Art Department Weekly | Issue 80 Vol. 7

ADW ART DEPARTMENT WEEKLY ISSUE 80 VOL. 7

YOU ARE HERE

A NEW BATMAN MOVIE COMING IN 2016

COVER

ED LETTER

3

2

WELCOME TO NYCC

6

WELCOME TO NYCC

...

15

TOYS & TOYS & COLLECTIBLES COLLECTIBLES

WHOOPI, JIMMY, AND SAMANTHA INTERVIEW CREATORS AND ATTENDEES

24

THE SHOW FLOOR

34

COSTUMES

44

...

29

THE SHOW FLOOR

...

39

COSTUMES

...

61

CRYSTAL PALACE

CRYSTAL PALACE

...

16

GAMING

GAMING

31

30

THE CONCOURSE

ARTIST ALLEY

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40

SURVIVING THE SHOW

62

19

SURVIVING THE SHOW

...

73

MINI BOARD

MINI BOARD

5

4

THE BLOCK

20

...

LIGHTS, CAMERA, INTERACTION

32

MARVEL BOOTH

42

THE BLOCK

23

LIGHTS, CAMERA, INTERACTION

33

DC BOOTH

43

GLASS CEILING

74

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 purporses.

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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.

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MINI BOARD

(c) Luis Vega

FIGHT OWENS FIGHTS THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2015 - A buddy of mine

(c) Disney

FANDOM AWAKENS TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015 - The internet almost broke last week with the debut of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer. It was viewed over 30 million times in the first 24 hours, and caused Disney stock to go shooting through the roof. I was excited for this movie before, but am even more excited now.

J.J. seems to have locked into what every Star Wars fan has been asking for and looks to have delivered an epic. Soaring John Williams music, desert locales, outer space dogfights, new droids, well-designed villains (Kylo Ren’s triblade), and the return of some original classics (I nearly lost it when Han says “Chewie, we’re home”). This is going to be huge. I wish it were December already!

—Luis

NO CONTENT We did not post our NYCC 2014 recap until June 15, 2015, and I thought that was a long time. I did not post much at all about pop culture anywhere in 2015, but the snippets here are from dinosaurgirly. blogspot.com when we thought we would post there more frequently. Blogs were already over, though. C’est la vie.

—MV

(from ESPN)

SOME HOW I WILL MAKE THIS HAPPEN TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2015 - I have to be sure to go this game—Game of Thrones jerseys at the Staten Island Yankees.

—Luis

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in the office is a huge independent wrestling fan. For months now he has been trying to get me to watch old Kevin Steen matches. I like wrestling, but I like it to be well-produced WWEstyle, so I tend to shy away from the independent promotions. Kevin Steen then signed on with WWE and got placed at NXT as Kevin Owens. Now I see what all the fuss is about.

Since his debut in December, Owens has steam-rolled the competition. He is incredibly agile for someone his size with a remarkable sense of ring psychology. His mic work is already that of a seasoned veteran. I feel like we are watching the birth of a superstar. All of which leads me to his NXT title match with Sami Zayn (which the WWE greatly packaged, leaning heavily on the past history and friendship of these two men).

No one expected Zayn to drop the title he had fought so hard to finally snag from Neville. Yet here he was in his first title defense getting absolutely mauled by Owens. The sheer physicality of it all was amazing. Zayn selling every powerbomb as if he were near death. The refs stopping the fight and awarding the belt to Owens was reminiscent of the classic Bret Hart vs.

Stone Cold match. Owens has star written all over him. I’m sure his stint at NXT will be short lived as the WWE knows they have a main event wrestler in their minors.

—Luis

D

R A E RH

T R YA

OVE

B

“What a day! What a lovely day.”

-Nux

(c) Netflix

“Crying helps me slow down and obsess over the weight of existence.”

-Sadness

“They won’t know what they’re looking at or why they like it but they’ll know they want it.”

-Steve

“Chewie, we’re home.”

-Han

“I just don’t understand why nobody tells you how bad it’s going to be in the real world.”

