Saturday, September 19, 2015

Autographing at NYCC 2014

Ant Lucia, the DC Bombshell Artist. When I first saw the DC Bombshell covers at my local comic store, I was drawn in. Strangely enough, it was one of those hypnotizing moments where you had to approach and look at it. Personally, I admire the pin-up art of the past, so it was nice to see a modern rendition of it.

Jeremy Haun, artist of Batwoman. I already had a signed Batwoman comic by Trevor McCarthy, so I figured it would make sense to have Haun sign the same one. Thank goodness I recalled were I placed that issue. So now, I have two artist signatures on Batwoman Issue 29! Yahoo!

Almost Human blu ray and Karl Urban ticket. While browsing the New York Comic Con guest list, I saw Karl Urban! I was excited, but then... realized... I had nothing for him to sign! The show Almost Human was cancelled around that time, so I did not think there would be a disc release for me to purchase. As the con approached, Almost Human DVD was getting released a month before! So I got it just in time for the signing!

The first time I've seen Urban was on Xena: Warrior Princess or at least I hope I did. I remember seeing an actor that looked like Urban playing as Cupid in an episode of Xena, so when it was my turn to get my signature, I asked him if he played that character and his response was “aaaaaaahhhh yessss.” It was one of “I had to think about it before I can answer you” moments. I continued with our small talk. I told him he was “very good looking as cupid” and “I'm sorry that Almost Human got cancelled.” He thanked me for the compliment and said that he too was sorry about the cancellation because he had fun on the show. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed so the picture above is all I have for you.

This was the line for Lucy Lawless's signing. I’m pretty sure I came at least an hour early and pictured above was the line…well more like discombobulated line. The people around me were pretty confused because there were those who wanted either a picture or an autograph and others that wanted both. Well, from this picture you tell me how many lines there were. While waiting on line we found that Lawless was running late due to traffic. Obviously, people were disappointed to hear that, but those I spoke to were more concerned about how long she will stay and will we get our autographs because the show floor was closing in a couple of hours.

Besides being concerned about whether or not I would get her autograph that night, I had to make sure I would not lose this tiny Lucy Lawless ticket. Um, yeah, I actually dropped it on the floor and panicked. Then god knows how many seconds later, I found it on the floor underneath me. It’s an $80 autograph, so I can’t lose this ticket! Then Lawless came and there was cheering and excitement! People started taking pictures, but there were no pictures allowed. The vendors had to move the curtains on the left side to protect the celebrities from being photographed.

The first group of people to meet Lawless were those who bought a photograph ticket. Then if they had a ticket for the autograph, they got back in line and were the first to get an autograph by her. When it was my turn to get her autograph, I mentioned to Lawless that my father brought me this when I was little and now I can get her to sign it. She unrolled the poster and said “Oh…My…God!” She made it out to me and then offered to give me a hug for my dad! Obviously, I took the hug and said “Oh my god! Thank you!” She’s too awesome.

This was the line for Takeshi Obata, artist of Death Note and All You Need is Kill, at Kinokuniya Bookstores near Bryant Park. If I remember correctly, I signed up for the free autograph session as part of a Special NYC Week event and printed out my ticket. Since I did not have anything for him to sign and the signing board they were giving away was limited in supplies, I had to buy something. Unfortunately, All You Need is Kill English version didn’t come out yet, so I ended up buying the Death Note omnibus.

When it was my turn to get an autograph, we went up to the store's 2nd floor and I handed in my ticket. I saw an old friend, had a small conversation and it was my turn to get my book signed. When I reached the table where the artist was, the woman sitting with him (I am pretty sure it was his translator), said “I like your jacket.” I was surprised she took notice, thanked her for the compliment and told her I made the whole attire myself (I was in Scarlet Witch age of Ultron cosplay). She turned to the artist and spoke to him in Japanese about my attire. He nodded at me and smiled. Yeah that made my day. Plus, I got the limited edition signing board! Winning!

© 2015 Linda Thai

Photography by Linda Thai

For more pictures, check out the Something Deeper: Anime, Manga and Comics Page on Facebook

No comments: