE: I’m trying to figure out who

you’re in line for here with the people you’re so uncomfortable talking to.

LUIS: You know what, I had run into that couple a couple different times through out the day. They were at the Marvel booth getting sketches, basically doing the same thing I do—going back and forth between DC and Marvel. I feel like we were comparing out sketch books and, “Oh my god, did you get so and so?”

“Yeah, I got so and so.” And so it’s like we all know I am suuuuuper socially awkward and so it’s like when I have to talk to people it’s just…

M: Yeah. You can’t put on headphones

and be like, I’m not talking to you…

L: Right.

M: You’re not giving them your “Oh my god stop talking to me” face, but to trying to pull out one frame where your eyes and mouth are both comfortable, it’s so obvious that you're totally ‘Ha ha ha I am faking my way through this conversation.”

[Luis flips through his sketchbook] M: I was thinking about that—running around all day by yourself. I have no real reason to be there and no one to talk to about what I'm seeing.

L: Maybe it was Emmanuela Lupachino because I have her here.

M: That’s what it had to be. You guys were in the next line. Are you guys just talking about not being in the raffle?

L: No. We’re looking at each others’ sketchbooks.

M: But you guys had already been in line for 30 minutes together at that point.

You’re not gonna be one of these people

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whose like, "Well, I’m just gonna go and stand in line and make new friends because I’m here by myself." My grandma would have taken down someone’s address and become lifelong friends.

L [still looking at sketch book]: Yeah.

M: But that’s how you always go to these

conventions—2019 wasn't going to be different just because you were there longer. I have no idea what I’m looking for,

but you know exactly what you want, and then you stand in line by yourself and wait.

L: Yeah, I’m happy to just

stand in line wait to see artists, and talk to artists while they’re sketching, or just see which tools they’re using to sketch. I bought my Microns because I saw people in Artist Alley sketching with them. I got my Pentel brush pens because I saw an artist using those. I just love talking to artists and seeing their creative process because I’m not going to be a professional comic book artist but I love that process and in my heart of hearts it’s all I’ve ever wanted to be is a professional comic book artist.

M: But not to make friends

with people at comic book conventions? That’s not your thing?

Continued Page 10

In the past, Madeline followed the kids around at NYCC. In 2019, Kal had a cross country meet in the Bronx on Saturday, so Betty and Madeline took him to that.

Then Madeline stayed home with the cats and Betty when she was sick Sunday.

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As in previous years, the DC booth was Luis' preferred place to be.

Unlike previous years, attendees had to enter online raffles to receive wristbands to meet creators like Jim Lee.

L: There’s Jim Lee, and we know I wasn’t

going to see him.

M: And you guys weren't talking about

not having wristbands?

L: No, look, I'm showing my sketches.

M: You got that close [to take the picture

on the right] but you didn't get to talk to

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[Jim Lee, Scott Williams, or Alex Sinclair] because they're just keeping the lines moving?

L: Yeah. This Wonder Woman had made

a light out of the DC logo spefically for Jim Lee. I think they were just so taken with her. She didn't have a wristband or anything.

Continued Page 12

The DC booth had a variety of collectibles available, including Todd McFarlane prints for those who signed up for the DC Power Visa and Harley Quinn pins each day for DC Universe app users.

Kal picked this way out of the background when I was scanning videos: DC Universe was playing clips from a Teen Titans Go! special that hadn't aired yet.

You didn't have to be picked out by a crew to get in front of a camera—all attendees were welcome to take a green screen pic.

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Luis probably spent 65 percent of his time at Comic Con at the DC booth, waiting to meet favorite artists, like Emanuela Lupacchino, and snapping pictures of comic legends, like Frank Miller FAMILIAR CONT. M: You’re not planning meet

ups with people you’ve been talking to online?

L: Uh, not my jam. I am not a

social person. I am very socially awkward. Um… M [Looking at computer]:

I think this is funny. I had no kid to follow around, so the first I day I only had you and you kept getting into all my shots. So, it’s not really pictures of you, but you’re my kid the first day.

L [Looking at sketch book]: This was interesting. I got this sketch with Boom because he was having trouble in Art. I think he had an episode in class because he couldn't decide what to draw. And so I wanted to take him to Comic Con and have him see how artists get to work. [Adriana Melo] had a shorter line, and I was like, "Boom, watch this.

She'll draw whatever character you want. What character do you want?" And he was like, "Robin." She was like, "I don't really draw Robin... but I'll pull up a picture and, yeah, I'll draw him." And so she did. And Boom was talking to her the whole time, and so she wrote.

"To Boom: Best Wishes Adriana Melo," and then she drew a little picture of herself.

And I thought it was important for him to see—throw her a curveball and see her draw a character she doesn't really draw. She's known for Plastic Man. I think I have her Plastic Man from the year before. I thought it was important for him to see an artist do that.