TIME TRAVELING FUN

-Shoshana

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2015

Mark Millar and Sean Murphy’s Chrononauts is a little bit Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid meets Back to the Future. Which is to say, it’s a lot of fun. Corbin Quinn and Danny Reilly are very much like the Newman/Redford characters in Butch Cassidy (and The Sting). Their relationship is the engine that drives the book. As they get deeper and deeper into shenanigans, you wonder how it’s going to play out. While Millar’s stories of late have seemed very made-for-the-screen (hard to argue with his thinking seeing how many of his stories get made into movies), this series is pure sci-fi comics gold. Murphy’s pencils are great as well. As good as he was on The Wake, he seems even better here. I can’t wait to see the way this series plays out.

—Luis

“The best defense against bullshit is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something.”

-John

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NEW YORK

COMIC CON

2015

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NOT THE ONLY ONE

WITH KIDS

While it might have been Madeline’s first time at Comic Con with a child, there were plenty of babies and children in attendance

S

eeing as I was about to give birth at the beginning of July, following up on my press pass application wasn’t really a priority. In August, I followed up with ReedPOP to ask what happened. They said the number of press passes had been reduced and ADW did not meet their circulation requirements. Luis asked if we should still buy one 4-day pass and split it. I had a newborn. The only way to get through any day with a newborn is to constantly tell myself, “You can do this.” So, yeah, sure. Let’s buy a 4-day pass. I’ve seen other people with tiny babies at Comic Con and always thought, “Nope,” but, yeah, let’s buy a 4-day pass and I’ll try to prove myself wrong.

Betty was 13 weeks and 2 days old that Saturday. I barely remember being there on Sunday that year. I guess that was the first time I left her at home and went out on my own so I could make good use of paying money to try to publicize NYCC. I would only recommend paying to take a baby to the convention if other adults join you.

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LET’S TAKE A STROLL

DOWN MEMORY LANE Four years is quite the gap to leave between attending the Con and producing an issue. What was new in 2015?

FIRST STOP This was the first time I’d heard of the Hudson Yards station on the 7 line. The escalator is dizzyingly tall.

Teen Titans Go! had been around for a while by this point, but big-headed Robbin felt fresh.

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WHAT WAS NEW TO TV Star Wars Rebels Agent Carter Jessica Jones Supergirl Blindspot DC’s Legends of Tomorrow

AND NOT AS NEW

Gotham Ultimate Spider-Man: Avenging Spider-Man Netflix Daredevil Agents of SHIELD Walking Dead Fear the Walking Dead Game of Thrones The Flash Once Upon a Time Teen Wolf LATE ARRIVAL

When I had a baby to bring with me, people were already leaving by the time I got to the Javits Center.

Dr. Who Sleepy Hollow Parks and Recreation Scandal Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt BoJack Horseman Ricky and Morty Black-ish Broad City Girls Orange is the New Black Silicon Valley Veep The Americans Master of None

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SO 2015 Left Shark still hadn’t gotten his

act together after the Super Bowl in February; Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was going strong; maybe a bunch of Knights of Ren rather than Sith now that we were all learning more about the new movie?

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ALWAYS A GOOD TIME Walking Dead

was not new like Inside Out, but both are quite iconic. What I think is funny about the Star Wars and Inside Out group shots is how little I cared if people were posed.

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AVENGERS ASSEMBLE

Captain America on the corner; Groot and Gamora in the courtyard; Lady Thor and friends in the Crystal Palace

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MOVIES 2015 Mad Max: Fury Road Inside Out Force Awakens The Martian Sicario Spotlight The Big Short The Revenant Jurrasic World Carol The Hateful Eight Ant-Man Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation Creed Room Straight Outta Compton 007 Spectre Furious 7 Trainwreck Terminator: Genesis Mocking Jay Part 2 The Good Dinosaur Tomorrowland BUSTED Thomas

DePetrillo and the Extreme Costumes team’s 9-foot tall Hulkbuster commanded attention

The Diary of a Teenage Girl

MUSIC 2015 Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly Adele, 25 Drake and Future, What a Time to Be Alive The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness Lana Del Rey, Honeymoon

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CRYSTAL PALACE HAD

NO NEED OF A PRINCE Stylish characters swinging into action (and some high school drama)

The most anticipated new toy line of 2015 has to be DC Super Hero Girls.

