Oh boy. Where do I begin? The line situation that was a conundrum or what I accomplished that day? Maybe about my strategies around the convention center? Yes, let’s start with my planning and end the day on a happy note.
Before Friday arrived, I planned out what I had to do and what items to bring to get signed. Friday was basically going to be autograph day, while cosplaying as Scarlet Witch from Age of Ultron. Since I would be blazing out the door to beat the crowd on Friday morning, I had to pack my books and lay out cosplay essentials, like makeup, the night before.
I arrived in the area after 12pm, thinking there wouldn’t be a crowd. It seemed like things were “normal” until I walked up to a certain point. There was a massive line of people trying to get into the con. My first stop was actually BookCon, which was located OUTSIDE of Jacob Javits Center. So, there was no need for me to go to the Javits Center. As I was walking towards my destination, a staff member of NYCC asked me, “are you trying to get in?” and I said “no.” While she was asking me that question, she was pointing behind me, as if she was indicating the back of the line. Not to be mean, but I was about to ask her, “Where’s the back of the line when you have people coming from different streets?” Not everyone was coming from the 7 train station. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the staff members didn’t even know where the back of the line was.
Alright, so enough of the horrific line management. I was able to breeze past everybody and walk straight to BookCon to line up for the Let’s Get Lost panel and receive the autographing wrist band for the signing that was happening after the panel. I stayed for the panel and was first in line for the signing. Unfortunately, being first in line wasn’t a pleasant experience. We were more or less in a single file waiting for the session to begin. The girl behind me kept coming closer and closer to my personal space. Initially, I gave her space thinking she needed some room. However, every time I moved forward she kept coming closer. The volunteer who was managing the line noticed my displeasure and understood exactly why I tried to avoid the girl.
Thank god the autograph session started, because my patience could only last for so long. The author that I’ve been waiting for a couple of years to meet was Danielle Paige, author of Dorothy Must Die. I complimented her on the storytelling because it kept me awake. I told her that not a lot of stories can hold my attention to the point where I didn’t want to put a book down. So the fact that it was glued to my hand, it means it was a good book. She was very easy to talk to and able to share her career experiences with me. The best part of the conversation was learning that she doesn’t need a second job to maintain a living. Her book writing sufficed.
After the signing, I went straight to the Jacob Javits Center and wow! The line was goneee. This was past 2pm, so it would have been terrible if it was still there. My first stop at the con was the Artist Alley. I had a Transformers comic and Mouse Guard books to get signed. Plus, I didn’t go to this area at all on Thursday. So, I basically killed two birds with one stone that day.
Initially, I had no idea, not even a clue that David Peterson, author and artist of Mouse Guard was coming! I never seen him at the con, so I didn’t think to look him up on the NYCC website. All I did was look up Transformers. The nerd God must have been watching over, because I found out by accident on Thursday. It was past 5pm, I was walking past the Archaia booth and saw Mouse Guard books at a signing. I went up to the two people at the table and asked them if this was for the person behind Mouse. Yes it was and he was in the Artist Alley! Yay!!!
So on Friday, I had to find him first! David Petersen was kind enough to sign all my books AND drew a mouse on a couple of them. Now if only I can draw that fast. Plus, we had a friendly conversation about his work and my interest in his story. I told him that I got interested in his story because of a hardcover Mouse Guard book from Free Comic Book Day. However, I did not read all the books I brought. He laughed and said, “At least it worked.” LOL
Other than the line fiasco, it was pretty smooth walking inside the center. It was more crowded than Thursday, but walkable. So for the rest of the day, I met a few friends, walked around the artist alley, browse a bit in the dealers room and took pictures with every Scarlet Witch that I could find. It went well.
© 2016 Linda Thai
Photography by Linda Thai
For more pictures, check out the Something Deeper: Anime, Manga and Comics Page on Facebook
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