Domo Stanton and Si Spurrier

Emanuela Lupacchino

Guillem March

Continued Page 14

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Brad Walker

Chad Hardin

Frank Miller

James Tynion IV

Doc Shaner

Joe Quinones and Jordan Gibson

Svengoolie and Chris Jones

WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE Luis is a huge fan of Doc Shaner and will happily tell you about the time he saw a boy ask him to draw Raven from Teen Titans Go! That's not Shaner's style, but he looked up a picture of Raven and got to work and chatted with the kid while he did it.

Madeline grew up in Chicagoland, so she recognized the name Svengoolie right away when Luis said he had taken a picture of him promoting an upcoming series of custom inserts written by DC Publisher and Svengoolie super fan Dan DiDio with art by Chris Jones.

The last picture here is one of the DC table tops at the end of Sunday.

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The Birds of Prey are at the beginning of their character arcs, so the costumes are not the usual reveal of new spins on iconic favorites

FAMILIAR CONT. L: I can't believe I didn't get

any pictures of Tom King.

M: Did you put yourself down

for raffles then?

L: No. I went to Tom King’s

table in Artist Alley and they told me, “Well, if you buy a hard cover, you’re guaranteed a signature. You get a ticket for the time.” And so I did.

M: So it was like a Fast Pass?

L: You got his signature at

Artist Alley, but because I was one of the first however many people to buy a book that day they put a tag in my book which allowed me to get a sketch. Now I didn’t realize that the tag in the book meant I got one of the quick sketches from Tom King. I thought it meant I got a sketch from Mitch Gerard. And so when I gave Mitch the book, cuz he was before Tom, I was like, “Oh, I got this Post-It on here.

I’m supposed to get a sketch from you?” He was like, “Oh yeah. No problem. Who do you want?” And I was like, “Oh, I want Mr. Miracle of

course.” He was like, “Yeah, totally.” And then he turned around after and he was like, [whispering] “What’s the deal with the Post-Its on the books?” And she was like, “Oh, no, the Post-It’s are just for a sketch from Tom.” I didn’t know that. He was a good sport.

M: I thought Tom was a writer.

L: Yeah, but he does really

crappy like sketches for fun.

M: You’ve gotten that in the

past…

L: Yeah. He does these sketches

that are hilarious and it’s—

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M: Wait. They were at a table

together in Artist Alley?

L: Yeah. It’s a group that’s

trying to get all of these artists and writers and the only way to get them to sign something is if you buy something.

Continued Page 18

Marvel celebrated 80 years of comics with all the lights and action we expect.

Madeline visited Marvel on Thursday morning—maybe one of the few times the Marvel stage was empty that weekend.

Typically there costume contests, tournaments, and celebrities.

The Spider-Man: Homecoming costume was a favorite feature of the Marvel booth for Boom and Kal. More of the area was devoted to a Christie's auction and demos of the Avengers video game

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Gaming is a big feature... literally

Arcade 1 arranged machines of all sizes including the gigantic Marvel Super Heroes CapCom machine— different than Marvel's Realm of Champions or mobile Puzzlequest.

The Dragon Ball statues everyone was photographing caught Madeline's eye before she realized they were promoting a game demo.

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FAMILIAR CONT. M: You already said you didn’t

want to have them stand in line and play video games.

L: Yeah, no, the lines were

hours long. They were too scared to play the Stranger Things game. The only game they were interested to demo was the Avengers game, and that game had a tremendously long line.

M: It all looks like zombie

games.

L: Yeah, they didn’t ask to do

Gaming booths could be spotted from far away and were fun to look at up close with props and costumes.

Epic7Seven was actually a photo op with characters.

any of that stuff. Kal wanted to go look for books, but I think he was put off by how big the crowd was. There were just so many people there. Trying to walk the main floor I think was a little overwhelming for him.

[Madeline busts out laughing] M: I have so many pictures of

him running away into crowds.

He's picking up on your anxiety. The last time you went to a con together was when anime was still in the basement, right? Like, he was in a stroller. Extremely different scenarios.

L: It was nutty. Continued Page TK

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FAMILIAR CONT. L: Boom only had eyes for the exclusive show Tentakitty— the bat one. Then he was like, "Oh, they have a blindbag and I can get a blindbag and not know what’s in there?" He was way into that one.

M: Yeah, he had forgotten that

he had gotten the yellow one as a blind bag, but he says it's the best of his collection.

L: The black bat one was the

interesting one because I went on Thursday and the line at the ReedPop shop was crazy long. So on the Friday, I was like that’s the first thing I’m gonna do.

Then the Friday line was stupid long.

L: It was the first thing I did. I

got in early because of Jose’s connection. So I got in there early and told Jose, "Hey, I’m gonna go to the ReedPop section. I get down there, and there is no line because I’m in there maybe 45 minutes before the show opens. So I get there, I buy Boom’s bat cat, and then I go to go back inside the main floor, and when I go to go back inside the main floor— M: That’s when they told you

you had to go back out.

M: Okay, so it was you who

L: They tell me I had to go all

bought it because I have pictures from two days of crazy long lines but… I mean, the Thursday line is long but like as long as Starbucks.

the way out. So I tried to call Jose again, but he was already in line waiting for something else. He was like, “Just call me when you get in again.” He

18 Art Department Weekly • Conventions 2019

couldn’t really help me a *second* time. But it was fine because I felt like I had won. I didn’t have to wait in line for Boom’s bat cat.

M: It was raining Thursday

morning, but it was fine Friday morning.

L: I feel like I was listening to a really good podcast, like Armchair Expert. I forget what it was, but I remember being really captivated by what I was listening to so I didn’t really care. And I was kind of shocked that in the long line I waited in there were so few people in costumes. I just don’t think the costume people get there so crazy early.

M: There’s no point It’s the

people who want to run around get signatures and buy exclusives.

Continued Page 23

Thursday morning, the line at Starbucks seemed longer than the line at the ReedPop store. For those who were waiting to get into the Javits Center, there was rain, but also an NYCC themed AM New York in the subway.

EXCLUSIVE CONTENT Luis rounds up the best of what was available at NYCC 2019 The convention exclusives scene has become Funko Pops playground. Their continued dominance of the exclusives landscape is something I’ve written about before, but it continued here in 2019. Some of the best exclusives could be found in the Funko booth if you were lucky enough to win one of the time slots.

Here is the best of the Funk bunch followed by a myriad of other fun exclusives: The CHRONIC and BLUNTMAN 2-pack perfectly captures Jay and Silent Bob in their costumed alter-egos.

The GREEN HORNET and KATO two pack finally lets you recreate the classic battle between them and the Adam West Burt Ward Batman and Robin. The Yankees fan in me loved the BABE RUTH exclusive. Something about this figure looks spot on for me as opposed to the other sports releases. The SUZY from Stranger Things will have you singing Neverending Story while the KEVIN and Up house bring to life one of my favorite Disney movies ever.

The Hallmark booth also continued to be a favorite stop for exclusives with the release of SPIDER-MAN wearing the Item 17-A armor first seen in Avengers: Infinity War. This

ornament has a limited production run of 2,075. The Itty Bitty line introduced SYBILL TRALAWNEY and a TOASTED STAY PUFT MARSHMALLOW MAN.

Neca partnered with KidRobot to produce the Bob’s Burgers LOUISE DRAGON WITH THE GIRL TATTOO figure.

Kid Robot. NECA also continued the exclusive releases of the DC vs Dark Horse 7” scale crossover figures. This exclusive featured GREEN LANTERN and PREDATOR. DC Comics Vinimates were able to have the first figure of one the hottest characters in all of comics, the NYCC19 exclusive BATMAN WHO LAUGHS VINIMATE. Beast Kingdom Dynamic 8ction Heroes Figures released a WONDER WOMAN at 8 inch scale with 24 points of articulation adorned in the costume of the DC Animated Universe.

DKE Toys released a bizarre STAR WARS/ALF mash-up figure on retro Kenner packaging which had to be one of the stranger limited edition mash-ups.

You’ll feel just like Ripley with EAGLEMOSS USCSS NOSTROMO released in a limited edition run of 3,000.

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The line to get in started with a view of the Javits Center, but headed under the High Line before looping back.

THINGS WE WON'T MISS WHEN CONS GO DIGITAL • Standing for long periods of time • Figuring out how to carry everything • Paying convention rates for food and drinks • No place to sit

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MY FIRST COMIC CON EXPERIENCE

by Marc Luna

Madeline wasn't the only one taking on the con alone.

Marc tells us how he spent his first con on his own

New York Comic Con 2019 was the first con that I attended, and I would say that it was one of the best experiences of my life.

I observed people who are interested in DC and Marvel and took pictures with cosplayers and of props from Star Wars, such as a mini R2-D2 and a stormtrooper costume. I came across the TeeTurtle booth and bought myself two fox T-shirts with two matching Star Wars Rebel ships shirts which have the Millennium Falcon, an X-wing, and an A-wing flying to form the Rebel insignia for me and Megan. After constant rounds of walking around the con, I was able to find a booth of the actor Michael Copon who was the Blue Time Force Power Ranger. Later on, I was able to get a Supergirl sketch for Megan and a Green Arrow sketch for myself from the DC booth. Since this was my first comic con experience, I look forward to going back in the future with friends and family members.

Madeline played nicely—staying behind the same people from the time she crossed 11th Ave., walked down to 33rd Street, over to 12th Ave., back up to 34th Street, and along the building back to 34th— until she saw other people creating their own express lane. Security came by and told everyone to get off the sidewalk. None of the pictures here capture how many attendees filled the access road.

Boom talks to Megan on Marc's phone when they meet up at DC

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It didn't feel like there was a big pay-off at the end of the 4-block long line. Same security check as previous years...