Mattel billed it as “an exciting new universe of Super Heroic storytelling that helps build character and confidence, and empowers girls to discover their true potential” and it 100% delivered. Aimed at girls 6 to 12 and featuring DC Comics’ powerful and diverse lineup of female characters in a new approachable artistic style, each character has a unique storyline where she has to discover (or nurture) her new abilities. With figures ranging from 12-inch fashion dolls (ala Barbie) to 8-inch action figures to Lego Friends-style collectibles, there are figures for everyone at multiple price points. NYCC had a great first look at the figures in the Crystal Palace. This line is sure to be a huge hit.

—Luis

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NICE TO MEET YOU

The new series used a blow-up, a video board, and decals on the stairs plus displays with the 12-inch and 8-inch dolls to introduce the line to attendees.

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IT’S BEEN TWO YEARS

SUPER READY An in-person look at Bruce Wayne’s attempt to stop Superman after he devastated Metropolis— and how Superman might not be the only person with special powers

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E

ver since the logo popped up on screen at SDCC14, one of the most anticipated films of 2015 was Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Anticipation only heightened when we saw the first look at Batman’s Dark Knight Returns-esque armor. To say I’m looking forward to this film is an understatement. The DC booth provided a sneak peek at Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman costume as well. I cannot wait to see how the rest of the Big Seven fit into this story.

—Luis DC EVERYWHERE Lexcorp provided wifi for the area; Mattel’s Wal-mart exclusives and Funko Pop! versions of Gotham characters; Teen Titans Go! injected some humor.

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THE BLOCK

In one corner, a combination of retailers and artists exemplified all the unconventional ways one might reach into fans’ wallets.

Name recognition ranged from Frombie (above) to Weta (below)

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TIME TO REFUEL This G Fuel model seemed as excited to talk about babies as I was to grab a free drink. I did not use the AT&T charging station but was happy to know it was there if I needed it.

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THE WEIRDER, THE BETTER The Block is a

great place to find cute stuffed organs, but also llamas before they were eveywhere.

The tower of stuffed characters, such as Hello Kitty, is even more fascinating because of the squishees. I had no idea they existed in 2015. In 2016, I came back with a mission to get a Tentacle Kitty. In 2018, it was official NYCC merchandise.

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BLOCK OF ACTIVITY A photo booth with Cosplay Culture Magazine; new takes on classic characters; Gilosan (gilosan.com) paints Rick from The Walkind Dead as a robot upside down; BB-8 mobile devices to test; 3-D printed toys (we bought the whole Stampy family); and more live painting with artists from ArtWhino.com.

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OLD TOYS, NEW TOYS

ALL GOOD FINDS Collectibles ranged from exclusives sold at other conventions to custom builds, from first looks at currently popular brands to decades-old unopened toys. Everything was on the table.

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TOY HUNTING

What you’re watching, which games you play, whether or not you were alive can change the way you see the toys on display. While Luis hunts for toys to add to his own collection, Jordan Hembrough (top) hunts for toys to resell. Power Rangers Dino Charge started airing in February 2015 while Star Trek debuted in 1966 (that’s the 34-inch Mega Bloks Enterprise) and Plants vs.

Zombies was released in 2010.

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CATCHING YOUR INTEREST

IN A SNAP

Lifelike construction sets based on Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead were already on store shelves. McFarlane Toys made it feel like you could hold all the magic of Westeros in the palm of your hand.

SUPPLIES LIMITED The “Attack on the Wall” and “Mother of Dragons” sets were never in stores and cannot be seen on mcfarlane.com unlike the other sets featured here.

McFarlane will release more Game of Thrones toys in Spring 2019, though.

