Experiencing NYCC/NYAF 2011's First Thursday - Part 1

It was the first day of the 2011 New York Comic Con/New York Anime Festival, and I was quite excited about attending another convention. I had a game plan to follow through; which included purchasing of autographs. Since, I was going to take pictures of booths, I was hoping that the exhibitors would be ready by the 4pm opening for the crowd, press and professionals.

While I was walking around the lobby, to find a show floor entrance line to wait in, there were exhibitors still rolling in their luggage. That must have been a rush for them. It was about one hour before show time! I knew people would be coming in the day of, but I did not think it would be so close to the opening time. One would think that being there early would give one a breather to settle down; and be prepared to promote and sell merchandise. I guess no one can escape procrastination, eh?

Continuing with my walk, I discovered that there was another convention happening: SatCon. No idea what the convention was about at the time. After research, I found out this was a professional conference and expo for satellite communications and content delivery. It would explain why the people coming out of the convention were in formal business attire. Since this convention was on the lower level right underneath Comic Con's show floor, one would think there would not be a problem. However, as shown in my photograph below, there was a problem. Nothing major and it can easily be fixed.

The entrances/exits to the respective conventions were next to each other, so attendees lining up for the Comic Con's entrance were blocking the entrance and exit of the SatCon. You would think the attendees would have some consideration for that, unless they failed to notice it. Nevertheless, the Comic Con staff came to the rescue! The people in charge told the attendees to bend around as to not block the flow of traffic. As the hour went by, the line became a long curving snake. When the line expanded and came close to the walls, we were told to move over. We ended up being compacted like sardines in a can.

It was 4pm and the line began to move. YAY! My first goal was to buy Supernatural, the tv show, cast autographs. Since the booth was in the second show floor room near the entrance I had to stand in line all the way in the back. These autographs were limited, and there was a deal on getting three autographs with bookmarks for $35. I had to have first dips on it. ;-) When I finally reached the top and went to the booth, no body was there! :'( I was thinking to myself “where's the person watching the booth?” Well, I guess the exhibitor saw me pondering at the booth. A man with a beard and glasses came by and asked if I needed help. I asked about the Supernatural autographs. Upon browsing the table The Vampire Diaries sign caught my eyes. I did not start watching the show until once when I was randomly channel surfing then I discovered the Sun and Moon Curse story in “Bad Moon Rising.” So, the whole historical aspect to the story got me hooked; however, not as much as Supernatural. Because of that, when it came to those autographs, I pondered some more. I learned that the autographs from The Vampire Diaries cast were $75 if you buy all three. In the end I decided to get all the Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries cast autographs. Especially since it was on sale, and I highly doubt that I will ever meet them in person to ask for it.
© 2011 Linda Thai

Stay tune for Part 2 of my Thursday experience!

Photography by Linda Thai

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