FAMILIAR CONT. M: Did they get rid of all the

M: It was just stupid to see the

8 a.m. lines to get wristbands?

pictures of how Boom and I waited around [inside the gates but outside the convention center in 2018] because we needed to get there as soon as the doors opened to get his name on the list for Padawan Training, and then to have the next year stuck in a [4-block long] line for it felt like an hour! To look at the time stamps it wasn’t

L: Yeah.

M: Is that also why it was like

stupid crowded at— L: They do everything online

now. Everything is online. All the raffles for wristbands online, preorder stuff online.

You do all of that online. It’s very rare the amount of things that are first come, first served.

that long but I was being an asshole and cutting the line— and at the same time I don’t think I was being that much of an asshole because I knew I was only there for two hours [and I didn’t take away anyone else’s spot in other lines inside] so excuse me if I don’t want to spend an hour of that time patiently standing in f*cking line [for security].

Continued Page 27

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The courtyard is so much more than a place to smoke or grab a bite to eat

I'm sure the automatic doors were not designed for people adjusting their cameras as they walk out to catch potential subjects or even stop toddlers from banging their heads on glass doors, but it was fun to use some of the improvements Javits has been advertising for years. Okay, "fun" should be used to describe the caller at E!'s People's Choice Awards skee ball tent. He was fun.

Luis is quick to recount that Kal specifically ordered a shrimp empanada for lunch.

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Full trailers and exclusive content could be seen all day at some installations at the con while other production companies held screenings with limited seats offsite.

With such a limited amount of time, Madeline did not head into 1917 or experience the magic @markar_app had set up to showcase how everyone can become a virtual graffiti artist in the real world.

Some really groundbreaking work, such as 1917 and Watchmen, were promoted within view of people who couldn't get into the show

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Not every promotion for TV shows included watching trailers and behind the scenes content. Comedy Central brought four walls of phones for attendees to interact with Crank Yankers and Sponge Bob Square Pants served up Krabby Patties. The line for Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access was long starting on Thursday. Sir Patrick Stewart introduced the premiere date and a new trailer on Saturday night.

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FAMILIAR CONT. L: It was the first time I’ve been to Comic

Con all four days.

M: Did it reinforce all those times you said

you didn’t want to be there on a Sunday?

L: Um… Yeah.

[Madeline laughs] L: I barely want to be there on a Saturday.

Sunday is unbelievable.

M: So it made up for you not getting to be

there at all in 2018?

L: It was a lot. It was some might say too

much. I say that, but I got the most amount of sketches I’ve ever gotten. I got Tom King and Mitch Gerard and Clay Mann to sign Mister Miracle and Heroes in Crisis. I got a sketch in my Mister Miracle book from both Tom King and Mitch Gerard. I didn’t even enter any of the raffles because I don’t even know where to go to do that if I’m being completely honest. For me, it was the only way I was gonna get a Tom King and Mitch Gerard signature, and Mister Miracle was legitimately my favorite comic since Watchmen and V for Vendetta. That means I’m ranking it ahead of Dark Knight and Man of Steel and all these other books that hold a special place for me.

Mister Miracle is that important for me, it’s like so flipping good. Like everything Tom King does. He’s gonna make me go back into a comic store in October, and I haven’t been in a comic store in two years, but when Rorschach comes out, I’m there because it’s him.

M: Yeah, but you’ll have it shipped. You’re

not actually gonna be in a comic store.

L: Yeah, that’s true.

M: You’re ranking them, and I’m thinking

you’re not somebody who needs to sit in

a line and impress people with how much you know. So is the Dubbs your favorite way to tell people what you think of comics because then you don’t actually have to talk to people?

L: It is. But you have to think about…

M: You’re also talking to other people

who don’t know how to talk to people.

L: Right. But, I’ve interviewed Todd

McFarlane for the Dubbs. Todd Fucking McFarlane. You were able to cut in line and then take a picture of Stan Lee.

"It's my favorite time of year because it completely reaffirms my love of the art and printed word together in comic form" M: Yeah, but I had a press pass.

L: It’s my favorite time of the year

because it completely reaffirms my love of the art and printed word together in the comic form, and it’s the medium that has spoken the most to me in my life…

M: What do you mean it "reaffirms"?

L: Every time I feel like, Ugh, I don’t buy

comics anymore. Am I such a poser for still going? It’s like, no, because I still love talking to artists, I love hearing their stories, I love hearing about their inspiration, I love talking to them about their processes. All of that. So it reignites

this passion in me every year of, God I love comic art. I love comics. All of it. That passion gets reignited every year when I go to Comic Con. M: So the virtual version is already

working for you because you saw the [Todd McFarlane] documentary and it’s Oh my god I need to go write down that quote from McFarlane?

L: Yeah, totally. Yeah, I might not be

interacting person to person with the creators, but they’re still inspiring me. I’m very excited for FanDome— M: That’s actually really funny—the

virtual experience isn't just on the DC and Marvel apps. SYFY takes over the fan lounge every year, but that just seemed like signage. Hosting part of the virtual...