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Painting is so poetic, while sculpture is more logical and scientific and makes you worry about gravity. —Damien Hirst ON THE SIDE

The Star Ace Toys’ Underworld: Evolution figure is the only image on this page not from the Sideshow Collectibles premium format displays. The Heath Ledger Joker, Red Sonja, Wolverine, Sabretooth, Supergirl and Streaky, Batgirl, Storm Trooper, and Boba Fett are all from Sideshow.

Some are prototypes.

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LEGO

A preview of the next animated series and toy line to come in December 2015—young knights protecting a futuristic land from evildoers

MAY INCLUDE SMALL PARTS

Betty and I did not stop to play with whatever Legos might have been in the bins. Instead, we watched the people who were fascinated with the misty logo wall.

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FUNKO Some of the largest lines of the entire convention were for Funko exclusives. Here are the highlights from the four waves of exclusives (one wave for each day) WAVE 1

Battlestar Galactica Classic Cylon Commander Doctor Who Tenth Doctor in Spacesuit Yellow Ricochet Rabbit WAVE 2

Deadpool’s red chimichanga truck Jack Skellington with vampire teddy Glitter Boba Fett WAVE 3

Cars mint condition Mater Flocked Cookie Monster Thunderbolt Punisher WAVE 4 HURRY UP AND WAIT Lines formed every

day because while the humongous Batman, Groot, and Hulkbuster play up comic book tie-ins, Funko has licenses that include more far-flung nostalgia.

Superhero Stan Lee Dorbz Ninja Turtles 4-pack

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TIME TO WIN

Attendees competed against each and themselves in a variety of challenges. New video games like Mirror’s Edge Catalyst (2016) had demos available while Yu-Gi-Oh! had a tournament

MEMORABLE Exclusive playmats from NYCC 2015 sell online.

GAMES OF 2015 Splatoon

Disney Infinity 3.0

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Batman: Arkham Knight

Transformers: Devastation

Rocket League

The Rise of the Tomb Raider

Skylanders: SuperChargers

Assassins Creed Syndicate

Super Mario Maker

Star Wars Battlefront

Call of Duty Black Ops III

Lego Dimensions

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

Popular systems included the Wii U, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4

Minecraft: Story Mode

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FAST HANDS

McFarlane Toys held a quick-build contest featuring various sets from their buildable Walking Dead line.

Entrants had to beat the clock and each other to win the prison set.

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MORE THAN SELFIES Geico

offered a 3D photo booth, daily costume contests, pinball, karaoke, and charging stations; attendees could appear on a cover of The Flash; Carlister, a social network for buying and selling cars, offered prizes for lifting a taxi; Chevrolet helped promote breast cancer awareness month; Courtyard

by Marriott sponsored the Live stage that seems to have included a karaoke booth.

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LIGHTS, CAMERA, INTERACTION! Comic Con is more than a shopping excursion. It’s a place to see and be seen

WATCH THIS Late Night with Seth Myers set up at the entrance to Artist Alley to pre record clips; Dan Casey from The Dan Cave was on the Wikia Stage all weekend starting with Todd McFarlane Thursday morning; ABC brought Whoopi Goldberg (seen here with “Agent Coulson”); Samantha Bee stopped cosplayers on the Show Floor; DC All Access gave us more insight with Tiffany Smith.

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ATTENTION GRABBING

BOOTH BABES Some were promoting

their own work, others were helping sell products for artists, some might have happened to pose in front of a company logo. Ghostery had a character to help attract people to its booth about security.

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NOT COMICS An attendee is transformed

into a Na’vi character from the upcoming Cirque du Soleil touring show; We Bare Bears premiered July 2015; extras prepare for an alien invasion to promote Colony, a new show on USA with Josh Holloway; a life size TARDIS was not for sale at the Dr. Who booth.

Having a beautiful sales person never hurts a booth.

Fun costumes. Live demonstrations.

Giant balloons.

Exclusive merchandise.

Whatever it takes to get us to stop and remember your product is good, right?

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SHOW OFF YOUR PRIDE Along with patterns and support for those who can sew, there was plenty of ready-to-wear

DO IT YOURSELF

Yaya Han promoted her line of cosplay fabrics coming to Jo-Ann in 2016; Simplicity patterns had a large open space to showcase examples such as Steampunk Wonder Woman; Janome sewing machines allowed attendees to try various products.