L: Um… watching that documentary,

listening to Robservations—it’s all been so great. Oh, you know DC Visionaries when they did that special episode about Jorge Jimenez and seeing everything with him was just like, if there’s anyway I can get feedback back to DC, that’s something they should be doing more. They shouldn’t be afraid to create stars.

M: We need a new Stan Lee. L: We need a new Jim Lee. We need a new

John Byrne. We need all these guys. Oh my god. That was another thing in the Todd McFarlane special. He was talking about growing up in Calgary and how he would never make it because he's Canadian—until he saw John Byrne lived in Calgary. It was one of those things that gave him that kick in the ass that I can do this.

M: So, you’re not there for the fans?

L: I’m not there for the fans.

Continued Page 33

Some productions needed to promote not only new shows but also new ways to watch TV. The Birch was getting set to launch on Facebook Watch—not really a popular service yet.

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SETTING THE STAGE A huge portion of what used to be The Block was reserved this year for SYFY Wire NYCC Live's stage.

A series of interviews over the four days were featured online. I arrived early for the AEW interview and saw acclaimed former comic writer and current Marvel Television Executive Vice President Jeph Loeb with the stars of Marvel Studios' Hulu-exclusive Runaways. They chatted about the upcoming surprises in store for Season 3 and how excited they were to be working with Elizabeth Hurley. I’m a big fan of the comic and definitely looking forward to catching up on the TV series.

—LV

BIG POP Days before NYCC '19 the WWE finally had a big league challenger with the debut of AEW Dynamite.

With an actual billionaire owner and a primetime spot on TNT, the wrestling world was abuzz. On the SYFY Wire NYCC Live stage, AEW had a large presence with appearances by Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley.

Brandi Rhodes, Jungle Boy and Awesome Kong (who I was super-excited to see after her run on GLOW). A huge and excited crowd gathered to shower the wrestlers with A-E-Dubbs chants. Jericho and Brandi worked the mic well as the clear spokespeople for this quickly growing brand. It made me wonder why WWE never has a presence at NYCC. —LV

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PLANET EATER One of the main reveals I wanted to see at NYCC was the massive 27-inch tall Unicron. With over 50 points of articulation, Unicron was looking to be crowd-funded through Hasbro Pulse. Initially looking for 8,000 backers, they received more than 10,000 after the reveal. This figure is unbelievably impressive—the largest and best Transformer I’ve ever seen. Another huge hit from Hasbro Pulse. —LV

Transformers have captivated Boom's attention for a few years now, and he was happy to try to identify what the guys on the stage might have been promoting as well as guess how many steps were needed to transform Unicron

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NEW AGAIN Boom has been obsessed with Transformers, so he was more than happy to walk the packed convention floor and try to find G1 Transformers as well as other giant mechs from my childhood. We found tables full of classic Transformers releases as well as a brand new figure for Mecha-Godzilla (my childhood obsession) and the brilliant but oft overlooked vehicle Voltron. Also on display were incredibly sculpted statues of Megatron and Grimlock based on their mid '80s look.

—LV

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BUILDING A FANBASE Boom and I were pretty interested in attending the Gundam Build a free model kit seminar! Experts were showing basic building techniques, and everyone walked away with a free basic Gundam model. Unfortunately the classes were completely full. I’m sure thats something he’s looking forward to do if they have a similar event in the future. I was able to take a picture of RX-0 Unicorn Gundam without any attendees in the way early one morning, but Madeline cam back and shot it more to scale later. It might be bigger than the 2018 Soundwave, but didn't get as big a pop out of Boom.

—LV

Boom claims he would have been way more interested in building whatever was on the Gundam tables than standing in line for video games

Dragon Ball figures were displayed nearby because Bandai owns Gundam. These did not interest Boom as much as military robots.

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CUTE OVERLOAD There are so many innocent-looking plush objects for sale at the convention it's funny to see what excites Boom, our resident expert on cuteness.

Looking back at video from 2019, he didn't care about the Thimblestum Hollow creatures, but lost his mind when he saw "bah-cats" in the middle of the shopping scene with an array of chubby cats I wanted him to see. "They look like baguettes!"

His heart will always belong to Tentacle Kitty. I thought Boom would be more excited about Cat Guru because he has been listening to Kal talk about Cthulhu for so many years, but the connection just wasn't there for them between Terraria's Eye of Cthulhu and a green cat.

—MV

Betty was obsessed in Miraculous Lady Bug in 2018. If we had seen books and dolls for her back then, we would have snatched up some of these

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FAMILIAR CONT. M: So you guys didn’t go looking for Saber Guild events?

L: No, I asked them ahead of time. Kal wanted to look for books. He wanted to look at costumes. And he wanted to eat.

That’s really all he wanted to do. He kept talking about the different books he would want to buy. And then Boom only talked about two things: Tentakitty and big pretzels.

M: But then he couldn’t remember if he bought any books!

L: He bought books. He bought the Steven Universe book and I think he bought a Star Wars book. We got the poster, the one of Rey that’s over by his desk. The Steven Universe book came with an exclusive print in it.

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FAMILY OBSESSION My kids are easily influenced by ads for marathons of series that about to end. First they did this Adventure Time, then they did it with Steven Universe—only watching the show right before it ends for good. But after watching the movie, we were all singing Steven Universe songs and Madeline was making a Spinel costume for Betty. At the con we kept a close eye out for anyone who might have been in Steven Universe cosplay (we had never recognized them before). I'm happy the crew has discovered the show as its stories of relationship, sacrifice, and acceptance are so much deeper than I originally realized.

—LV

Hallmark displayed upcoming IttyBitty releases celebrating the DC Cinematic Universe with 2-packs of Joker/Harley in their Suicide Squad garb and Aquaman and Mero, as well as a single figure of Shazam.

Most impressive was the Luke/Tauntaun 2-pack with an opening to squeeze Luke into the Tauntaun. Absolute genius.

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This Raven was everywhere and amazing. Her cape freely flapped outside, not weighed down by all the work in the feathers

COSTUME PARTY An hour-long train ride into the city plus a long line to enter can make it difficult to create excitement in even the biggest fans. When we finally got into the convention, I asked Boom what he wanted to do.

"Sit" was his reply. I found the Cartoon Network Halloween Party/Costume contest. Stars from Teen Titans Go! (Greg Cipes/BeastBoy), Craig of the Creek (Phillip Solomon/Craig), and Victor and Valentino (Sean Ryan Peterson/Valentino) helped emcee a costume contest with giveaways of Cartoon Network prize packs. The music was pumping, Greg Cipes was hilarious, and the young girl in the Raven costume was one of the best takes on that character I've seen. On top of that, the fact that he was able to sit for a while helped invigorate Boom and he was ready to tackle the Show Floor.

—LV

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GRAPHIC TIPS My middle schooler Kal was very interested in seeing the Raising Super Readers: Inside DC’s Middle Grade Graphic Novels panel. A great group of panelists— Meg Cabot, Franco, Agnes Garbowska, Cara McGee, Michael Northrop, Yoshi Yoshitani—gave us the inside scoop on DC’s new lineup of middle grade graphic novels. Artists also shared their special drawing tips with live art tutorials and spoke about their tools of the trade. Each artist gave away the art they drew during their projected tutorials. When Franco turned to the crowd and asked if anyone was a Superman fan, Kal quickly raised his hand and announced "I'm named for Superman." Franco clapped, laughed, and happily handed off his Superman sketch to Kal. —LV

One of the few things Kal wanted to do was attend this panel

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The magic is in all the details at Sideshow.

Take a picture if you can't take it home...

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I'LL TAKE THEM ALL I love visiting the Sideshow booth every year. While I can't really afford anything at the booth, the sculpting and the artistry of their line of figures and statues is astounding.

The likeness on the Joker and Wonder Woman statues are photo realistic and the statues based on Jim Lee's art are absolutely mouthwatering. The Diamond Select booth had wonderful action figures based on the classic Max Fleischer cartoons and a full line based on the Adam West Batman series. The Batmobile in particular reminded me of a toy from my youth—I would shove the Super Powers Batman and Robin into one of my brother's old classic Batmobiles. It's an almost spot on recreation. Diamond also showcased a full line of statues featuring the likenesses of the Teen Titans Go! cartoon. The DC booth debuted a first look at the relaunched Black and White Batman statue line as well as a sneak peek at a line based on the brilliant DCeased comic (a Zombie Superman and Batman!). Probably only exciting to me was the bearded Superman from the upcoming Convergence line... I love a bearded, shorthaired Superman.

—LV

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HAPPY UPROAR One of the most talked about reveals of all of NYCC19 was the first look of the Storm Collectibles figure of the recently retired Jushin "Thunder" Liger. This figure was an absolute homerun and makes me excited for future Storm collectibles wrestling figures. Storm also has a look at their ever expanding Mortal Kombat action figure line as well support for the DC Injustice game. The Darkseid and Bane are gigantic and the sculpting and accessories are so good. Boom also loved the small Gundam models as well as this massive and ridiculously articulated Iron-Spider figure.

The show floor is generally littered with tables full of LEGO mini figures. This year, there seemed to be less LEGO dealers, but Boom and I found enough to peruse. We purchased an awesome Iron Spider as well as an exclusive Voltron mini figure.

Meanwhile, there seemed to be more Funko Pop! dealers. Walls and walls of Pops were everywhere.

I was excited to see tables full of classic G.I.Joes. While I didn't love the prices, I was happy to see Joes being supported almost 35 years after most were originally released.

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BLOWN AWAY I was completely wowed by the Rey figure at the Diamond Select booth. It was a perfect recreation of the Joe Quesada cover with Rey wearing the rebel pilot's helmet while star gazing. Completely stunning! The Diamond booth also had first looks at new figures for both the Iron Giant (not supported nearly enough in figure form) and the Disney bomb The Black Hole. Diamond also had a peek at new statues and products (mugs, shot glasses, etc.) for Game of Thrones and Umbrella Academy. Why haven't we seen Umbrella Academy action figures?