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SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE The Tower of T-shirts is a staple at NYCC and there are hoodies and comfy things galore, but colorful corsets, tutus, complex masks, and refined hats felt like the vendors had embraced the idea that fans come in all shapes and sizes.

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ON THE FLOOR

Among the rows of comic book boxes were booths for specific publishers and art dealers.

Creators could be found among the deals.

GRUNKLE STAN

When I saw a huge line near Disney publishing, I had to ask what they were all waiting for. Alex Hirsch! Gravity Falls! I hadn’t seen the show yet, but now I get it— especially knowing 2015 was heading into the finale.

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BEST COMICS OF 2015

While it was an uneven year for the big two (Marvel and DC), Image stepped up in a massive way.

Luis rounds up the top comics of 2015.

THE VISION

GRAYSON

BATGIRL

The hands-down best book of the year was Tom King’s and Gabriel Walta’s take on the Avenging Android. A truly unique exploration of family and humanity.

Another entry from Tom King. This superspy action drama starring a nontights clad Dick Grayson is as close to James Bond as we’ve ever seen in comics.

Unbelievably illustrated by Mikel Janin.

Hopefully this duo produces more work together in the future.

Stewart/Fletcher and Tarr reinvigorated Babs by scaling back her whole operation and moving her away from Gotham.

A true millennial take on superheroing.

It’s the second Bat title on my list that doesn’t feature Batman at all.

WYTCHES

The first time I ever read Scott Snyder was on his work on American Vampire.

This horror book from Image was a return to his comic roots. Jock’s (who previously worked with Snyder on Batman Black Mirror) art was bold and breathtaking.

Like Vision, it’s another book on what it means to be a parent.

SAGA

Three years in, and Saga continues to set the bar for creativity in comics. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples have created such a lush universe. As Alana and Marko seem to be drifting further apart, we are setting the stage for an epic year four.

PAPER GIRLS

Yet another entry from Brian K. Vaughan.

This one illustrated by superstar Cliff Chiang. This story about the exploits of newspaper delivery girls in Cleveland is a clear homage to Stan Lee’s days of monthly cliffhangers. Pure comic perfection.

MS. MARVEL

Simply put, Kamala Khan has been a revelation. While so many books in the Marvel universe stood pat while waiting for the results of Secret Wars (No. 7 on my list), G. Willow Wilson continued to expand on the exploits of this new hero.

So nice to see a diverse, well-rounded female character from Marvel.

SECRET WARS

Jonathan Hickman should be praised for simply attempting this year’s in the making book. Tying together all his Avengers titles and stacking his Fantastic 4 run on top of it, this crossover event has been epic. Esad Ribic’s art is visually stunning. Even though the book faced many delays, it was staggering in its scope.

STAR WARS

When Marvel landed the Star Wars comics license, I expected the books to be good... I didn’t expect great, but great is what they delivered. Jason Aaron and John Cassady delivered an absolute masterpiece filling in the stories around the movies. I geek out every month.

THE WICKED + THE DIVINE

2015 was a phenomenal year for Gillen and McKelvie’s WicDiv. While 2014 laid wonderful groundwork, 2015 over delivered. This book is such a great look at fame, stardom, art and the good and bad that comes with it.

Collage by Luis Vega

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OFF THE FLOOR Jurassic World took over

one entrance with arches, foliage, theme music, and an actor in a raptor costume; Be Terrific!! set up its interview tent on the concourse among the people offering free hugs and NYCC signs proclaiming these the four best days of the year.

SATISFYING TAKES A different view of the NYCC Live stage sponsored by Marriott and powered by Twitch; Jelly Belly artist in residence Kristen Cummings worked on her creations all four days.