Friday at NYCC was also Force Friday in support of the upcoming Rise of Skywalker.

New products were released nationwide at midnight at major retailers. On Friday morning, Black Series figures were already in show booths at high prices. (I was able to go to Target right after leaving the Javits Center and buy the same figure at a fraction of the price.)

There were also lots of dealers with classic Kenner Star Wars figures at astronomical prices. If you're looking to buy that MIP Boba Fett you better be ready to fork over thousands of dollars.

Kal really liked the Samurai Star Wars line a the Bandai booth. While I wish these figures were less expensive there is no denying how gorgeous these are.

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WAITING YOUR TURN Not all opportunities to see famous people depended on online raffles. Autographs and photo ops did require purchases, though, so "Woody" and all the people in the photo below right are willing to pay. The space outside the Main Stage was nearly empty the moment this video was taken, but idea is to fill the whole space with lines of people for panels.

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DYNAMIC DUO Many artists are inspired by comic heroes for their fine art pieces, but one installation allowed fans to pull up a seat and watch fine art inspired by basketball heroes. The NBA touted its 2019 tip-off with a two-part booth. A green screen photo op allowed convention goers to feel like Lebron James dunking a basketball. There was also a section of seats so a live audience could gather every day at noon to watch the great Tula Lotay start of a new piece of art. Elsewhere on the Show Floor, finished paintings were for sale. Bill Sienkiewicz and Alex Ross had large gallery spaces while new takes on classic characters could be found by fine artists such as Sean Carlson.

Fine art forms for people looking for new ways to display their fandom are readily available

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Legendary creator Neal Adams centered himself inside his massive booth on the Show Floor.

While it makes it almost impossible to snap a quick photo of him, it's probably very effective in getting people to pay for his photo opp.

Rows and rows of Microns in every color of the rainbow with a nearby testing table to help buyers see the difference between the tips on pens.

An artist demonstrates using water and ink simultaneously for Jerry's Artist Outlet while an attendee contributes to the chalk wall in Hallmark's Pop Culture booth.

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LEGENDARY IDW had comic legends John Byrne (making a rare convention appearance) and Walt Simonson signing at their booth all weekend. Unfortunately the only way to get Byrne to sign anything was to pony up $300 for John Byrne’s Marvel Classics Artifact Edition. I passed on that but still wanted to swing by the booth, see the master, and let him know how influential he was to me.

Also at the IDW booth, there was an endless stream of artistic hopefuls getting their portfolios reviewed, that used to be a common occurence at shows but has lessened over the years.

An artist at Jerry's Artist Outlet demonstrates painting in color with the aqua brush.

Chris Claremont’s table at Artist Alley is always a popular destination for X fans.

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TOP COMICS Luis lists his favorite titles from 2019 that Tom King did not write BATMAN THE LAST KNIGHT ON EARTH

DC’s top-selling duo of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo have struck again with an epic Batman mini-series that was one of the best comics I read all year. The creative team have spent years honing their take on the Caped Crusader, but this storyline serves as a fitting end to everything they’ve put him through.

Batman’s final adventure before he can finally head to the giant belfry in the sky.

Also, Joker’s reanimated head as sidekick is amazing! Easily one of the most inventive Batman takes in years.

CONAN THE BARBARIAN

I love Conan the Barbarian. I turned in many a middle school book report on the character's exploits. I’m not a huge sword and sorcery guy, but I’ve always loved the savagrey of the character. The current Conan series by Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar hits all the right notes. It’s gorgeously illustrated and the perfect follow up to Aaron’s run on Thor.

DCEASED

With the industry facing fatigue over mega-crossovers, DCeased proves that sometimes it’s best to keep your story under a single title. This six-issue series told by Tom Taylor with art by Trevor Hairsine and Neil Edwards begins when the DC Universe’s anti-life equation is solved and, through the internet, infects heroes and civilians alike. It’s superhero melodrama at its finest.

NAOMI

Brian Michael Bendis is at his best when he's introducing new characters. Naomi feels like an origin story but also raises questions about Naomi’s past and her future. This is a detective book with the ultimate question being “how do you grow up in a world with real superheros when you might be one yourself?” This title hits a lot of the same notes as Ultimate Spider-Man. This is (and all of the other Wonder Comics are) a great stepping stone to new comic readers.

THE UNSTOPPABLE WASP

The Unstoppable Wasp tells the story of Nadia, daughter of Hank Pym. Nadia is on a mission to bring together every girl

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genius in the Marvel universe, sort of like a smart girl think tank. Funny and exciting, the way comics should be.

Guruhiru’s art strikes the perfect tone.