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ELSEWHERE

Companies and cosplayers filled the path to where artists were hidden away

FOR THE FANS Dustin Nguyen signs a book; Amy Reeder talks to people at her booth; Scott Adsit (Baymax) posed when Luis caught him in Artist Alley

SPECIAL EDITION JUNE 2015 When an email alert arrived for a new smaller con from ReedPOP at the Javits Center to be “a pure celebration of comic book culture created specifically for die-hard comic book fans, creators and publishers!” I thought it sounded too much like tickets to just Artist Alley. That is special, and I was happy for the elementary school art teacher I knew who would attend, and Kal was super excited when she brought

back Skylanders comic books for him from the convention, but I was still sure I did not need tickets to the event. There are so many people who attend NYCC because they want to attend a panel for a drama on ABC or get an autographed picture with a wrestler—things that have nothing to do with comic books—so there should be a pure comic convention.

But I like to see all the weirdos and misfits crammed together.

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THE BIG TWO Marvel dominated the Show Floor with its stage and space for audiences to gather while DC spread out its tables and installations

AGENTS OF MARVEL A panel of creators on the Marvel stage; Jeph Loeb signs a poster; Joe Quesada signs at the booth.

MAN OF THE HOUR Clark Gregg (Agent

Coulson) speaks on the Wikia Stage in the lobby before greeting fans at the Marvel Stage.

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SIGN HERE Babs Tarr and Annie Wu were in the booth Thursday morning; Jim Lee was there Friday afternoon.

AND HERE Jason O’Mara (Batman),

Gaius Charles (Luke Fox), animation lead Phil Bourassa, and producer James Tucker promote Batman: Bad Blood; Aaron Kuder drew a picture for Luis.

DOING LINES My yearly NYCC highlight is meeting comic creators, getting their autographs and/or sketches, and talking to them about their inspiration. Inevitably, that means me going from one line to the next.

For smaller signings (Like Babs Tarr or Annie Wu) you could queue up right in the booth. For larger signings (Jim Lee or Joe Quesada) you had to make a bee line for those respective booths as soon as the doors opened to wait in line

for a wristband to come back at the appropriate times.

Totally worth the trouble of being there when the doors open.

I spend most of my time lining up again and again to chat with the artists filling the DC and Marvel booths as they quick sketch and chat away. Standouts for me are always Amy Reeder, Mahmud Asrar, and Sara Pichelli. They are so thoughtful in their responses, so grateful to receive praise, and awe-inspiring in their quick pieces of art.

—LV

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MASQUERADE A trip to the convention could easily become a voyeuristic adventure of people watching

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JUMP THE LINE

An Assassin’s Creed fan snuck into the Marvel meet up and then made a dramatic exit.

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ON VIEW IN THE

COURTYARD Cosplayers and photographers gather outdoors where there is no red carpet or company logos

F

rom the photographer’s point of view, trying to take pictures of cosplayers on the Show Floor is the worst. The red carpet throws off the color. There is not enough light. There are too many people. The person you are stopping might only want to be shopping at that point. Heading outside is a clearer signal that you are open to posing and talking about your costume.

In 2015, anyone on the sidewalk along 11th Avenue could see what was happening down below which was mostly cosplayers milling about and attendees smoking. Future cons would see this space used for more food trucks and an entry point.

—MV

OVERHEAD The view from stairs inside the Crystal Palace, the people along 11th Ave., and what I could see from 11th Ave.

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BACKLIT I didn’t ask the young woman in gray who she was supposed to be. She looks like a Miyazaki character to me and I don’t want her to say she’s not. I did not hug Pikachu.

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Sally, Belle, Space Balls, Yellow Lantern Scarecrow, Syndrome, guy who stood in line overnight for NYCC tickets with Luis, Storm, Poison Ivy, Bombshells Hawkgirl

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Waldo, Carmen Sandiego, Freakazoid, Stitch, Lilo, She-Ra, Lara Croft, Finn and Fern

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Hit Girl, Hawkeye, Green Arrow, Red Hood, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman, Supergirl, Jay Garrick Flash, Black Canary, Starfire, Raven, Zatanna, CW Flash

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Olympus Justice League, Hawkgirl, Sentry, Aquaman, Aquagirl, Aquawoman, Batwoman, Terra, Raven, Terra, Vixen, Reverse Flash, White Tiger