GIDEON FALLS

Jeff Lemire’s Gideon Falls has been playing out for several years now, but as readers get closer to the heart of the mystery the book has only gotten stronger. Andrea Sorrentino has continued to deliver some of the best art in comics. Dave Stewart’s colors are perfectly muted, but the spot color red that accents the most terrifying moments serve the book very well. One of the best new books from Image.

RUNAWAYS

Rainbow Rowell and Kris Anka continue to build on the ground laid out by Vaughan and Winnick. Rowell juggles a gigantic cast of characters but everyone stars. Another fun and light book from Marvel.

SUPERMAN’S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN

Matt Fraction and Steve Lieber have crafted a brilliant, compassionate tale that stars Jimmy Olsen. Hilarious and even full of adventure, it doesn’t rely on a cameo from Superman every issue like past Jimmy book. So incredibly well-done.

SUPERMAN SMASHES THE KLAN

Based on an old Superman radio serial, Gene Yang (who is is one of the best writers in comics) delivers an action packed tale which reminds us of what Superman is most: an inspiration. One of my favorite Superman and Clark Kent stories that I’ve ever read. Also, another book where Guruhiru completely crushes the art. An absolute delight for readers of all ages.

ISOLA

Quite possibly my favorite looking book on the market. Brenden Fletcher and Karl Kerschl reunite on the comics page with a breathtaking fantasy adventure. Lush pencils and colors, printed on beautiful paper stock by Image. It’s the closest any comic has ever come to feeling like the work of Hayao Miyazaki.

ATTENTION GRABBING While Konami gave away headbands so attendees could promote Konami all over the con, other booths had other methods. Colorful wigs, clever logos, and fun props—like the Infinity Gauntlet—caught our eyes. Luis loved these crocheted heroes. "How did I not add that Superman to my collection?"

Funimation and Chevy seem to both have set up photo ops. JellyBelly always gets us to check in on what their artist is going to create over the four days.

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Attendees lined up to take pictures at the NBC photo booth

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The Parks and Recs adult coloring book caught my eye, but I did wonder, are adult coloring books still a thing?

MORE SWAG As we walked by the Marvel booth, Boom in his Spider-Man garb caught the eye of the attendant handing out free comics and posters. He called us over, went behind the booth and came back out with this Spider-Man Citizen Watches box. Boom proudly carried his box for the rest of the day, wondering if there was a watch inside. I truly didn't know, but couldn't imagine that they were handing out watches. We finally opened the box on the train to find a fun inflatable solar powered lamp. Also, I definitely took a Finn Balor card from the Topps card wall.

It seemed to be a popular destination.

—LV

This attendee napped while her family entered a raffle for the Sideshow Iron Man statue. A spin of the wheel replaces a badge swipe at another booth. Luis thought that sweater would look great on Madeline.

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DON'T GO BREAKING

MY HEART LUIS: I do appreciate the artistry in a well crafted costume.

MADELINE: I feel that’s a whole other

thing. That’s checking out another industry in itself. That’s not…

L: People I feel like work really hard on a costume and there’s a craft and an artistry to it, or their makeup is really good, or something like that. I appreciate all of those things.

M: I don’t understand why they haven’t

canceled it yet.

L: Kal was specifically interested in trying

to find Lokis, and so we took a couple pictures with different Lokis, but I think he

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We'll miss what costumes bring out in ourselves and other people

really appreciates looking at the people in costumes, especially the people he thinks have done a lot of work on their costume.

I was more surprised by Boom when I was there with him because he actually wanted to pose with people. I was like, Who is this kid? Like he’s usually so quiet, but he was like, “Whoa look at that Black Cat! I wanna take a picture with her” or “Whoa look at that guy—the Spider-Man with the pizza box. I want a picture with him.” Like he was more willing to like take pictures with people and things. I was completely surprised.

M: He can pretend to be an extrovert around people pretending to be someone else.

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Attendees in variations of the same character are spotted by another member of X universe.

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Attendees showcase not only their interestst but sometimes their personal stories

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Costumes are everywhere, but there's room for everyone to take pictures outside

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Boom was not excited about foam Bumblebee

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It feels hopeful to see @cosplay911 was back, helping more cosplayers.

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With the outside stairs chained off, meet-ups have to hope they can arrange themselves well enough on flat surfaces to capture the enormity of their gatherings

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Walking around the show and being surprised by which characters you see is a magical reward we'll totally miss in 2020

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FIVE THINGS LUIS HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE G.I. JOE CLASSIFIED SNAKE EYES DELUXE FIGURE

Hands down THE BEST Snake Eyes figure ever (quite possibly the best Joe figure ever).

This figure comes with 11 MORE WEAPONS than the standard release and an exclusive gear rack.

This version has EXTRA PAINT DECO in silver, red, and greenish brown on Snake Eyes and his accessories.

The ENCLOSED LITHOGRAPH is also printed on an uncoated paper stock and is evocative of the bushi work of the Edo period.

The SPOT VARNISH on the outer package makes the printing nerd in me so happy.

Just an elegant looking package.

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