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Silk, Spider Punk, SpiderMan, Scarlet Spider Gwen, Ghost Spider, Gwenpool, Silk, Ben Reilly Spider-Man, Deadpool

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Guardians of the Galaxy, Watcher, Wolverine, Gamora, Deadpool, Black Cat, Ms. Marvel, Ms. Marvel, Wonderman, Black Cat, Dark Phoenix

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Joker, Poison Ivy, Black Canary, Harley, Red Hood, Bane, Capullo Joker

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DC meet up, Jean Grey, Union Jack, Joe the Plumber Joker, Bizarro, Blue Beetle, Booster Gold, Batgirl, Stephanie Brown, Firestorm, Dr. Doom

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(This page) Princess Darth Vader, Quick Silver, Lady Thor, Baseball Furies, Lady Thor, Jason, Zombie Sailor Moon, Naruto, Chastity, Zombie Alice (Opposite page) Jon Snow, Merle, Daryl, Michonne, Daenyrs, Predator, Finn, Poison Ivy, Ms. Marvel, Captain Boomerang, Atom Eve, Mega Man

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Yokai, Yoda, Princess Leia, R2-D2, Furiosa, Scout Trooper, Professional Storm Trooper, Royal Guard, Jedi, Darth Revan, Edward Scissorhands

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SURVIVING THE SHOW Maybe you read all the tips. Maybe you brought cash, a water bottle, and your own food. But where can you take a break?

The lines for the women’s bathrooms are ridiculously long at this convention. Even the VIP area required a wait in the past. Other people bring strollers, but I’d rather not.

Unfortunately, walking around carrying another person all day gets old. No one is supposed to sit on the floor or stairs, but there aren’t as many chairs as there are people. Here is how we all coped with trying to make ourselves comfortable...

—MV

QUICK PICS I snapped these when trying to inconspicuously

capture why I didn’t want to sit on the floor with a baby

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TOYS ‘R’ US KID There’s no way to hang out in a bathroom stall and nurse a baby at NYCC, and I wasn’t keen on sitting on the floor anywhere to try, so I went to Babies ‘R’ Us at Union Square on Saturday. I did not take any pictures of there, so Sunday I got out at Times Square and stopped in at that Toys ‘R’ Us because it seemed more in line with NYCC even if their nursing station was a sketchy office on the upper floors.

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JUST ANOTHER DAY Scantily clad women and colorful

costumes? This is Sunday in Times Square.

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LUNCH BREAK Several trucks parked inside the event space to make life easier for attendees. Mac Truck and Korilla were popular choices.

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GUESS AGAIN The white truck was

serving up Ash vs. Evil Dead experience, allowing attendees to walk through a recreation of the Evil Dead house. When I first saw the Starbucks employees on the curb in the tunnel, I thought they were in costume.

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NOT REGULATION Weapons needed to

pass new inspection standards. People were not happy in the comments online.

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LOOK NATURAL

Somewhere between the humor, the realness, and the inability to catch up to cosplayers, I ended up with these pictures Now that I had a baby in place of a press pass, I didn’t feel like asking people to pose. I chased after the comic book skirt, but I was bullied into asking the Storm Trooper by people who saw me take a picture of the back of the costume. Asking people in costume to pretend the camera isn’t there doesn’t usually work.

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THEY’RE JUST LIKE US! Venom and the

Pope use an ATM; Lady Thor adjusts her laces; animal hoods with mittens were quite popular and perfect for the 60degree day; everyone needs a touch up.

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BEEN REAL Some parting shots of the Show

MORE BABIES Pictures of Betty from my phone; a mistimed

photo that captures how I felt; a Star Wars family costume.

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EXIT THIS WAY Sunset over the Hudson

Yards station; accordion Boba Fett; Google enhanced phone pic of the Empire State Building; details of the Hudson Yards station ceiling.

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GLASS CEILING I took this picture of

the Javits Center ceiling Sunday, October 11, 2015, because I thought it was pretty. I never imagined a little over a year later people would be in disblief when it did not shatter.

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